Family Kimi · 2800B parameters

Kimi K3

Giant 2.8T MoE / 16 active experts out of 896, native 1M-token context. Multimodal, long-horizon coding, and reasoning. For the largest home labs only.

🇨🇳 Moonshot AI·License Kimi License·Context 976.5625k tokens·Output Jun 13, 2026← Catalog

01What it can do

Strengths
  • Native 1M-token context
  • Multimodal (vision + text)
  • Long-horizon coding and reasoning
  • Open weights for deployment
Limitations to know
  • —Colossal VRAM footprint (~1.6 TB in Q4): out of reach without a large cluster
  • —Low inference throughput
  • —Custom license to review based on usage
Architecture
MoE with 2.8T parameters · 16 active experts out of 896 · native 1M-token context · multimodal
Training
Moonshot AI, successor to Kimi K2.6. Open-weight frontier model focused on agents and long-horizon reasoning.
Ideal for
Home-lab frontierLong-horizon codingMultimodal & reasoning

04Install

Install Ollama for your OS. Check the model and its quantization before downloading. Start with 4096 tokens of context, then check placement with ollama ps. A command below is not proof that a test was run on your machine.

$ollama run kimi-k3
⚠
First download: between 2 and 40 GB depending on the selected quantization. Plan for sufficient disk space; a stable connection is recommended. Subsequent launches are instant.

02Required memory

Approximate GPU VRAM required to run this model, including 4k tokens of context overhead. For a longer context, add ~1 GB per 8k-token increment.

Q4_K_M
The lightest, ~5% loss
1624 GB
Q5_K_M
Good quality/size compromise
1988 GB
Q8_0
Nearly indistinguishable from FP16
2996 GB
FP16
Full precision — server use
5600 GB
Fallback CPU · If you don't have a GPU, allow 3640 GB of RAM minimum to run this model at reduced speed.

What hardware do you need for Kimi K3?

To run Kimi K3 locally with Q4 quantization, you need about 1624 GB of VRAM. An option to compare: BOSGAME M5 128GB / 2TB (Ryzen AI Max+ 395) — this model exceeds this mini-PC's GPU capacity: choose a smaller model or suitable infrastructure.

Current offer: BOSGAME M5 128GB / 2TB (Ryzen AI Max+ 395)
AmazonSee price →

Why this choice? Our complete guide on BOSGAME M5 128GB / 2TB (Ryzen AI Max+ 395) →

Affiliate links — commission possible at no extra cost to you; independent recommendations. As an Amazon Associate, BestLLMfor earns from qualifying purchases.

03Expected speed

Tokens generated per second in Q4_K_M, 4k context. Beyond 20 t/s, reading is comfortable. Below 10 t/s, that's just for testing.

Entry-level
~1.5t/s
GTX 1650, RX 6600, MBA M2 8GB
Mid-range
~2.5t/s
RTX 4060, 4070, MBP M3 Pro
High-end
~5t/s
RTX 4090, M4 Max, Radeon 7900