Qwen3.8 Max Prime vs Kimi K3
Qwen3.8 Max Prime took 37 min 2 s and $2.29 at list price, Kimi K3 took 22 min 52 s and $1.92 at list price. Qwen3.8 Max Prime took 1.6× as long and cost 1.2× as much.
Qwen3.8 Max Prime
Alibaba · $12.00/M out
Kimi K3
Moonshot AI · $15.00/M out · 9,870 HN pts
Pelican
Generate an SVG of a pelican riding a bicycle
Watch
Draw a mechanical wristwatch that shows the current local time, with a sweeping seconds hand and a date window. Make it look expensive.
Landing
Build the landing page for Lumen Cycles, a Copenhagen workshop that builds custom cargo bikes to order. Make it look like a real brand you would trust with 4,000 euros.
Breakout
Make a Breakout game I can play right now with the keyboard or the mouse. Give it several levels, a score and some juice.
Logo
Design a logo for Night Heron, an independent bookshop that only opens after dark.
About
Write the opening of the About us page for Patchbay, a three-person studio in Rotterdam that repairs vintage synthesizers. About 150 words.
Patchbay is a small studio in Rotterdam dedicated to the repair and care of vintage synthesizers. Run by three people who share a deep love for these instruments, we work hands-on with analog circuits, voices, keyboards, and aging components to bring old machines back to reliable musical life. Every synthesizer that enters the studio has a history, and we treat that history with respect, preserving original character while making sure the instrument can be played with confidence today. Our work ranges from routine servicing and calibration to careful troubleshooting and restoration of rare or badly worn gear. We work patiently, because these machines ask for time, attention, and understanding. We believe these instruments deserve to be heard, not stored away, and that good repair is a form of listening. From our bench in Rotterdam, we serve musicians, collectors, and studios who value craftsmanship, honesty, and the enduring sound of classic electronic instruments.
Patchbay is a small workshop in Rotterdam where old synthesizers come back to life. We are three people — a former recording engineer, a self-taught circuit obsessive, and a classically trained pianist who fell in love with broken machines — and between us we have spent decades coaxing sound out of equipment the rest of the world gave up on.
We started Patchbay because we kept meeting the same problem: beloved instruments sitting silent in attics and studio corners, written off as unfixable. A Juno with a dead voice chip. A Prophet that drifts out of tune. A Moog that hums when it shouldn't. To us, none of these are lost causes. They are instruments with history in them, and they deserve careful hands, original parts where possible, and honest work.
Every synth that leaves our bench is played, tested, and listened to — because that is what it was made for.
Specs and numbers
| Qwen3.8 Max Prime | Kimi K3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | Alibaba | Moonshot AI |
| Made in | China | China |
| Released | 23 Sep 2026 | 16 Jul 2026 |
| Price in, per M tokens | $4.00 | $0.192 |
| Price out, per M tokens | $12.00 | $15.00 |
| Context | 1,000,000 tokens | 1,048,576 tokens |
| Weights | closed | open |
| Hacker News points | — | 9,870 |
| Time for the six prompts | 37 min 2 s | 22 min 52 s |
| List price of the six prompts | $2.29 | $1.92 |
Kimi K3 was cheaper: $0.37 less at list price, and less on 5 of the 6 prompts. Kimi K3 was faster: 14 min 10 s less in total, and faster on 5 of the 6 prompts.
In the recording, both Breakout games play.
Rebuild this screen experiment: Kimi K3's rebuild matched the screenshot at 68%; Qwen3.8 Max Prime was not in it. Tea Garden experiment: Kimi K3's game passed 5 of 5 checks; Qwen3.8 Max Prime was not in it.