Kimi Fires the First Shot in Paid Large

Kimi Fires the First Shot in Paid Large Models: The Free Era Ends, and the Commercial Inflection Point of the AI Industry Arrives

 

When the demand for "help me build a website" can be automatically fulfilled by AI through code writing, image generation, and deployment, such intelligent services are no longer completely free. At the end of September, Kimi, owned by Moon Landing, launched the Multi-Agent product "OK Computer" and simultaneously introduced a membership payment system, with two pricing tiers of 49 yuan/month and 99 yuan/month. This move breaks the long-standing free strategy of domestic large models and is regarded as a key breakthrough in the commercial exploration of the AI industry.

 

Kimi's Payment Model: Tiered Benefits to Balance Free and Paid Needs

 

Kimi has built a three-tier membership system, retaining free benefits while meeting users' needs through differentiated paid tiers:

 

Adagio (Slow, Free Version): Provides limited access to in-depth research functions and "OK Computer", covering basic needs;

Andante (Moderate, 49 yuan/month): Includes more usage times for in-depth research and "OK Computer", with additional equivalent API redemption vouchers as a bonus, suitable for moderate usage scenarios;

Moderato (Medium, 99 yuan/month): Offers high-frequency usage quotas, supports concurrent operations and stronger function calls, targeting heavy users.

 

In addition, Kimi has launched an exclusive reward for users who previously made donations: after subscribing to any membership tier, they can receive membership duration compensation equal to the donation amount (rounded up), lowering the payment threshold for old users.

 

It is worth noting that Kimi's payment strategy stands in contrast to the current industry mainstream. While models such as ERNIE Bot and Tongyi Qianwen still mainly offer free access, and OpenAI even announced that the free version of ChatGPT can use GPT-5 without restrictions, Kimi's "paywall" is particularly prominent amid the wave of free services.

 

Behind the Payment: An Inevitable Choice Under High Cost Pressure

 

The direct driver for Kimi's commercialization is the unbearable cost of model operation. According to insiders, the cost of a single conversation using its "Deep Researcher" function alone ranges from 4 to 5 yuan. The previous long-term free model combined with small-scale donation attempts can no longer support the business operation.

 

Long-text processing (supporting 2 million words of context) is Kimi's core competitiveness, but the massive Token consumption leads to an exponential increase in computing power costs. In March 2024, Kimi's server crashed due to a surge in traffic, exposing the limitations of resource planning. In April 2024, its monthly active users (MAU) reached 20.04 million, surpassing ERNIE Bot's 16.91 million to top the domestic list. However, the surge in traffic was accompanied by server overload and a decline in user experience. Yang Zhilin, the founder, admitted, "The core is to balance investment costs and user retention", and the rapid growth under the free model has become an "unbearable burden".

 

This cost pressure is not unique to Kimi: Alibaba Cloud AI Platform has adjusted the validity period of free quotas for new users to 90 days (starting from September 8, 2025); the free trial of Tongyi Qianwen's data mining model ended on July 31, 2025, and subsequent usage will be charged at the standard price. Even in the international market, Grok 4, which Musk announced as "permanently free", was found by netizens to have a restriction of "maximum 5 uses every 12 hours" after actual testing. The so-called "free" is not unbounded.

 

Industry Trend: The Tide of Free Services Recedes, and the Era of "Paying for Results" Arrives

 

The editorial comment points out that the "free feast" in the AI industry has entered the countdown. Free services will not disappear completely, but the logic of "paying for results" is becoming mainstream. In this transformation from a technological carnival to commercial rationality, only manufacturers that can make specific scenarios work and connect with users' rigid needs can gain a foothold in the competition.

 

According to industry forecasts, within the next 18 months, 80% of domestic large models will follow the tiered payment strategy. As the halo of technology fades, the core of industry competition will shift from "who can provide free services" to "who can convert costs into irreplaceable user value". Only players that truly create value can earn the first pot of gold in the paid era.

 

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