Same model (Kimi K3). Two harnesses.
Harness choice changes cost and time a lot, even on the same model. Claude Code didn't just use more tokens per request; it also used more turns, so total time and total tokens stacked up.
| Metric | Command Code → Kimi | Claude Code → Kimi |
|---|---|---|
| Turns / Requests | 1 request | 8 turns |
| Input tokens | 162 | ~23,000+ (heavy turns ~4,000–5,000 each) |
| Output tokens | 1,200 | N/A |
| Total tokens | 1,362 | N/A |
| Time | 33.7 s | ~78.8 s (total model time) |
| Cost per turn (avg) | ~$0.019 | ~$0.0125 |
| Cost vs. Command Code | 1x (baseline) | ~5.3x |
| Total cost | ~$0.019 | ~$0.10 |
Combined total cost (both runs): ~$0.119
Command Code drove Kimi K3 to a result in a single request, with low token usage and low cost. Claude Code, using the same underlying model, took 8 turns to get there, with each heavy turn re-sending several thousand tokens of context, which pushed total session input past 23k tokens and roughly 5x'd the estimated cost versus Command Code, despite both harnesses calling the same model.