How to Use a Kimi Code Subscription in Excel

The five steps

1. 1Have an active Kimi Code subscriptionYou need Moderato ($19/month) or higher: community reports note the cheapest tier does not include the k3 model, and k3 is the one that matches frontier quality on modeling work. Not subscribed yet? Our waitlist guide covers plan choice and real approval timelines.
2. 2Install the EBITDAI add-inIn Excel, go to the Insert tab, choose Get Add-ins, and search for EBITDAI. It works in Excel on the web and on desktop, on both Windows and Mac.
3. 3Create a Kimi Code API keyOpen the Kimi Code console at www.kimi.com/code/console and create a key named EBITDAI. Copy it immediately; it is shown once and starts with sk-kimi-. This must be a Kimi Code subscription key, a Moonshot Open Platform key works too, but through the separate Kimi (pay-as-you-go) provider, not this one.
4. 4Connect it in the task paneOpen the EBITDAI pane, choose Kimi Code on the Connect screen, and paste the key. One test call verifies it. The key is stored on your device, not on our servers.
5. 5Ask for a model in plain EnglishType a request such as 'Build a 3-statement model for a SaaS business with $2M ARR growing 40%'. The agent reads your actual cells and writes the result into the workbook, formatted like a banker built it.

The full walkthrough with screenshots of every provider is in the API key tutorial.

The gotcha: two kinds of Kimi keys

This is the single most common setup failure. Moonshot runs two separate platforms. The Kimi Code console at www.kimi.com/code/console issues subscription keys that start with sk-kimi-; those draw on your flat-rate plan and belong with the Kimi Code provider this guide covers. The Moonshot Open Platform issues pay-as-you-go API keys that bill per token; EBITDAI supports those too, as the separate Kimi (pay-as-you-go) provider, see the announcement. The two keys are not interchangeable: if your key is rejected, check that the provider you selected matches where you created it.

What flat-rate actually means for modeling work

A metered plan changes how you work: you meter prompts, batch questions, and hesitate before asking for one more iteration. A $20 Claude plan is reported at 45 messages per 5-hour window, and heavy modeling sessions hit that fast. Third-party plan trackers put Kimi Code at 300 to 1,200 calls per 5-hour window for the tier below Moderato, and the subscription carries a usage boost inside Kimi Code. In practice the meter simply stops being something you think about.

Quality is not the trade-off it used to be. In our published benchmark of 10 real modeling tasks with 30 runs per tool, EBITDAI on Kimi K3 passed 30 of 30, the same score as Claude for Excel.

The real cost math

EBITDAI's Pro plan is $15/month with 7.5x more usage than Lite across every included model, plus your own keys and the QuickBooks, Campfire and Stripe connectors. Layer Kimi Code Moderato ($19/month flat) on it for unlimited daily use, with the plan's included usage as overflow: $34/month all-in, the most cost-effective way to run EBITDAI all day; on EBITDAI's annual billing ($144/year, $12/month) it is $31/month. The nearest comparison, Claude for Excel, needs a Claude plan: $20/month for Pro with tight limits, $100 or $200 for Max. The full comparison across every provider and strategy is in the two-strategies cost guide.

Frequently asked questions