Kai Simons honours and awards include:
* 1975 Federation of European Biochemical Society Anniversary Prize
* 1984 Honorary Professor, University of Heidelberg, Germany
* 1989 Lamport Visiting Professor (Columbia, New York)
* 1990 Histochemical Society Lecture
* 1990 Keith R. Porter Lecture, American Society of Cell Biology
* 1991 Anders Jahre Prize for Medical Research
* 1991 NICHD Lectureship in Cell Biology
* 1993 Carl Zeiss Lecture, German Society for Cell Biology
* 1994 Harvey Society Lecture
* 1996 Dunham Lecturer, Harvard University
* 1996 Foreign Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
* 1997 Academia Europaea
* 1997 Adam Neville Lecture, University of Dundee, UK
* 1997 Foreign Member of the National Academy of Sciences, USA
* 1997 Runeberg Prize, Finland
* 1998 Academy of Sciences Leopoldina
* 1998 Choh Hao Li Memorial Lecture in Biochemical Endocrinology, University of California, Berkeley
* 1999 Doctor Honoris Causa, University of Oulu, Finland
* 2000 President of the European Life Scientist Organisation
* 2001 Honorary member of the German Society for Cell Biology
* 2001 ISI Highly cited researcher
* 2001 Schleiden Medal of Academy Leopoldina
* 2002 Hoppe-Seyler Lecture, Society of Biology and Molecular Biology Germany
* 2003 Albert Wander Prize, University of Bern, Switzerland
* 2003 Matti Äyräpää Prize, Finland
* 2003 Doctor Honoris Causa, University of Leuven, Belgium
* 2003 Honorary Professor at TU Dresden
* 2003 Prix Mondial Nessim Habif, University of Geneva, Switzerland
* 2004 Virchow Lecture and Medal, University of Würzburg, Germany
* 2005 Foundation Day Lecture, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, India
* 2005 van Deenen Medal, Utrecht, The Netherlands
* 2006 A.I. Virtanen Medal, Finland
* 2006 Honorary member of the Societas Biochemica, Biophysica et Microbiologica Fenniae
* 2007 Order of Merit of the Free State of Saxony
* 2010 Doctor honoris causa, University of Kuopio, Finland
* 2011 Doctor honoris causa, University of Geneva, Switzerland
* 2016 Robert Koch Medal
Kai Simons was and is also a member of numerous societies, committees and organisations, as well as an editor for several scientific journals.