DeepSeek V4.1 Flash vs Gemini 3.6 Flash: pricing and benchmarks
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash is 60% cheaper on input tokens ($0.30 vs $0.75 per 1M). DeepSeek V4.1 Flash is 68% cheaper on output tokens ($1.20 vs $3.75 per 1M). On our document Q&A workload (50,000 questions a month), DeepSeek V4.1 Flash costs $156.00 a month versus $412.50 for Gemini 3.6 Flash, 62% less. Roughly tied. DeepSeek V4.1 Flash scores 155.6 and Gemini 3.6 Flash scores 154.2 on the Epoch Capabilities Index, and their confidence intervals overlap.
Prices verified October 17, 2026.
Which should you choose?
Roughly tied. DeepSeek V4.1 Flash scores 155.6 and Gemini 3.6 Flash scores 154.2 on the Epoch Capabilities Index, and their confidence intervals overlap.
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash scores 67.4% on FrontierMath (Tiers 1–3) vs 58.9% for Gemini 3.6 Flash.
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash costs $0.525 per 1M tokens (3:1 input-to-output mix) vs $1.50 for Gemini 3.6 Flash, 65% less.
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash delivers equal or higher overall capability for 65% less.
Pricing and specs
| DeepSeek V4.1 Flash | Gemini 3.6 Flash | |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | DeepSeek | |
| API model ID | deepseek-flash | gemini-3.6-flash |
| Input / 1M tokens | $0.30 | $0.75 |
| Cached input / 1M tokens | $0.006 | $0.075 |
| Output / 1M tokens | $1.20 | $3.75 |
| Long-context rates | — | — |
| Context window | 1M tokens | 1.05M tokens |
| Max output | 384K tokens | 66K tokens |
| Batch discount | — | 50% off |
Benchmarks
| DeepSeek V4.1 Flash | Gemini 3.6 Flash | |
|---|---|---|
| Epoch Capabilities Index | 155.6 | 154.2 |
| GPQA Diamond· Science reasoning | 89.8% | 94.1% |
| FrontierMath (Tiers 1–3)· Advanced math | 67.4% | 58.9% |
| SimpleQA Verified· Factual accuracy | 42.9% | 66.2% |
| ARC-AGI-2· Abstract reasoning | 72.9% | 60.4% |
| DeepSWE· Coding | — | 46.7% |
| APEX-Agents· Agentic work | 39.5% | 46.9% |
Source: Epoch AI, best recorded result per model (CC BY 4.0). A dash means no published score. See all benchmarks
Monthly cost for real workloads
| Workload | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash | Gemini 3.6 Flash | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
Support chatbot 100,000 replies a month, ~1,500 input tokens (system prompt + history) and ~400 output tokens each. | $93.00 | $262.50 | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 65% cheaper |
Document Q&A (RAG) 50,000 questions a month with ~8,000 tokens of retrieved context and ~600 output tokens each. | $156.00 | $412.50 | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 62% cheaper |
Coding agent 10,000 agent steps a month, ~40,000 input tokens each (70% read from the prompt cache) and ~2,000 output tokens. | $61.68 | $186.00 | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 67% cheaper |
Estimates use standard list prices and ignore cache-write surcharges. Different tokenizers can count the same text differently, so test with your own prompts.
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash vs Gemini 3.6 Flash cost calculator
- $156.00/mo$0.0031 / request
- Gemini 3.6 FlashGoogle$412.50/mo$0.0083 / request
Standard-tier list prices. Long-context rates apply automatically where the provider publishes a threshold. Excludes cache-write surcharges, taxes, batch and volume discounts.
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash pricing notes
DeepSeek’s low-cost model with thinking and non-thinking modes, tool calls and vision input.
- Prices shown are peak rates. Off-peak rates are half: peak hours are 01:00–04:00 and 06:00–10:00 UTC, Monday to Friday.
- Compatible with both OpenAI-format and Anthropic-format APIs.
- Web Search and Fetch cost $0.75 per 1,000 successful requests each; calls made through Claude Code, Codex or DeepSeek Harness are free until November 1, 2026.
Gemini 3.6 Flash pricing notes
Google’s previous-generation Flash model, which replaced Gemini 3.5 Flash in October 2026.
- Introductory price through December 31, 2026. From January 1, 2027: $1.50 input, $0.15 cached, $7.50 output per 1M tokens.
- Requests to the retired gemini-3.5-flash model ID are routed to Gemini 3.6 Flash.
- Output price includes thinking tokens.
- Priority inference costs 1.8x the standard rate.
Frequently asked questions
- Is DeepSeek V4.1 Flash cheaper than Gemini 3.6 Flash?
- DeepSeek V4.1 Flash is 60% cheaper on input tokens ($0.30 vs $0.75 per 1M). DeepSeek V4.1 Flash is 68% cheaper on output tokens ($1.20 vs $3.75 per 1M). On our document Q&A workload (50,000 questions a month), DeepSeek V4.1 Flash costs $156.00 a month versus $412.50 for Gemini 3.6 Flash, 62% less.
- Which is more capable, DeepSeek V4.1 Flash or Gemini 3.6 Flash?
- Roughly tied. DeepSeek V4.1 Flash scores 155.6 and Gemini 3.6 Flash scores 154.2 on the Epoch Capabilities Index, and their confidence intervals overlap.
- How much does DeepSeek V4.1 Flash cost per 1M tokens?
- DeepSeek V4.1 Flash costs $0.30 per 1M input tokens and $1.20 per 1M output tokens, and $0.006 per 1M cached input tokens on DeepSeek’s standard tier.
- How much does Gemini 3.6 Flash cost per 1M tokens?
- Gemini 3.6 Flash costs $0.75 per 1M input tokens and $3.75 per 1M output tokens, and $0.075 per 1M cached input tokens on Google’s standard tier.
- Which has the larger context window, DeepSeek V4.1 Flash or Gemini 3.6 Flash?
- Gemini 3.6 Flash has the larger context window: 1.05M tokens versus 1M for DeepSeek V4.1 Flash.