High-volume, cost-sensitive work
Choose DeepSeek V4.1 Flash
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash costs 38% less on a typical mix of three input tokens for every output token ($0.53 against $0.85 per million tokens).
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash vs Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite: price, context and capabilities
Choose DeepSeek V4.1 Flash for high-volume, cost-sensitive work, writing and code generation, reused prompts and documents (RAG, agents), the hardest reasoning tasks, reasoning over long documents and the latest release; on the other points the two are level or the data is missing.
In short
- DeepSeek V4.1 Flash is 38% cheaper than Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite at the headline price ($0.525 / 1M tokens vs $0.85 / 1M tokens).
- Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite reads more per request: 1.05M tokens against 1M.
- DeepSeek V4.1 Flash is the newer model (October 2026, against July 2026).
- Only Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite offers batch api.
Which should you choose?
Each answer below comes straight from the published prices, specifications and independent benchmark results.
Writing and code generation
Choose DeepSeek V4.1 Flash
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash charges $1.20 per million output tokens, against $2.50 for Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite. Output dominates the bill when answers are long.
Reused prompts and documents (RAG, agents)
Choose DeepSeek V4.1 Flash
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash charges <$0.01 per million cached input tokens, against $0.03 for Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite.
Hardest reasoning tasks
Choose DeepSeek V4.1 Flash
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash scores 45.1 on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, against 22.2 for Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite.
Reasoning over long documents
Choose DeepSeek V4.1 Flash
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash scores 82.7% on Long-context reasoning (AA-LCR), against 76% for Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite.
Latest release
Choose DeepSeek V4.1 Flash
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash is the newer release (October 2026, against July 2026 for Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite).
Monthly cost at three volumes
| Volume | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash | Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prototype: 1M input, 250K output tokens | $0.60 | $0.93 | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash, $0.33 less |
| Production: 20M input, 5M output tokens | $12.00 | $18.50 | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash, $6.50 less |
| Scale: 500M input, 100M output tokens | $270.00 | $400.00 | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash, $130.00 less |
Standard rates, without caching or batch discounts. Volumes are per month.
Specifications side by side
| DeepSeek V4.1 Flash | Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite | |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | DeepSeek | |
| Category | Language models | Language models |
| Status | Generally available | Generally available |
| Headline price | $0.525 / 1M tokens | $0.85 / 1M tokens |
| Input | $0.30 / 1M tokens | $0.30 / 1M tokens |
| Output | $1.20 / 1M tokens | $2.50 / 1M tokens |
| Cached input | $0.006 / 1M tokens | $0.03 / 1M tokens |
| Context window | 1M | 1.05M |
| Max output | 384k | 66k |
| Released | October 2026 | July 2026 |
| Knowledge cutoff | No data | No data |
| Licence | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| Capabilities | Vision, Reasoning, Tool calling, Structured output, Prompt caching | Vision, Reasoning, Tool calling, Structured output, Prompt caching, Batch API |
| API model id | deepseek-flash | gemini-3.5-flash-lite |
Benchmarks side by side
Leader in bold.
| Benchmark | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash | Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite |
|---|---|---|
| Intelligence Index | 45.1 | 22.2 |
| SciCode | 55.9% | 41.3% |
| Humanity's Last Exam | 43.3% | 18.8% |
| MMMU-Pro (visual reasoning) | 80.6% | 79% |
| Long-context reasoning (AA-LCR) | 82.7% | 76% |
| GPQA Diamond | No data | 83.8% |
Independent evaluations by Artificial Analysis, run the same way for every model, at the reasoning setting shown. Percentages unless marked as an index.
Frequently asked questions
Should I choose DeepSeek V4.1 Flash or Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite?
Choose DeepSeek V4.1 Flash for high-volume, cost-sensitive work, writing and code generation, reused prompts and documents (RAG, agents), the hardest reasoning tasks, reasoning over long documents and the latest release; on the other points the two are level or the data is missing.
Which is cheaper, DeepSeek V4.1 Flash or Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite?
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash is 38% cheaper than Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite at the headline price ($0.525 / 1M tokens vs $0.85 / 1M tokens).
Which has the larger context window, DeepSeek V4.1 Flash or Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite?
Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite reads more per request: 1.05M tokens against 1M.
What is the difference between DeepSeek V4.1 Flash and Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite?
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash is made by DeepSeek and Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite by Google. DeepSeek V4.1 Flash is 38% cheaper than Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite at the headline price ($0.525 / 1M tokens vs $0.85 / 1M tokens). Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite reads more per request: 1.05M tokens against 1M. DeepSeek V4.1 Flash is the newer model (October 2026, against July 2026). Only Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite offers batch api.
How much do DeepSeek V4.1 Flash and Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite cost per month?
At 20 million input and 5 million output tokens a month, DeepSeek V4.1 Flash costs $12.00 and Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite costs $18.50, at standard rates.
Which is newer, DeepSeek V4.1 Flash or Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite?
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash was released on October 2026 and Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite on July 2026.