High-volume, cost-sensitive work
Choose DeepSeek V4.1 Flash
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash costs 30% less on a typical mix of three input tokens for every output token ($0.53 against $0.75 per million tokens).
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash vs GPT-3.5 Turbo: price, context and capabilities
Choose DeepSeek V4.1 Flash for high-volume, cost-sensitive work, writing and code generation, very long inputs, images as input and the latest release; on the other points the two are level or the data is missing.
In short
- DeepSeek V4.1 Flash is 30% cheaper than GPT-3.5 Turbo at the headline price ($0.525 / 1M tokens vs $0.75 / 1M tokens).
- DeepSeek V4.1 Flash reads more per request: 1M tokens against 16k.
- DeepSeek V4.1 Flash is the newer model (October 2026, against March 2023).
- Only DeepSeek V4.1 Flash offers vision, reasoning, prompt caching.
- Only GPT-3.5 Turbo 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 $1.50 for GPT-3.5 Turbo. Output dominates the bill when answers are long.
Very long inputs
Choose DeepSeek V4.1 Flash
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash reads up to 1M tokens per request, against 16k for GPT-3.5 Turbo.
Images as input
Choose DeepSeek V4.1 Flash
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash accepts images as input; GPT-3.5 Turbo does not.
Latest release
Choose DeepSeek V4.1 Flash
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash is the newer release (October 2026, against March 2023 for GPT-3.5 Turbo).
Monthly cost at three volumes
| Volume | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash | GPT-3.5 Turbo | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prototype: 1M input, 250K output tokens | $0.60 | $0.88 | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash, $0.28 less |
| Production: 20M input, 5M output tokens | $12.00 | $17.50 | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash, $5.50 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 | GPT-3.5 Turbo | |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | DeepSeek | OpenAI |
| Category | Language models | Language models |
| Status | Generally available | Deprecated |
| Headline price | $0.525 / 1M tokens | $0.75 / 1M tokens |
| Input | $0.30 / 1M tokens | $0.50 / 1M tokens |
| Output | $1.20 / 1M tokens | $1.50 / 1M tokens |
| Cached input | $0.006 / 1M tokens | No data |
| Context window | 1M | 16k |
| Max output | 384k | 4k |
| Released | October 2026 | March 2023 |
| Knowledge cutoff | No data | September 2021 |
| Licence | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| Capabilities | Vision, Reasoning, Tool calling, Structured output, Prompt caching | Tool calling, Structured output, Batch API |
| API model id | deepseek-flash | gpt-3.5-turbo |
Benchmarks side by side
Leader in bold.
| Benchmark | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash | GPT-3.5 Turbo |
|---|---|---|
| Intelligence Index | 45.1 | No data |
| SciCode | 55.9% | No data |
| Humanity's Last Exam | 43.3% | No data |
| MMMU-Pro (visual reasoning) | 80.6% | No data |
| Long-context reasoning (AA-LCR) | 82.7% | No data |
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 GPT-3.5 Turbo?
Choose DeepSeek V4.1 Flash for high-volume, cost-sensitive work, writing and code generation, very long inputs, images as input 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 GPT-3.5 Turbo?
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash is 30% cheaper than GPT-3.5 Turbo at the headline price ($0.525 / 1M tokens vs $0.75 / 1M tokens).
Which has the larger context window, DeepSeek V4.1 Flash or GPT-3.5 Turbo?
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash reads more per request: 1M tokens against 16k.
What is the difference between DeepSeek V4.1 Flash and GPT-3.5 Turbo?
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash is made by DeepSeek and GPT-3.5 Turbo by OpenAI. DeepSeek V4.1 Flash is 30% cheaper than GPT-3.5 Turbo at the headline price ($0.525 / 1M tokens vs $0.75 / 1M tokens). DeepSeek V4.1 Flash reads more per request: 1M tokens against 16k. DeepSeek V4.1 Flash is the newer model (October 2026, against March 2023). Only DeepSeek V4.1 Flash offers vision, reasoning, prompt caching. Only GPT-3.5 Turbo offers batch api.
How much do DeepSeek V4.1 Flash and GPT-3.5 Turbo cost per month?
At 20 million input and 5 million output tokens a month, DeepSeek V4.1 Flash costs $12.00 and GPT-3.5 Turbo costs $17.50, at standard rates.
Which is newer, DeepSeek V4.1 Flash or GPT-3.5 Turbo?
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash was released on October 2026 and GPT-3.5 Turbo on March 2023.