High-volume, cost-sensitive work
Choose DeepSeek V4.1 Flash
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash costs 32% less on a typical mix of three input tokens for every output token ($0.53 against $0.78 per million tokens).
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash vs Qwen3.8 27B: 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) and the latest release; on the other points the two are level or the data is missing.
In short
- DeepSeek V4.1 Flash is 32% cheaper than Qwen3.8 27B at the headline price ($0.525 / 1M tokens vs $0.775 / 1M tokens).
- Both accept 1M tokens per request.
- DeepSeek V4.1 Flash is the newer model (October 2026, against Aug 14, 2026).
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 Qwen3.8 27B. 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 $0.09 for Qwen3.8 27B.
Latest release
Choose DeepSeek V4.1 Flash
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash is the newer release (October 2026, against Aug 14, 2026 for Qwen3.8 27B).
Monthly cost at three volumes
| Volume | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash | Qwen3.8 27B | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prototype: 1M input, 250K output tokens | $0.60 | $0.83 | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash, $0.23 less |
| Production: 20M input, 5M output tokens | $12.00 | $16.50 | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash, $4.50 less |
| Scale: 500M input, 100M output tokens | $270.00 | $350.00 | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash, $80.00 less |
Standard rates, without caching or batch discounts. Volumes are per month.
Specifications side by side
| DeepSeek V4.1 Flash | Qwen3.8 27B | |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | DeepSeek | Alibaba Cloud (Qwen) |
| Category | Language models | Language models |
| Status | Generally available | Generally available |
| Headline price | $0.525 / 1M tokens | $0.775 / 1M tokens |
| Input | $0.30 / 1M tokens | $0.20 / 1M tokens |
| Output | $1.20 / 1M tokens | $2.50 / 1M tokens |
| Cached input | $0.006 / 1M tokens | $0.09 / 1M tokens |
| Context window | 1M | 1M |
| Max output | 384k | 236k |
| Released | October 2026 | Aug 14, 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 |
| API model id | deepseek-flash | qwen3.8-27b |
Benchmarks side by side
Leader in bold.
| Benchmark | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash | Qwen3.8 27B |
|---|---|---|
| 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 Qwen3.8 27B?
Choose DeepSeek V4.1 Flash for high-volume, cost-sensitive work, writing and code generation, reused prompts and documents (RAG, agents) 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 Qwen3.8 27B?
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash is 32% cheaper than Qwen3.8 27B at the headline price ($0.525 / 1M tokens vs $0.775 / 1M tokens).
Which has the larger context window, DeepSeek V4.1 Flash or Qwen3.8 27B?
Both accept 1M tokens per request.
What is the difference between DeepSeek V4.1 Flash and Qwen3.8 27B?
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash is made by DeepSeek and Qwen3.8 27B by Alibaba Cloud (Qwen). DeepSeek V4.1 Flash is 32% cheaper than Qwen3.8 27B at the headline price ($0.525 / 1M tokens vs $0.775 / 1M tokens). Both accept 1M tokens per request. DeepSeek V4.1 Flash is the newer model (October 2026, against Aug 14, 2026).
How much do DeepSeek V4.1 Flash and Qwen3.8 27B cost per month?
At 20 million input and 5 million output tokens a month, DeepSeek V4.1 Flash costs $12.00 and Qwen3.8 27B costs $16.50, at standard rates.
Which is newer, DeepSeek V4.1 Flash or Qwen3.8 27B?
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash was released on October 2026 and Qwen3.8 27B on Aug 14, 2026.