Which model is better: DeepSeek-R1 or DeepSeek-V4 Flash?

DeepSeek-V4 Flash is 74.5% cheaper for input tokens ($0.14 vs. $0.55 per 1M tokens) and $0.56 vs. $2.19 for output tokens (3.9x cost difference). In terms of operational performance, DeepSeek-V4 Flash delivers faster response latency with 150ms TTFT (1650ms faster than DeepSeek-R1). DeepSeek-V4 Flash leads coding benchmarks at 62.4% SWE-bench vs. 49.2% for DeepSeek-R1.
Verified daily via automated API latency tests and official documentation.

Verified Performance & Unit Economics Delta

Daily synchronized metrics from synthetic latency endpoints and benchmark evaluations.

Metric / Dimension DeepSeek-R1 DeepSeek-V4 Flash Net Delta / Advantage
Input Cost / 1M Tokens $0.55 $0.14 DeepSeek-V4 Flash is 3.9x cheaper
Output Cost / 1M Tokens $2.19 $0.56 DeepSeek-V4 Flash (291.1% lower)
Avg TTFT Response Latency 1800ms 150ms DeepSeek-V4 Flash (+1650ms faster)
SWE-bench Verified (Coding) 49.2% 62.4% DeepSeek-V4 Flash (+13.2% lead)
Inference Value Score (IVR) 99.9 / 100 99.9 / 100 DeepSeek-V4 Flash (+0 pts)

Interactive Monthly Token Economics & ROI Forecaster

Model your expected production workload across prompt (input) and completion (output) tokens.

Live Calculation Engine
10.0M Tokens
100K 50M 250M 500M+
2.5M Tokens
100K 10M 50M 100M+

Estimated Monthly Spend

DeepSeek-R1 $5.45

$0.55/1M in · $2.19/1M out

DeepSeek-V4 Flash $67.50

$0.14/1M in · $0.56/1M out

Projected Monthly Cost Reduction
$62.05 / mo
(91.9% lower cost)
A

When to Choose DeepSeek-R1

Choose DeepSeek-R1 when you need Open-weights chain-of-thought reasoning for complex mathematics, algorithmic programming, and scientific research. and have an infrastructure budget aligned with $0.55/1M tokens.

B

When to Choose DeepSeek-V4 Flash

Choose DeepSeek-V4 Flash when you need Ultra-low-cost open-weights reasoning and coding with 1M context at unprecedented token generation speeds. and prioritize DeepSeek ecosystem integration at $0.14/1M tokens.

Related Questions & Decision Factors

Which is cheaper: DeepSeek-R1 or DeepSeek-V4 Flash?

DeepSeek-V4 Flash is cheaper at $0.14/1M input tokens compared to $0.55/1M for DeepSeek-R1.

Which model has lower latency: DeepSeek-R1 or DeepSeek-V4 Flash?

DeepSeek-V4 Flash delivers faster response times with an average TTFT of 150ms vs 1800ms for DeepSeek-R1.

When should you choose DeepSeek-R1?

Choose DeepSeek-R1 when you need Open-weights chain-of-thought reasoning for complex mathematics, algorithmic programming, and scientific research. and have an infrastructure budget aligned with $0.55/1M tokens.

When should you choose DeepSeek-V4 Flash?

Choose DeepSeek-V4 Flash when you need Ultra-low-cost open-weights reasoning and coding with 1M context at unprecedented token generation speeds. and prioritize DeepSeek ecosystem integration at $0.14/1M tokens.

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