DeepSeek vs SambaNova Cloud: Token Pricing, Speed & Intelligence

Full comparison of DeepSeek and SambaNova Cloud — live token pricing, latency, throughput, context window, strengths, weaknesses, and best use cases. Rates sourced from public APIs — verify before use.

DeepSeek

DeepSeek V4 Pro and V4.1-Flash — 1M context, open-weight, peak/off-peak pricing

DeepSeek's September 2026 API offers two models: DeepSeek V4 Pro (deepseek-v4-pro-0813, frontier) and DeepSeek V4.1-Flash (deepseek-flash, efficient). Peak hours (01:00–10:00 UTC weekdays) are 2× the off-peak rate. Both models support 1M token context, JSON output, tool calls, and the Anthropic API format.

Cost-efficiencyReasoningCodingOpen-sourceSelf-hostingLong-context

Proprietary models

SambaNova Cloud

High-throughput inference on SambaNova RDU chips — gpt-oss-120b, GLM-5.3, Llama

SambaNova Cloud runs inference on SambaNova's proprietary Reconfigurable Dataflow Unit (RDU) chips, delivering very high throughput (800+ tokens/sec on gpt-oss-120b). The catalog covers gpt-oss-120b, GLM-5.3, MiniMax-M3, DeepSeek-V3.2, Meta-Llama-3.3-70B, and Gemma 4 31B. Pricing is PAYG with prompt caching on select models.

High-throughput inferenceCost-sensitive workloadsOpen-weight models

Open-weight hostHosts open weights

Key metric comparison

Cheapest input ($/1M)

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Cheapest output ($/1M)

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Peak throughput

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Best latency (TTFT)

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Intelligence score

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Context window

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Live token pricing

Strengths and weaknesses

DeepSeek

V4 Pro off-peak: competitive per-1M pricing — frontier intelligence at a fraction of Western provider cost

V4.1-Flash off-peak: fast and cost-efficient — cheapest DeepSeek model tier

Both models open-weight — can be self-hosted

Peak/off-peak pricing: off-peak is 50% cheaper than peak

1M token context window on both models

Supports OpenAI and Anthropic API formats

Data residency in China — may not meet GDPR/compliance requirements

API reliability can lag Western providers during peak demand

V4.1-Flash does not support vision inputs

SambaNova Cloud

Proprietary RDU chips deliver very high throughput — 800+ tokens/sec on gpt-oss-120b

Competitive pricing on gpt-oss-120b ($0.22/$0.59 per 1M)

Prompt caching on GLM-5.3 (cached input at $0.14/1M)

Strong open-weight model catalog: Llama, DeepSeek, Gemma, MiniMax

Smaller model catalog vs OpenRouter or Together AI

No proprietary frontier models — inference-only platform

RDU architecture may behave differently from GPU inference for some workloads

Key differentiators

DeepSeek

DeepSeek V4 Pro delivers frontier-class intelligence at competitive off-peak rates — open-weight, 1M context, and compatible with both OpenAI and Anthropic SDKs.

SambaNova Cloud

Proprietary RDU chips deliver industry-leading throughput on open-weight models at competitive per-token rates.

Frequently asked questions

DeepSeek FAQs

What are the latest DeepSeek models?

DeepSeek's September 2026 API offers DeepSeek V4 Pro (deepseek-v4-pro-0813) and DeepSeek V4.1-Flash (deepseek-flash). Both support 1M token context windows, JSON output, tool calls, and the Anthropic API format.

What is DeepSeek V4 Pro pricing?

DeepSeek V4 Pro uses peak/off-peak pricing — off-peak rates apply on weekends and Chinese public holidays; peak hours (01:00–10:00 UTC weekdays) are 2× the off-peak rate. Cache hits are billed at a reduced rate. Check api-docs.deepseek.com/quick_start/pricing for current rates.

What is DeepSeek V4.1-Flash pricing?

DeepSeek V4.1-Flash uses the same peak/off-peak structure as V4 Pro, with off-peak rates significantly cheaper than peak. It also supports vision inputs. Check api-docs.deepseek.com/quick_start/pricing for current rates.

SambaNova Cloud FAQs

What makes SambaNova Cloud different?

SambaNova runs inference on its own Reconfigurable Dataflow Unit (RDU) chips rather than NVIDIA GPUs. This delivers very high throughput — over 800 tokens/sec on gpt-oss-120b — at competitive per-token rates.

What models does SambaNova Cloud offer?

As of October 2026: gpt-oss-120b ($0.22/$0.59), GLM-5.3 ($1.40/$4.40, cached $0.14), MiniMax-M3 ($0.60/$2.40, cached $0.06), DeepSeek-V3.2 ($3.00/$4.50), Meta-Llama-3.3-70B ($0.60/$1.20), and Gemma 4 31B ($0.38/$1.15). See cloud.sambanova.ai/plans/pricing for current rates.

Does SambaNova offer prompt caching?

Yes, on GLM-5.3 (cached input $0.14/1M vs $1.40/1M standard) and MiniMax-M3 (cached input $0.06/1M vs $0.60/1M standard).

Provider resources

DeepSeek

Provider page

Website

Pricing Docs

SambaNova Cloud

Provider page

Website

Pricing

DeepSeek — DeepSeek V4 Pro and V4.1-Flash — 1M context, open-weight, peak/off-peak pricing

DeepSeek V4 Pro delivers frontier-class intelligence at competitive off-peak rates — open-weight, 1M context, and compatible with both OpenAI and Anthropic SDKs.

SambaNova Cloud — High-throughput inference on SambaNova RDU chips — gpt-oss-120b, GLM-5.3, Llama

Proprietary RDU chips deliver industry-leading throughput on open-weight models at competitive per-token rates.

Key strengths compared

DeepSeek

V4 Pro off-peak: competitive per-1M pricing — frontier intelligence at a fraction of Western provider cost
V4.1-Flash off-peak: fast and cost-efficient — cheapest DeepSeek model tier
Both models open-weight — can be self-hosted

Data residency in China — may not meet GDPR/compliance requirements
API reliability can lag Western providers during peak demand

SambaNova Cloud

Proprietary RDU chips deliver very high throughput — 800+ tokens/sec on gpt-oss-120b
Competitive pricing on gpt-oss-120b ($0.22/$0.59 per 1M)
Prompt caching on GLM-5.3 (cached input at $0.14/1M)

Smaller model catalog vs OpenRouter or Together AI
No proprietary frontier models — inference-only platform

Key weaknesses compared

DeepSeek

Data residency in China — may not meet GDPR/compliance requirements
API reliability can lag Western providers during peak demand
V4.1-Flash does not support vision inputs

SambaNova Cloud

Smaller model catalog vs OpenRouter or Together AI
No proprietary frontier models — inference-only platform
RDU architecture may behave differently from GPU inference for some workloads

Provider category context

DeepSeek is a frontier lab, founded in 2023. SambaNova Cloud is a inference api, founded in 2017. DeepSeek as a frontier lab trains and serves its own proprietary models. SambaNova Cloud as an inference API provider hosts open-weight models — typically offering lower prices for equivalent capability tiers but without access to proprietary frontier models.

How to choose between them

Choose DeepSeek if you need v4 pro off-peak: competitive per-1m pricing — frontier intelligence at a fraction of western provider cost. Choose SambaNova Cloud if you need High-throughput inference. For high-volume production workloads, run a cost comparison using the token pricing table above with your actual prompt/completion token ratio — the cheapest provider depends heavily on your input-to-output token ratio.