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DeepSeek vs Google: Token Pricing, Speed & Intelligence

Full comparison of DeepSeek and Google — 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

Google

Gemini 3.8 Flash — plus Veo 3.1 video, Lyria 3.5 music, and Gemini Omni

Google DeepMind's Gemini 3.x family spans Gemini 3.8 Flash (latest, promotional pricing until Dec 31 2026), Gemini 3.7 Flash, Gemini 3.6 Flash, Gemini 3.5 Flash, and Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview. The platform has expanded far beyond text: Veo 3.1 for video generation, Lyria 3.5 for music generation, Gemini Omni for video generation, and Gemini Embedding 2 for multimodal embeddings. Gemma 4 open-weight models are free via the API. Check the live table for current per-token rates.

VisionLong-contextCodingMultimodalVideo generationMusic generationCost-efficiency
Proprietary modelsHosts open weights

Key metric comparison

DeepSeek
Google
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

Google

Gemini 3.8 Flash: promotional pricing until Dec 31 2026 — check live table for current rates
Wide multimodal API: text, image, audio, video generation, music, speech, transcription
Veo 3.1 video generation (720p/1080p/4K)
Gemma 4 open-weight models free via API
Free tier via Google AI Studio for prototyping
Google Search grounding: 5,000 free requests/month on Gemini 3.x
Promotional pricing expires Jan 1 2027 — prices double
Complex tiered pricing based on context length (≤200K vs >200K)
API reliability has historically lagged OpenAI

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.

Google

A wide multimodal AI API — text, image, video (Veo 3.1), music (Lyria 3.5), speech, transcription, and robotics under one key, with Gemini 3.8 Flash at promotional pricing until end of 2026.

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.

Google FAQs

What are the latest Google Gemini models?

As of September 2026, the Gemini 3.x family includes Gemini 3.8 Flash (newest, promotional pricing until December 31, 2026), Gemini 3.7 Flash, Gemini 3.6 Flash, Gemini 3.5 Flash, and Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview. Check ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/pricing for current rates.

What is Gemini 3.8 Flash pricing?

Gemini 3.8 Flash is on promotional pricing until December 31, 2026, with standard rates applying from January 1, 2027. Batch pricing is 50% off. Check ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/pricing for current rates.

Does Google offer video generation via API?

Yes. Veo 3.1 generates video at 720p, 1080p, and 4K resolutions. Gemini Omni Flash is also available for video generation. Check ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/pricing for current rates.

Provider resources

DeepSeek

Provider page
Website
PricingDocs

Google

Provider page
Website
PricingDocs

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.

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

Google — Gemini 3.8 Flash — plus Veo 3.1 video, Lyria 3.5 music, and Gemini Omni

Google DeepMind's Gemini 3.x family spans Gemini 3.8 Flash (latest, promotional pricing until Dec 31 2026), Gemini 3.7 Flash, Gemini 3.6 Flash, Gemini 3.5 Flash, and Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview. The platform has expanded far beyond text: Veo 3.1 for video generation, Lyria 3.5 for music generation, Gemini Omni for video generation, and Gemini Embedding 2 for multimodal embeddings. Gemma 4 open-weight models are free via the API. Check the live table for current per-token rates.

A wide multimodal AI API — text, image, video (Veo 3.1), music (Lyria 3.5), speech, transcription, and robotics under one key, with Gemini 3.8 Flash at promotional pricing until end of 2026.

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

Google

  • Gemini 3.8 Flash: promotional pricing until Dec 31 2026 — check live table for current rates
  • Wide multimodal API: text, image, audio, video generation, music, speech, transcription
  • Veo 3.1 video generation (720p/1080p/4K)
  • Promotional pricing expires Jan 1 2027 — prices double
  • Complex tiered pricing based on context length (≤200K vs >200K)

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

Google

  • Promotional pricing expires Jan 1 2027 — prices double
  • Complex tiered pricing based on context length (≤200K vs >200K)
  • API reliability has historically lagged OpenAI

Provider category context

DeepSeek is a frontier lab, founded in 2023. Google is a frontier lab, founded in 1998. Both are frontier lab providers — the comparison is primarily about pricing, model selection, and feature differentiation within the same tier.

How to choose between them

Both DeepSeek and Google are frontier labs with proprietary models. Choose based on benchmark performance for your specific task: DeepSeek leads on v4 pro off-peak: competitive per-1m pricing — frontier intelligence at a fraction of western provider cost, while Google leads on gemini 3.8 flash: promotional pricing until dec 31 2026 — check live table for current rates. For cost-sensitive workloads, compare the cheapest model tier from each provider in the pricing table above — the gap between efficient-tier models is often larger than between flagship models.