DeepSeek V3.1 is $2.29 cheaper per 1M input tokens (91.6% lower; 11.9x difference).
API cost decision in 10 seconds
DeepSeek V3.1 vs GPT-4o
Pick DeepSeek V3.1 when budget and context both matter.
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Data confirmed:
Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens
Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output
Budget verdict
Pick DeepSeek V3.1 when budget and context both matter.
On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, DeepSeek V3.1 is estimated at $0.6 vs $7.5 for GPT-4o, saving $6.89 (91.9% lower).
Cost-first pickDeepSeek V3.1
Context-first pickDeepSeek V3.1
Sample savings$6.8991.9%
10x traffic gap$68.95
DeepSeek V3.1 is cheaper on the standard workload and also has the larger context window. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $68.95. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.
Cost sensitivity
Workload Sensitivity
DeepSeek V3.1 stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.
| Workload shape | Token mix | Better pick | DeepSeek V3.1 | GPT-4o |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input-heavy / RAG | 5M input + 500K output | DeepSeek V3.1 | $1.45 | $17.5 |
| Balanced workload | 1M input + 1M output | DeepSeek V3.1 | $1 | $12.5 |
| Output-heavy chatbot | 1M input + 5M output | DeepSeek V3.1 | $4.16 | $52.5 |
DeepSeek V3.1 is $9.21 cheaper per 1M output tokens (92.1% lower; 12.7x difference).
DeepSeek V3.1 has 35.84K more context (1.28x larger).
DeepSeek V3.1 is $6.89 cheaper on the standard workload (91.9% lower).
Estimate your workload cost
Your Workload Cost
This estimate uses normalized public API pricing per 1M tokens. It is a planning aid, not a billing quote. Verify provider pricing, limits, and terms before production use.
Quick Decision
DeepSeek V3.1 has the lower input price; DeepSeek V3.1 has the lower output price; DeepSeek V3.1 offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, DeepSeek V3.1 is cheaper for the standard workload.
For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $0.6 for DeepSeek V3.1 and $7.5 for GPT-4o.
Choose DeepSeek V3.1 when you care most about lower input-token price, lower output-token price, and larger context window.
Choose GPT-4o when its provider, model quality, latency, or availability is more important than the numeric price/context winner.
- On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, DeepSeek V3.1 is estimated at $0.6 vs $7.5 for GPT-4o, saving $6.89 (91.9% lower).
- DeepSeek V3.1 is $6.89 cheaper on the standard workload (91.9% lower).
- DeepSeek V3.1 is $2.29 cheaper per 1M input tokens (91.6% lower; 11.9x difference).
- DeepSeek V3.1 is $9.21 cheaper per 1M output tokens (92.1% lower; 12.7x difference).
- DeepSeek V3.1 has 35.84K more context (1.28x larger).
| Feature | DeepSeek V3.1 (DeepSeek) | GPT-4o (OpenAI) |
|---|---|---|
| Input Price prompt tokens per 1M | $0.21 | $2.5 |
| Completion Price per 1M tokens | $0.79 | $10 |
| Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output | $0.6 | $7.5 |
| Context Window | 163.84K | 128K |
| Release Date | ||
| Popularity | #59 | #101 |
Use-Case Decision Matrix
| Use case | Better pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Budget-constrained production | DeepSeek V3.1 | On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, DeepSeek V3.1 is estimated at $0.6 vs $7.5 for GPT-4o, saving $6.89 (91.9% lower). |
| High-volume input processing | DeepSeek V3.1 | Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill. |
| Long responses and chatbots | DeepSeek V3.1 | Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens. |
| RAG or long-document work | DeepSeek V3.1 | A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files. |
Related Alternatives
- DeepSeek V4 Flash (free) can replace DeepSeek V3.1 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash can replace DeepSeek V3.1 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.2.
- R1 Distill Qwen 32B can replace DeepSeek V3.1 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.43.
- DeepSeek V3.2 can replace DeepSeek V3.1 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.44.
- Llama 4 Scout offers 10M context with $0.23 sample workload cost.
- Grok 4.20 offers 2M context with $2.5 sample workload cost.
- Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent offers 2M context with $5 sample workload cost.
- Owl Alpha offers 1.05M context with $0 sample workload cost.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash · DeepSeek · #1
- Hy3 preview · Tencent · #2
- Claude Opus 4.7 · Anthropic · #3
- Claude Sonnet 4.6 · Anthropic · #4
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