Ling 3.0 Tiny (free) is free for input tokens while DeepSeek V4.1 Flash costs $0.15 per 1M tokens.
API cost decision in 10 seconds
NewDeepSeek V4.1 Flash vs Ling 3.0 Tiny (free)
Pick Ling 3.0 Tiny (free) for lower cost; pick DeepSeek V4.1 Flash only if the larger context window matters more.
Page updated:
Data confirmed:
Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens
Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output
Budget verdict
Pick Ling 3.0 Tiny (free) for lower cost; pick DeepSeek V4.1 Flash only if the larger context window matters more.
On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Ling 3.0 Tiny (free) is estimated at $0 vs $0.45 for DeepSeek V4.1 Flash, saving $0.45 (100% lower).
Cost-first pickLing 3.0 Tiny (free)
Context-first pickDeepSeek V4.1 Flash
Sample savings$0.45100%
10x traffic gap$4.5
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash has more context, but Ling 3.0 Tiny (free) saves $0.45 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $4.5. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.
Cost sensitivity
Workload Sensitivity
Ling 3.0 Tiny (free) stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.
| Workload shape | Token mix | Better pick | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash | Ling 3.0 Tiny (free) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input-heavy / RAG | 5M input + 500K output | Ling 3.0 Tiny (free) | $1.05 | $0 |
| Balanced workload | 1M input + 1M output | Ling 3.0 Tiny (free) | $0.75 | $0 |
| Output-heavy chatbot | 1M input + 5M output | Ling 3.0 Tiny (free) | $3.15 | $0 |
Ling 3.0 Tiny (free) is free for output tokens while DeepSeek V4.1 Flash costs $0.6 per 1M tokens.
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash has 786.43K more context (4x larger).
Ling 3.0 Tiny (free) is free for the standard workload while the other model is estimated at $0.45.
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
Ling 3.0 Tiny (free) has the lower input price; Ling 3.0 Tiny (free) has the lower output price; DeepSeek V4.1 Flash offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Ling 3.0 Tiny (free) is cheaper for the standard workload.
For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $0.45 for DeepSeek V4.1 Flash and $0 for Ling 3.0 Tiny (free).
Choose DeepSeek V4.1 Flash when you care most about larger context window.
Choose Ling 3.0 Tiny (free) when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.
- On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Ling 3.0 Tiny (free) is estimated at $0 vs $0.45 for DeepSeek V4.1 Flash, saving $0.45 (100% lower).
- Ling 3.0 Tiny (free) is free for the standard workload while the other model is estimated at $0.45.
- Ling 3.0 Tiny (free) is free for input tokens while DeepSeek V4.1 Flash costs $0.15 per 1M tokens.
- Ling 3.0 Tiny (free) is free for output tokens while DeepSeek V4.1 Flash costs $0.6 per 1M tokens.
- DeepSeek V4.1 Flash has 786.43K more context (4x larger).
| Feature | NewDeepSeek V4.1 Flash (DeepSeek) | Ling 3.0 Tiny (free) (inclusionAI) |
|---|---|---|
| Input Price prompt tokens per 1M | $0.15 | $0 |
| Completion Price per 1M tokens | $0.6 | $0 |
| Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output | $0.45 | $0 |
| Context Window | 1.05M | 262.14K |
| Release Date |
Use-Case Decision Matrix
| Use case | Better pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Budget-constrained production | Ling 3.0 Tiny (free) | On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Ling 3.0 Tiny (free) is estimated at $0 vs $0.45 for DeepSeek V4.1 Flash, saving $0.45 (100% lower). |
| High-volume input processing | Ling 3.0 Tiny (free) | Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill. |
| Long responses and chatbots | Ling 3.0 Tiny (free) | Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens. |
| RAG or long-document work | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash | A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files. |
Related Alternatives
- DeepSeek V4 Flash (free) can replace DeepSeek V4.1 Flash when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash 0731 can replace DeepSeek V4.1 Flash when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.08.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash 0423 can replace DeepSeek V4.1 Flash when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.13.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash Vision Exp (batch) can replace DeepSeek V4.1 Flash when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.28.
- GLM 5.3 Flash offers 1.31M context with $0.4 sample workload cost.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash 0731 offers 1.31M context with $0.08 sample workload cost.
- GLM Flash Latest offers 1.31M context with $0.2 sample workload cost.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash Latest offers 1.31M context with $0.08 sample workload cost.
- Hy4 preview · Tencent · #1
- GPT-5.6 Luna · OpenAI · #2
- GLM 5.3 Flash · Z.ai · #3
- DeepSeek V4 Flash 0731 · DeepSeek · #4
Cheaper alternatives
Review low-cost models sorted by a standard 1M input plus 500K output workload.
Open cheapest modelsLarger context alternatives
Find models with larger context windows for RAG, long documents, and codebase review.
Open largest context modelsProvider catalogs
Compare models within provider hubs before choosing a final API vendor.
Open provider hubsDeepSeek catalog
Review all tracked DeepSeek models before deciding whether this matchup is the right shortlist.
Open DeepSeek modelsinclusionAI catalog
Check other inclusionAI models with comparable pricing, context, or release timing.
Open inclusionAI modelsDeepSeek V4.1 Flash is a sparse mixture-of-experts model from DeepSeek, and the first built on the company's Causal Encoder-Decoder (CED) architecture. It activates 8B parameters on input and 16B on...
Ling 3.0 Tiny is a mixture-of-experts model from InclusionAI, with 1.3B active parameters out of 7.9B total. It is designed for responsive agents, instruction following, and multi-turn conversations, with switchable...