Inkling Small is $0.67 cheaper per 1M input tokens (59.9% lower; 2.49x difference).
API cost decision in 10 seconds
NewDeepSeek V4 Pro 0813 vs Inkling Small
Pick Inkling Small when budget is the priority.
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Data confirmed:
Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens
Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output
Budget verdict
Pick Inkling Small when budget is the priority.
On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Inkling Small is estimated at $1.05 vs $2.81 for DeepSeek V4 Pro 0813, saving $1.76 (62.6% lower).
Cost-first pickInkling Small
Context-first pickBoth models
Sample savings$1.7662.6%
10x traffic gap$17.55
The reported context window is tied, so cost and provider fit carry more weight. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $17.55. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.
Cost sensitivity
Workload Sensitivity
Inkling Small stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.
| Workload shape | Token mix | Better pick | DeepSeek V4 Pro 0813 | Inkling Small |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input-heavy / RAG | 5M input + 500K output | Inkling Small | $7.29 | $2.85 |
| Balanced workload | 1M input + 1M output | Inkling Small | $4.49 | $1.65 |
| Output-heavy chatbot | 1M input + 5M output | Inkling Small | $17.95 | $6.45 |
Inkling Small is $2.17 cheaper per 1M output tokens (64.3% lower; 2.81x difference).
Both models report the same context window at 1.05M tokens.
Inkling Small is $1.76 cheaper on the standard workload (62.6% 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
Inkling Small has the lower input price; Inkling Small has the lower output price; both models report the same context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Inkling Small is cheaper for the standard workload.
For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $2.81 for DeepSeek V4 Pro 0813 and $1.05 for Inkling Small.
Choose DeepSeek V4 Pro 0813 when its provider, model quality, latency, or availability is more important than the numeric price/context winner.
Choose Inkling Small when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.
- On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Inkling Small is estimated at $1.05 vs $2.81 for DeepSeek V4 Pro 0813, saving $1.76 (62.6% lower).
- Inkling Small is $1.76 cheaper on the standard workload (62.6% lower).
- Inkling Small is $0.67 cheaper per 1M input tokens (59.9% lower; 2.49x difference).
- Inkling Small is $2.17 cheaper per 1M output tokens (64.3% lower; 2.81x difference).
- Both models report the same context window at 1.05M tokens.
| Feature | NewDeepSeek V4 Pro 0813 (DeepSeek) | Inkling Small (Thinking Machines) |
|---|---|---|
| Input Price prompt tokens per 1M | $1.122 | $0.45 |
| Completion Price per 1M tokens | $3.366 | $1.2 |
| Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output | $2.81 | $1.05 |
| Context Window | 1.05M | 1.05M |
| Release Date |
Use-Case Decision Matrix
| Use case | Better pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Budget-constrained production | Inkling Small | On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Inkling Small is estimated at $1.05 vs $2.81 for DeepSeek V4 Pro 0813, saving $1.76 (62.6% lower). |
| High-volume input processing | Inkling Small | Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill. |
| Long responses and chatbots | Inkling Small | Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens. |
| RAG or long-document work | Tie | 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 Pro 0813 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash 0423 can replace DeepSeek V4 Pro 0813 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.1.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash 0731 can replace DeepSeek V4 Pro 0813 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.17.
- R1 Distill Qwen 32B can replace DeepSeek V4 Pro 0813 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.43.
- Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent offers 2M context with $2.5 sample workload cost.
- Grok 4.20 offers 2M context with $2.5 sample workload cost.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash 0731 offers 1.31M context with $0.17 sample workload cost.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash Latest offers 1.31M context with $0.11 sample workload cost.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash 0731 · DeepSeek · #1
- MiMo-V2.5 · Xiaomi · #2
- Hy3 · Tencent · #3
- Ox Alpha · stealth · #4
Cheaper alternatives
Review low-cost models sorted by a standard 1M input plus 500K output workload.
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Open provider hubsDeepSeek catalog
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Open DeepSeek modelsThinking Machines catalog
Check other Thinking Machines models with comparable pricing, context, or release timing.
Open Thinking Machines modelsDeepSeek V4 Pro 0813 is a large-scale mixture-of-experts model from DeepSeek. This is the GA release of DeepSeek V4 Pro.
Inkling Small is an open-weight multimodal mixture-of-experts model from Thinking Machines Lab, with 12B active parameters out of 276B total. It is positioned as the smaller, more efficient member of...