DeepSeek R1 vs DeepSeek V4 Flash
How do these models stack up? Below is an expert side-by-side comparison of specifications, context window capacity, live pricing per million tokens, and standardized benchmark scores for DeepSeek R1 and DeepSeek V4 Flash.
DeepSeek R1
A premier reasoning model employing large-scale reinforcement learning. Displays specialized math, coding, and logical validation capabilities comparable to OpenAI's o1.
DeepSeek V4 Flash
DeepSeek V4 Flash is an efficiency-optimized Mixture-of-Experts model from DeepSeek with 284B total parameters and 13B activated parameters, supporting a 1M-token context window. It is designed for fast inference and...
Technical Specifications
| Specification | DeepSeek R1 | DeepSeek V4 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | DeepSeek | DeepSeek |
| Context Window | 163,840 tokens | 1,048,576 tokens |
| Agent Suitability | 78/100 | 86/100 |
| Time to First Token (TTFT) | 1800 ms | 120 ms |
| Deployment Model | managed api | managed api |
| Production Stability | stable | stable |
| API Available | Yes | Yes |
| Released Date | 2025-01-20 | 2026-04-24 |
API Pricing Comparison
Input Price per Million Tokens
DeepSeek R1
$0.70
DeepSeek V4 Flash
$0.09
Output Price per Million Tokens
DeepSeek R1
$2.50
DeepSeek V4 Flash
$0.18
Want to test both models live?
Run side-by-side prompt prompts in our dynamic Sandbox. Check execution speeds, latency metrics, and compute actual costs in real-time.
Benchmark Performance Metrics
Scores show the raw performance percentages verified across key evaluation suites. Higher bars indicate superior accuracy and capability in that domain.
DeepSeek R1 Quirks & Gotchas
- ▸Reasoning model — not designed for high-frequency tool calling
- ▸Pair with a smaller model (V4 Flash) for routing and use R1 for complex reasoning only
DeepSeek V4 Flash Quirks & Gotchas
- ▸Best cost-per-token ratio of any hosted API — ideal for high-throughput pipelines
- ▸Lower agentic performance vs V4 Pro — route complex tool calls accordingly