Head to head
deepseek-v4-pro vs gemini-3.5-flash-lite: API Pricing Compared
On a typical chat turn of 10K input and 1K output tokens, gemini-3.5-flash-lite costs $0.00550 against $0.00858 for deepseek-v4-pro, making it 36% cheaper. Both rates are read daily from the providers' own pricing pages.
Side by side
| deepseek-v4-pro | gemini-3.5-flash-lite | |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | DeepSeek | |
| Input / 1M tokens | $0.66 | $0.30 |
| Output / 1M tokens | $1.98 | $2.50 |
| Context window | 1M | Not published |
| Blended cost / chat turn | $0.00858 | $0.00550 |
| Price verified | 2026-08-17 | 2026-08-06 |
Cost by workload
The headline rate rarely decides the bill. These are the same four workloads priced against both models.
| Workload | Tokens | deepseek-v4-pro | gemini-3.5-flash-lite |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single short call | 2K in, 500 out | $0.00231 | $0.00185 |
| Typical chat turn | 10K in, 1K out | $0.00858 | $0.00550 |
| Long document pass | 100K in, 2K out | $0.070 | $0.035 |
| 1,000 chat turns | 10M in, 1M out | $8.58 | $5.50 |
Which one actually wins
There is no single answer, because gemini-3.5-flash-lite has the cheaper input rate while deepseek-v4-pro has the cheaper output rate. The crossover sits at 69 output tokens per 100 input tokens. Below that, gemini-3.5-flash-lite is cheaper. Above it, deepseek-v4-pro is. A retrieval or summarisation job sits far below the line and a code generator or agent loop sits above it, which is how two teams can run the same comparison and correctly reach opposite conclusions.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, deepseek-v4-pro or gemini-3.5-flash-lite?
gemini-3.5-flash-lite is cheaper for a typical chat turn of 10K input and 1K output tokens, at $0.00550 against $0.00858 for deepseek-v4-pro, a difference of 36%.
How much does deepseek-v4-pro cost per 1M tokens?
DeepSeek charges $0.66 per 1M input tokens and $1.98 per 1M output tokens for deepseek-v4-pro, verified 2026-08-17.
How much does gemini-3.5-flash-lite cost per 1M tokens?
Google charges $0.30 per 1M input tokens and $2.50 per 1M output tokens for gemini-3.5-flash-lite, verified 2026-08-06.
Does gemini-3.5-flash-lite stay cheaper for every workload?
No. gemini-3.5-flash-lite has the cheaper input rate and deepseek-v4-pro the cheaper output rate, so the answer flips with workload shape. deepseek-v4-pro wins once output tokens exceed 69% of input tokens, which is why a summariser and a code generator can pick different models.
Full pricing pages
Maintained by Jordan Hale, TechFastForward. Both prices are read daily from the official provider pages and recorded only when they move. Compare any other pair on the LLM API Pricing Tracker.