Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite vs DeepSeek V4.1 Flash: pricing compared
For a 30-step coding agent run, DeepSeek V4.1 Flash is 2.0x cheaper ($0.09 vs $0.17). Prices verified 2026-10-18.
| Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash | |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | DeepSeek | |
| Input / 1M | $0.30 | $0.30 |
| Cached input / 1M | $0.03 | $0.006 |
| Output / 1M | $2.50 | $1.20 |
| Batch discount | 50% | — |
| Context window | 1.05M | 1M |
| Long-context tier | none | none |
Cost on real workloads
| Workload | Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| 10,000 chatbot replies 2,000 input + 400 output tokens each, 50% of the prompt cached | $13.30 | $7.86 |
| One 30-step coding agent run 12K system + tools prompt, 1K output and 3K tool result per step, caching on | $0.17 | $0.09 |
| 1M documents classified (batch) 600 input + 20 output tokens each, batch API where available | $115 | $204 |
Price is only half the decision: a cheaper model that needs more steps or retries can cost more per finished task. Run your own numbers in the calculator (both models pinned), or see how both rank in the use-case guides.
FAQ
Is Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite cheaper than DeepSeek V4.1 Flash?
For a typical 30-step coding agent run with caching, DeepSeek V4.1 Flash costs $0.09 and Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite costs $0.17, so DeepSeek V4.1 Flash is 2.0x cheaper. Per 1M tokens, Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite is $0.30 / $2.50 and DeepSeek V4.1 Flash is $0.30 / $1.20.
Which has the bigger context window?
Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite: 1,048,576 tokens. DeepSeek V4.1 Flash: 1,000,000 tokens.