Model comparison
DeepSeek V4 Flash vs GPT-5.2
DeepSeek against OpenAI, compared on context, price, and verified benchmark results.
Catalog record checked September 3, 2026Individual provider fields may changeEvidence confidence: High — see receipts below
DeepSeek
DeepSeek V4 Flash
Balanced · Open weights
OpenAI
GPT-5.2
Balanced
| Specification | DeepSeek V4 Flash | GPT-5.2 |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | DeepSeek | OpenAI |
| Tier | Balanced | Balanced |
| Context window | Winner: 1M | 400K |
| Max output | Winner: 384K | 128K |
| Input / 1M tokens | Winner: $0.44 | $1.75 |
| Output / 1M tokens | Winner: $1.32 | $14 |
| Weights | Open | Closed |
| Parameters | 284B total / 13B active (MoE) | Not disclosedUnverified |
| Reasoning levels | low, high, max | none, low, medium, high, xhigh, max |
| Modalities | text | text, image |
| License | MIT | Not disclosedUnverified |
| API model id | deepseek-v4-flash | gpt-5.2 |
| Released | April 24, 2026 | December 11, 2025 |
| Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index (2026-08-14) | 49 | Not verifiedUnverified |
| Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index [high] (2026-08-14) | Not verifiedUnverified | 50 |
| SWE-bench Verified (2026-04-24) | 79 | Not verifiedUnverified |
| GPQA Diamond (2026-04-24) | 88.1 | Not verifiedUnverified |
| Humanity's Last Exam (2026-04-24) | 45.1 | Not verifiedUnverified |
| MMLU-Pro (2026-04-24) | 86.2 | Not verifiedUnverified |
Prices are USD per million tokens at standard rates, excluding batch and caching discounts. Bold indicates the better figure where one is objectively better. Values we could not confirm from the provider are shown as “Not verified” rather than estimated.
Benchmark receipts
- 2026-08-14: Artificial AnalysisComposite index blending reasoning, knowledge, and coding evals into one 0–100 score. Comparability: directly comparable — AA occasionally rebaselines the index scale between snapshots — a score captured on one date is only comparable to same-snapshot scores (check measuredAt).
- 2026-04-24: DeepSeek family HF model card (vendor, Think Max, exact match)Real GitHub issue resolution: does the model's patch pass the hidden tests. Comparability: comparable with caveat — Post-audit vendor claims and pre-audit scores sit on different task trust levels; scaffolding (agent harness, compute budget) also dominates results. Never aggregate across scaffolds.
Pricing tiers: DeepSeek V4 Flash: Official peak rates $0.44/$1.32 per MTok; off-peak $0.22/$0.66 (cache hit $0.014). Open weights (MIT). 284B/13B active MoE. · GPT-5.2: Standard $1.75/$14 per MTok; cached input $0.175/MTok; batch $0.875/$7. (gpt-5.2-pro exists at $21/$168.)
DeepSeek V4 Flash
DeepSeek V4 Flash is the efficient open-weight (MIT) sibling of V4 Pro with a 1M-token context.
Best for
- Open-weight deployments
- Cost-sensitive inference
- High-volume serving
Watch out
Peak/off-peak billing means the hour you run matters; off-peak is half price.
GPT-5.2
GPT-5.2 was OpenAI's previous flagship — still a strong, widely integrated general model at $1.75/$14.
Best for
- General production
- Agentic workflows
- Knowledge work
Watch out
Two generations behind GPT-5.6; capable but no longer flagship.
When the cheaper one wins
DeepSeek V4 Flash is cheaper on output at $1.32 per million tokens against $14 for GPT-5.2 — about 11×. Use the cheaper tier for classification, extraction, summarisation, and any task where the expensive model’s extra score does not change the accepted output. The expensive one only pays if your hardest task actually fails on the cheap tier. These are standard-tier API rates, excluding batch and cache discounts.
Run the model pickerEvidence confidence: High
How strong and complete the evidence behind this comparison is — not a prediction of which model is better.
- Pricing verified on both sides — Input and output rates are verified for both models.
- 4/5 core specs verified on both sides — Not published for at least one side: parameter count.
- 1 shared named benchmark (scores match) — Measured on: Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index — scores are equivalent, so the benchmark does not separate the pair.
- Verified within the last 90 days — Newest catalog check was 8 days ago.
- Both models carry source citations — Each side has at least two catalog sources on record.
Source receipts
Each catalog figure was checked against the provider or an independent second source on the date shown.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: DeepSeek — V4 news (accessed 2026-08-29)
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: DeepSeek API pricing (accessed 2026-08-29)
- GPT-5.2: OpenAI — Introducing GPT-5.2 (accessed 2026-08-29)
- GPT-5.2: OpenAI API pricing (gpt-5.2 $1.75/$14) (accessed 2026-08-29)
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- Amazon Nova 2 Pro vs DeepSeek V4 Flash
- Amazon Nova 2 Pro vs GPT-5.2
- Claude Sonnet 5 vs DeepSeek V4 Flash
Diving deeper on one model? DeepSeek V4 Flash · GPT-5.2
Common questions
DeepSeek V4 Flash vs GPT-5.2
Answered from the verified figures on this page rather than general guidance.
Is DeepSeek V4 Flash or GPT-5.2 cheaper for input?
DeepSeek V4 Flash is cheaper at $0.44 per million input tokens, against $1.75 for GPT-5.2 — roughly 4.0× the price. Output tokens usually dominate a real bill, so weigh the output rate more heavily than the input rate. These are base rates; DeepSeek V4 Flash has tiered pricing: Official peak rates $0.44/$1.32 per MTok; off-peak $0.22/$0.66 (cache hit $0.014). Open weights (MIT). 284B/13B active MoE. GPT-5.2 has tiered pricing: Standard $1.75/$14 per MTok; cached input $0.175/MTok; batch $0.875/$7. (gpt-5.2-pro exists at $21/$168.)
Is DeepSeek V4 Flash or GPT-5.2 cheaper for output?
DeepSeek V4 Flash is cheaper at $1.32 per million output tokens, against $14 for GPT-5.2 — roughly 11× the price. Output tokens usually dominate a real bill, so weigh the output rate more heavily than the input rate. These are base rates; DeepSeek V4 Flash has tiered pricing: Official peak rates $0.44/$1.32 per MTok; off-peak $0.22/$0.66 (cache hit $0.014). Open weights (MIT). 284B/13B active MoE. GPT-5.2 has tiered pricing: Standard $1.75/$14 per MTok; cached input $0.175/MTok; batch $0.875/$7. (gpt-5.2-pro exists at $21/$168.)
Which has the larger context window, DeepSeek V4 Flash or GPT-5.2?
DeepSeek V4 Flash accepts 1M tokens against 400K for GPT-5.2. This only matters if you routinely send very long documents or large codebases.
Do DeepSeek V4 Flash and GPT-5.2 support the same reasoning levels?
DeepSeek V4 Flash exposes low, high, max, while GPT-5.2 exposes none, low, medium, high, xhigh, max.
Should I use DeepSeek V4 Flash or GPT-5.2?
Both sit in the balanced tier, so the choice usually comes down to price and context rather than capability. DeepSeek V4 Flash suits open-weight deployments; GPT-5.2 suits general production.
Can I self-host DeepSeek V4 Flash or GPT-5.2?
DeepSeek V4 Flash publishes open weights, but self-hosting and third-party provider access depend on the licence, hardware, serving support, and availability. GPT-5.2 is a closed model whose supported access paths are controlled by its provider.
Next step
Choosing between them
The verified figures that separate this pair, computed from the catalog rather than restated boilerplate.
- Input price: DeepSeek V4 Flash costs $0.44 per 1M tokens versus $1.75 for GPT-5.2 — a 4x difference at the headline tier.
- Context: DeepSeek V4 Flash takes 1M against 400K for GPT-5.2 — only decisive if your prompts approach the smaller window.
- Measured capability: GPT-5.2 leads Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index 50 to 49 (measured 2026-08-14).
- Deployment: DeepSeek V4 Flash publishes weights you can self-host; the other is API-only.
Choosing a harness rather than a model — Cursor, Copilot, Claude Code, Windsurf, or Lovable? Compare agentic harnesses · Latest releases.