Code Davinci 002 vs DeepSeek V4
Code Davinci 002 (2021) and DeepSeek V4 (2026) are agentic coding models from OpenAI and DeepSeek. Code Davinci 002 ships a not-yet-sourced context window, while DeepSeek V4 ships a 1M-token context window. This comparison covers specs, pricing, capabilities, benchmarks, provider availability, and production fit. It focuses on practical selection signals rather than broad model-family marketing. The goal is to make the tradeoff clear before deeper testing.
DeepSeek V4 is safer overall; choose Code Davinci 002 when coding workflow support matters.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2021-08-16 | 2026-04-24 |
| Context window | — | 1M |
| Parameters | — | 1.6T |
| Architecture | decoder only | mixture of experts |
| License | Proprietary | MIT |
| Knowledge cutoff | - | - |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | Code Davinci 002 | DeepSeek V4 |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | - | - |
| Output price | - | - |
| Providers | - | - |
Pricing not yet sourced for either model.
Capabilities
| Capability | Code Davinci 002 | DeepSeek V4 |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | No | No |
| Multimodal | No | No |
| Reasoning | No | Yes |
| Function calling | No | Yes |
| Tool use | No | Yes |
| Structured outputs | No | Yes |
| Code execution | No | No |
Benchmarks
No shared benchmark rows are currently sourced for this pair.
Deep dive
The capability footprint differs most on reasoning mode: DeepSeek V4, function calling: DeepSeek V4, tool use: DeepSeek V4, and structured outputs: DeepSeek V4. Both models share the core language-model surface, so the practical split is not just feature count. Use those differences to decide whether the page is about raw model quality, agentic coding support, multimodal ingestion, or predictable structured API behavior.
Pricing coverage is uneven: Code Davinci 002 has no token price sourced yet and DeepSeek V4 has no token price sourced yet. Provider availability is 0 tracked routes versus 0. Treat unknown pricing as an integration gap, then verify the route you will actually call before estimating production spend.
Choose Code Davinci 002 when coding workflow support are central to the workload. Choose DeepSeek V4 when reasoning depth are more important. For production, rerun your own prompts through the exact provider, region, and tool stack you plan to ship. This keeps the decision grounded in measurable tradeoffs instead of brand-level assumptions. It also helps separate model capability from provider packaging, which can change cost and latency. For teams standardizing a stack, that distinction is often the difference between a benchmark win and a reliable deployment.
FAQ
Is Code Davinci 002 or DeepSeek V4 open source?
Code Davinci 002 is listed under Proprietary. DeepSeek V4 is listed under MIT. License labels affect whether you can self-host, redistribute weights, or rely only on hosted APIs, so confirm the upstream license before deployment.
Which is better for reasoning mode, Code Davinci 002 or DeepSeek V4?
DeepSeek V4 has the clearer documented reasoning mode signal in this comparison. If reasoning mode is mission-critical, validate it against the provider endpoint because model-level support and API-level exposure can differ.
Which is better for function calling, Code Davinci 002 or DeepSeek V4?
DeepSeek V4 has the clearer documented function calling signal in this comparison. If function calling is mission-critical, validate it against the provider endpoint because model-level support and API-level exposure can differ.
Which is better for tool use, Code Davinci 002 or DeepSeek V4?
DeepSeek V4 has the clearer documented tool use signal in this comparison. If tool use is mission-critical, validate it against the provider endpoint because model-level support and API-level exposure can differ.
Which is better for structured outputs, Code Davinci 002 or DeepSeek V4?
DeepSeek V4 has the clearer documented structured outputs signal in this comparison. If structured outputs is mission-critical, validate it against the provider endpoint because model-level support and API-level exposure can differ.
When should I pick Code Davinci 002 over DeepSeek V4?
DeepSeek V4 is safer overall; choose Code Davinci 002 when coding workflow support matters. If your workload also depends on coding workflow support, start with Code Davinci 002; if it depends on reasoning depth, run the same evaluation with DeepSeek V4.
Continue comparing
Last reviewed: 2026-05-10. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.