DeepSeek R1 Basic vs DeepSeek V4 Flash
DeepSeek R1 Basic (2025) and DeepSeek V4 Flash (2026) are frontier-tier reasoning models from DeepSeek. DeepSeek R1 Basic ships a 160k-token context window, while DeepSeek V4 Flash ships a 1m-token context window. On pricing, DeepSeek R1 Basic costs $0.56/1M input tokens; DeepSeek V4 Flash ranges from $0.22 to $0.44/1M input tokens by tier. This comparison covers specs, pricing, API access, capabilities, benchmarks, input and output token costs, and production fit for coding and agent workloads.
DeepSeek V4 Flash fits 6x more tokens; pick it for long-context work and DeepSeek R1 Basic for tighter calls.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | DeepSeek R1 Basic | DeepSeek V4 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | reasoning-heavy apps | reasoning-heavy apps, tool-calling agents, and long-context analysis |
| Decision fit | Long context | Coding, RAG, and Agents |
| Context window | 160k | 1m |
| Cheapest output | $1.68/1M tokens | $0.12/1M tokens |
| Provider routes | 1 tracked | 5 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | 0 shared | 0 shared |
Decision tradeoffs
- Local decision data tags DeepSeek R1 Basic for Long context.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash has the lower cheapest tracked output price at $0.12/1M tokens.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and route flexibility.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash uniquely exposes JSON / Tool use and Structured outputs in local model data.
- Local decision data tags DeepSeek V4 Flash for Coding, RAG, and Agents.
Monthly cost at traffic
Estimate token spend from the cheapest tracked input and output route or tier on this page.
DeepSeek R1 Basic
$868
Cheapest tracked route/tier: Fireworks AI
DeepSeek V4 Flash
$76.26
Cheapest tracked route/tier: OpenRouter
Estimated monthly gap: $792. Batch, cache, alternate speed tiers, and negotiated pricing are excluded from this local estimate.
Switch friction
- No overlapping tracked provider route is sourced for DeepSeek R1 Basic and DeepSeek V4 Flash; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash is $1.56/1M tokens lower on cheapest tracked output pricing before cache, batch, or negotiated discounts.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash adds JSON / JSON / Tool use and Structured outputs in local capability data.
- No overlapping tracked provider route is sourced for DeepSeek V4 Flash and DeepSeek R1 Basic; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
- DeepSeek R1 Basic is $1.56/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.
- Check replacement coverage for JSON / JSON / Tool use and Structured outputs before moving production traffic.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2025-01-01 | 2026-04-24 |
| Context window | 160k | 1m |
| Parameters | 671B | 284B |
| Architecture | Decoder Only | Mixture of Experts |
| License | MITOSI-approved | MITOSI-approved |
| Openness | Open source | Open source |
| Weights | Unknown | Available |
| Code | Unknown | Unknown |
| Commercial use | Commercial use: permitted | Commercial use: permitted |
| Knowledge cutoff | - | - |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | DeepSeek R1 Basic | DeepSeek V4 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $0.56/1M tokens |
|
| Output price | $1.68/1M tokens |
|
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | DeepSeek R1 Basic | DeepSeek V4 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | No | No |
| Multimodal | No | No |
| Reasoning | Yes | Yes |
| JSON / Tool use | No | Yes |
| Structured outputs | No | Yes |
| Code execution | No | No |
| IDE integration | No | No |
| Computer use | No | No |
| Parallel agents | No | No |
Benchmarks
No shared benchmark scores are currently available for this pair.
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Last reviewed: 2026-07-03. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.