DeepSeek V3.1 vs GPT-4o-mini Search Preview
DeepSeek V3.1 (2025) and GPT-4o-mini Search Preview (2025) are compact production models from DeepSeek and OpenAI. DeepSeek V3.1 ships a 64k-token context window, while GPT-4o-mini Search Preview ships a 128k-token context window. On pricing, GPT-4o-mini Search Preview costs $0.15/1M input tokens versus $0.27/1M for the alternative. This comparison covers specs, pricing, API access, capabilities, benchmarks, input and output token costs, and production fit for coding and agent workloads.
GPT-4o-mini Search Preview is ~80% cheaper at $0.15/1M; pay for DeepSeek V3.1 only for coding workflow support.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | DeepSeek V3.1 | GPT-4o-mini Search Preview |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | multimodal apps and provider-routed production | provider-routed production |
| Decision fit | Coding, Agents, and Vision | RAG, Long context, and Classification |
| Context window | 64k | 128k |
| Cheapest output | $1/1M tokens | $0.60/1M tokens |
| Provider routes | 8 tracked | 3 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | 0 shared | 0 shared |
Decision tradeoffs
- DeepSeek V3.1 has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and route flexibility.
- DeepSeek V3.1 uniquely exposes Vision, Multimodal, and Code execution in local model data.
- Local decision data tags DeepSeek V3.1 for Coding, Agents, and Vision.
- GPT-4o-mini Search Preview has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
- GPT-4o-mini Search Preview has the lower cheapest tracked output price at $0.60/1M tokens.
- Local decision data tags GPT-4o-mini Search Preview for RAG, Long context, and Classification.
Monthly cost at traffic
Estimate token spend from the cheapest tracked input and output route or tier on this page.
DeepSeek V3.1
$466
Cheapest tracked route/tier: Novita AI
GPT-4o-mini Search Preview
$270
Cheapest tracked route/tier: OpenRouter
Estimated monthly gap: $196. Batch, cache, alternate speed tiers, and negotiated pricing are excluded from this local estimate.
Switch friction
- Provider overlap exists on Vercel AI Gateway; start route-level A/B tests there.
- GPT-4o-mini Search Preview is $0.40/1M tokens lower on cheapest tracked output pricing before cache, batch, or negotiated discounts.
- Check replacement coverage for Vision, Multimodal, and Code execution before moving production traffic.
- Provider overlap exists on Vercel AI Gateway; start route-level A/B tests there.
- DeepSeek V3.1 is $0.40/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.
- DeepSeek V3.1 adds Vision, Multimodal, and Code execution in local capability data.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2025-08-21 | 2025-02-26 |
| Context window | 64k | 128k |
| Parameters | 671B total, 37B active (MoE) | — |
| Architecture | Mixture of Experts | Decoder Only |
| License | MITOSI-approved | Proprietary |
| Openness | Open source | Proprietary |
| Weights | Unknown | Not released |
| Code | Unknown | Unknown |
| Commercial use | Commercial use: permitted | Commercial use: conditional |
| Knowledge cutoff | - | 2023-10 |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | DeepSeek V3.1 | GPT-4o-mini Search Preview |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $0.27/1M tokens | $0.15/1M tokens |
| Output price | $1/1M tokens | $0.60/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | DeepSeek V3.1 | GPT-4o-mini Search Preview |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | Yes | No |
| Multimodal | Yes | No |
| Reasoning | No | No |
| JSON / Tool use | No | No |
| Structured outputs | Yes | Yes |
| Code execution | Yes | 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: 2026-06-29. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.