DeepSeek V3 vs DeepSeek V4 Pro
DeepSeek V3 (2024) and DeepSeek V4 Pro (2026) are frontier reasoning models from DeepSeek. DeepSeek V3 ships a 64k-token context window, while DeepSeek V4 Pro ships a 1m-token context window. On MMLU PRO, DeepSeek V4 Pro leads by 11.6 pts. On pricing, DeepSeek V3 costs $0.10/1M input tokens versus $0.43/1M 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.
DeepSeek V3 is ~335% cheaper at $0.10/1M; pay for DeepSeek V4 Pro only for reasoning depth.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | DeepSeek V3 | DeepSeek V4 Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | tool-calling agents and provider-routed production | reasoning-heavy apps, tool-calling agents, and long-context analysis |
| Decision fit | Coding, Agents, and Classification | Coding, RAG, and Agents |
| Context window | 64k | 1m |
| Cheapest output | $0.30/1M tokens | $0.87/1M tokens |
| Provider routes | 13 tracked | 5 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | 5 shared | MMLU PRO leader |
Decision tradeoffs
- DeepSeek V3 holds a shared-benchmark lead on HumanEval, ahead by 8.7 points.
- DeepSeek V3 has the lower cheapest tracked output price at $0.30/1M tokens.
- DeepSeek V3 has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and route flexibility.
- Local decision data tags DeepSeek V3 for Coding, Agents, and Classification.
- DeepSeek V4 Pro holds a shared-benchmark lead on MMLU PRO, ahead by 11.6 points.
- DeepSeek V4 Pro has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
- DeepSeek V4 Pro uniquely exposes Reasoning in local model data.
- Local decision data tags DeepSeek V4 Pro 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 V3
$155
Cheapest tracked route/tier: Bitdeer AI
DeepSeek V4 Pro
$566
Cheapest tracked route/tier: DeepSeek Platform
Estimated monthly gap: $411. Batch, cache, alternate speed tiers, and negotiated pricing are excluded from this local estimate.
Switch friction
- Provider overlap exists on DeepSeek Platform, Fireworks AI, and OpenRouter; start route-level A/B tests there.
- DeepSeek V4 Pro is $0.57/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.
- DeepSeek V4 Pro adds Reasoning in local capability data.
- Provider overlap exists on Fireworks AI, DeepSeek Platform, and OpenRouter; start route-level A/B tests there.
- DeepSeek V3 is $0.57/1M tokens lower on cheapest tracked output pricing before cache, batch, or negotiated discounts.
- Check replacement coverage for Reasoning before moving production traffic.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2024-12-26 | 2026-04-24 |
| Context window | 64k | 1m |
| Parameters | 671B | 1.6T |
| Architecture | Mixture of Experts | Mixture of Experts |
| License | MITOSI-approved | MITOSI-approved |
| Openness | Open source | Open source |
| Weights | Available | Available |
| Code | Unknown | Unknown |
| Commercial use | Commercial use: permitted | Commercial use: permitted |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2024-04 | - |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | DeepSeek V3 | DeepSeek V4 Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $0.10/1M tokens | $0.43/1M tokens |
| Output price | $0.30/1M tokens | $0.87/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | DeepSeek V3 | DeepSeek V4 Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | No | No |
| Multimodal | No | No |
| Reasoning | No | Yes |
| JSON / Tool use | Yes | Yes |
| Structured outputs | Yes | Yes |
| Code execution | No | No |
| IDE integration | No | No |
| Computer use | No | No |
| Parallel agents | No | No |
Benchmarks
| Benchmark | DeepSeek V3 | DeepSeek V4 Pro |
|---|---|---|
| MMLU PRO | 75.9 | 87.5 |
| LiveCodeBench | 49.6 | 93.5 |
| HumanEval | 85.5 | 76.8 |
| Chatbot Arena | 1302.0 | 1456.0 |
| Massive Multitask Language Understanding | 88.5 | 90.1 |
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Last reviewed: 2026-06-29. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.