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. This comparison covers specs, pricing, capabilities, benchmarks, provider availability, and production fit. It focuses on practical selection signals rather than broad model-family marketing.
DeepSeek V4 Pro fits 16x more tokens; pick it for long-context work and DeepSeek V3 for tighter calls.
Specs
| Released | 2024-12-26 | 2026-04-24 |
| Context window | 64k | 1M |
| Parameters | 671B | 1.6T |
| Architecture | mixture of experts | mixture of experts |
| License | Open Source | MIT |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2024-04 | - |
Pricing and availability
| DeepSeek V3 | DeepSeek V4 Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $0.1/1M tokens | - |
| Output price | $0.3/1M tokens | - |
| Providers | - |
Capabilities
| DeepSeek V3 | DeepSeek V4 Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | ||
| Multimodal | ||
| Reasoning | ||
| Function calling | ||
| Tool use | ||
| Structured outputs | ||
| Code execution |
Benchmarks
| Benchmark | DeepSeek V3 | DeepSeek V4 Pro |
|---|---|---|
| MMLU PRO | 75.9 | 87.5 |
| Massive Multitask Language Understanding | 88.5 | 90.1 |
Deep dive
On shared benchmark coverage, MMLU PRO has DeepSeek V3 at 75.9 and DeepSeek V4 Pro at 87.5, with DeepSeek V4 Pro ahead by 11.6 points; Massive Multitask Language Understanding has DeepSeek V3 at 88.5 and DeepSeek V4 Pro at 90.1, with DeepSeek V4 Pro ahead by 1.6 points. The largest visible gap is 11.6 points on MMLU PRO, which matters most when that benchmark mirrors your workload. Treat isolated benchmark wins as directional, because provider routing, prompt style, and tool access can move real application results.
The capability footprint differs most on reasoning mode: DeepSeek V4 Pro. Both models share function calling, tool use, and structured outputs, 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: DeepSeek V3 has $0.1/1M input tokens and DeepSeek V4 Pro has no token price sourced yet. Provider availability is 12 tracked routes versus 0. Treat unknown pricing as an integration gap, then verify the route you will actually call before estimating production spend.
Choose DeepSeek V3 when provider fit and broader provider choice are central to the workload. Choose DeepSeek V4 Pro when reasoning depth and larger context windows are more important. For production, rerun your own prompts through the exact provider, region, and tool stack you plan to ship.
FAQ
Which has a larger context window, DeepSeek V3 or DeepSeek V4 Pro?
DeepSeek V4 Pro supports 1M tokens, while DeepSeek V3 supports 64k tokens. That gap matters most for long documents, large codebases, retrieval-heavy agents, and conversations where earlier context must remain visible.
Is DeepSeek V3 or DeepSeek V4 Pro open source?
DeepSeek V3 is listed under Open Source. DeepSeek V4 Pro 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, DeepSeek V3 or DeepSeek V4 Pro?
DeepSeek V4 Pro 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, DeepSeek V3 or DeepSeek V4 Pro?
Both DeepSeek V3 and DeepSeek V4 Pro expose function calling. The better choice depends on benchmark fit, context budget, pricing, and whether your provider route exposes the same capability surface.
Which is better for tool use, DeepSeek V3 or DeepSeek V4 Pro?
Both DeepSeek V3 and DeepSeek V4 Pro expose tool use. The better choice depends on benchmark fit, context budget, pricing, and whether your provider route exposes the same capability surface.
Where can I run DeepSeek V3 and DeepSeek V4 Pro?
DeepSeek V3 is available on DeepInfra, Fireworks AI, DeepSeek Platform, Microsoft Foundry, and OpenRouter. DeepSeek V4 Pro is available on the tracked providers still being sourced. Provider coverage can affect latency, region availability, compliance posture, and fallback options.
Continue comparing
Last reviewed: 2026-04-24. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.