DeepSeek V3 vs Qwen3.5-397B-A17B
DeepSeek V3 (2024) and Qwen3.5-397B-A17B (2026) are frontier reasoning models from DeepSeek and Alibaba. DeepSeek V3 ships a 64k-token context window, while Qwen3.5-397B-A17B ships a 262k-token context window. On MMLU PRO, Qwen3.5-397B-A17B leads by 11.9 pts. On pricing, DeepSeek V3 costs $0.10/1M input tokens versus $0.39/1M 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 ~290% cheaper at $0.10/1M; pay for Qwen3.5-397B-A17B only for reasoning depth.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | DeepSeek V3 | Qwen3.5-397B-A17B |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | tool-calling agents and provider-routed production | reasoning-heavy apps, multimodal apps, and tool-calling agents |
| Decision fit | Coding, Agents, and Classification | Coding, RAG, and Agents |
| Context window | 64k | 262k |
| Cheapest output | $0.30/1M tokens | $2.34/1M tokens |
| Provider routes | 13 tracked | 4 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | 2 shared | MMLU PRO leader |
Decision tradeoffs
- 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.
- Qwen3.5-397B-A17B holds a shared-benchmark lead on MMLU PRO, ahead by 11.9 points.
- Qwen3.5-397B-A17B has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
- Qwen3.5-397B-A17B uniquely exposes Vision, Multimodal, and Reasoning in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Qwen3.5-397B-A17B 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
Qwen3.5-397B-A17B
$897
Cheapest tracked route/tier: OpenRouter
Estimated monthly gap: $742. Batch, cache, alternate speed tiers, and negotiated pricing are excluded from this local estimate.
Switch friction
- Provider overlap exists on OpenRouter and Together AI; start route-level A/B tests there.
- Qwen3.5-397B-A17B is $2.04/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.
- Qwen3.5-397B-A17B adds Vision, Multimodal, and Reasoning in local capability data.
- Provider overlap exists on OpenRouter and Together AI; start route-level A/B tests there.
- DeepSeek V3 is $2.04/1M tokens lower on cheapest tracked output pricing before cache, batch, or negotiated discounts.
- Check replacement coverage for Vision, Multimodal, and Reasoning before moving production traffic.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2024-12-26 | 2026-02-16 |
| Context window | 64k | 262k |
| Parameters | 671B | 397B |
| Architecture | Mixture of Experts | Mixture of Experts |
| License | MITOSI-approved | Apache 2.0OSI-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 | Qwen3.5-397B-A17B |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $0.10/1M tokens | $0.39/1M tokens |
| Output price | $0.30/1M tokens | $2.34/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | DeepSeek V3 | Qwen3.5-397B-A17B |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | No | Yes |
| Multimodal | No | Yes |
| 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 | Qwen3.5-397B-A17B |
|---|---|---|
| MMLU PRO | 75.9 | 87.8 |
| LiveCodeBench | 49.6 | 83.6 |
Continue comparing
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Last reviewed: 2026-06-29. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.