DeepSeek V4 Pro vs o4-mini
DeepSeek V4 Pro (2026) and o4-mini (2025) are frontier-tier reasoning models from DeepSeek and OpenAI. DeepSeek V4 Pro ships a 1M-token context window, while o4-mini ships a not-yet-sourced context window. On MMLU PRO, DeepSeek V4 Pro leads by 4.3 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 is safer overall; choose o4-mini when coding workflow support matters.
Specs
| Released | 2026-04-24 | 2025-04-16 |
| Context window | 1M | — |
| Parameters | 1.6T | — |
| Architecture | mixture of experts | decoder only |
| License | MIT | Proprietary |
| Knowledge cutoff | - | 2025-08 |
Pricing and availability
| DeepSeek V4 Pro | o4-mini | |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | - | $0.5/1M tokens |
| Output price | - | $2/1M tokens |
| Providers | - |
Capabilities
| DeepSeek V4 Pro | o4-mini | |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | ||
| Multimodal | ||
| Reasoning | ||
| Function calling | ||
| Tool use | ||
| Structured outputs | ||
| Code execution |
Benchmarks
| Benchmark | DeepSeek V4 Pro | o4-mini |
|---|---|---|
| MMLU PRO | 87.5 | 83.2 |
| SWE-bench Verified | 80.6 | 68.1 |
Deep dive
On shared benchmark coverage, MMLU PRO has DeepSeek V4 Pro at 87.5 and o4-mini at 83.2, with DeepSeek V4 Pro ahead by 4.3 points; SWE-bench Verified has DeepSeek V4 Pro at 80.6 and o4-mini at 68.1, with DeepSeek V4 Pro ahead by 12.5 points. The largest visible gap is 12.5 points on SWE-bench Verified, 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 vision: o4-mini, multimodal input: o4-mini, and code execution: o4-mini. Both models share reasoning mode, 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 V4 Pro has no token price sourced yet and o4-mini has $0.5/1M input tokens. Provider availability is 0 tracked routes versus 4. Treat unknown pricing as an integration gap, then verify the route you will actually call before estimating production spend.
Choose DeepSeek V4 Pro when provider fit are central to the workload. Choose o4-mini when coding workflow support and broader provider choice are more important. For production, rerun your own prompts through the exact provider, region, and tool stack you plan to ship.
FAQ
Is DeepSeek V4 Pro or o4-mini open source?
DeepSeek V4 Pro is listed under MIT. o4-mini is listed under Proprietary. 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 vision, DeepSeek V4 Pro or o4-mini?
o4-mini has the clearer documented vision signal in this comparison. If vision is mission-critical, validate it against the provider endpoint because model-level support and API-level exposure can differ. Use this as a quick comparison signal, then confirm the provider-specific limits before committing to production.
Which is better for multimodal input, DeepSeek V4 Pro or o4-mini?
o4-mini has the clearer documented multimodal input signal in this comparison. If multimodal input is mission-critical, validate it against the provider endpoint because model-level support and API-level exposure can differ.
Which is better for reasoning mode, DeepSeek V4 Pro or o4-mini?
Both DeepSeek V4 Pro and o4-mini expose reasoning mode. The better choice depends on benchmark fit, context budget, pricing, and whether your provider route exposes the same capability surface. Use this as a quick comparison signal, then confirm the provider-specific limits before committing to production.
Which is better for function calling, DeepSeek V4 Pro or o4-mini?
Both DeepSeek V4 Pro and o4-mini expose function calling. The better choice depends on benchmark fit, context budget, pricing, and whether your provider route exposes the same capability surface. Use this as a quick comparison signal, then confirm the provider-specific limits before committing to production.
Where can I run DeepSeek V4 Pro and o4-mini?
DeepSeek V4 Pro is available on the tracked providers still being sourced. o4-mini is available on OpenAI API, OpenRouter, OpenAI Batch API, and Replicate API. 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.