DeepSeek V4 Pro vs Qwen3.5-397B-A17B
DeepSeek V4 Pro (2026) and Qwen3.5-397B-A17B (2026) are frontier-tier reasoning models from DeepSeek and Alibaba. DeepSeek V4 Pro ships a 1m-token context window, while Qwen3.5-397B-A17B ships a 262k-token context window. On MMLU PRO, Qwen3.5-397B-A17B leads by 0.3 pts. On pricing, Qwen3.5-397B-A17B costs $0.39/1M 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 V4 Pro is safer overall; choose Qwen3.5-397B-A17B when vision-heavy evaluation matters.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | DeepSeek V4 Pro | Qwen3.5-397B-A17B |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | reasoning-heavy apps, tool-calling agents, and long-context analysis | reasoning-heavy apps, multimodal apps, and tool-calling agents |
| Decision fit | Coding, RAG, and Agents | Coding, RAG, and Agents |
| Context window | 1m | 262k |
| Cheapest output | $0.87/1M tokens | $2.34/1M tokens |
| Provider routes | 5 tracked | 4 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | 6 shared | MMLU PRO leader |
Decision tradeoffs
- DeepSeek V4 Pro holds a shared-benchmark lead on SWE-bench Verified, ahead by 4.4 points.
- DeepSeek V4 Pro has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
- DeepSeek V4 Pro has the lower cheapest tracked output price at $0.87/1M tokens.
- DeepSeek V4 Pro has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and route flexibility.
- Local decision data tags DeepSeek V4 Pro for Coding, RAG, and Agents.
- Qwen3.5-397B-A17B holds a shared-benchmark lead on MMLU PRO, ahead by 0.3 points.
- Qwen3.5-397B-A17B uniquely exposes Vision and Multimodal 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 V4 Pro
$566
Cheapest tracked route/tier: DeepSeek Platform
Qwen3.5-397B-A17B
$897
Cheapest tracked route/tier: OpenRouter
Estimated monthly gap: $332. Batch, cache, alternate speed tiers, and negotiated pricing are excluded from this local estimate.
Switch friction
- Provider overlap exists on OpenRouter and Novita AI; start route-level A/B tests there.
- Qwen3.5-397B-A17B is $1.47/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.
- Qwen3.5-397B-A17B adds Vision and Multimodal in local capability data.
- Provider overlap exists on OpenRouter and Novita AI; start route-level A/B tests there.
- DeepSeek V4 Pro is $1.47/1M tokens lower on cheapest tracked output pricing before cache, batch, or negotiated discounts.
- Check replacement coverage for Vision and Multimodal before moving production traffic.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2026-04-24 | 2026-02-16 |
| Context window | 1m | 262k |
| Parameters | 1.6T | 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 | - | - |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | DeepSeek V4 Pro | Qwen3.5-397B-A17B |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $0.43/1M tokens | $0.39/1M tokens |
| Output price | $0.87/1M tokens | $2.34/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | DeepSeek V4 Pro | Qwen3.5-397B-A17B |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | No | Yes |
| Multimodal | No | Yes |
| Reasoning | Yes | 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 V4 Pro | Qwen3.5-397B-A17B |
|---|---|---|
| MMLU PRO | 87.5 | 87.8 |
| SWE-bench Verified | 80.6 | 76.2 |
| Google-Proof Q&A | 90.1 | 89.3 |
| LiveCodeBench | 93.5 | 83.6 |
| Humanity's Last Exam | 37.7 | 28.7 |
| Terminal-Bench 2.0 | 59.1 | 52.5 |
Continue comparing
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Last reviewed: 2026-06-29. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.