Claude Fable 5.2 (Low, Default Fallback) vs DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 (Max)
Which is better for the money: Claude Fable 5.2 (Low, Default Fallback) by Anthropic or DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 (Max) by DeepSeek? Intelligence, total benchmark cost, and end-to-end time from Artificial Analysis & other sources, snapshot 2026-11-10.
Depends on your budget
Claude Fable 5.2 (Low, Default Fallback) scores 21.3 points higher (53.9 vs 32.6) but costs 5.5× as much to run the benchmark ($2862 vs $521; flagship vs premium cost classes). They are not alternatives at one budget: pick Claude Fable 5.2 (Low, Default Fallback) when you need intelligence above 32.6, and DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 (Max) when 32.6 is enough.
| Metric | Claude Fable 5.2 (Low, Default Fallback) | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 (Max) | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence (higher is better) | 53.9 | 32.6 | −39.5% DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1… is 39.5% less intelligent |
| Total AA cost (lower is better) | $2,861.78 | $520.63 | −81.8% DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1… is 81.8% cheaper |
| End-to-end time (lower is better) | 22.57s | 18.38s | −18.6% DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1… is 18.6% faster |
| Price per 1M tokens (in / out) | $8.00 / $40.0 | $0.30 / $1.20 | |
| Input modalities | Text, Image | Text, Image |
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 (Max) vs Claude Fable 5.2 (Low, Default Fallback): 39.5% less intelligence, 81.8% less cost to run the AA benchmark, and 18.6% faster end-to-end.
Against the frontier
- Claude Fable 5.2 (Low, Default Fallback) is off the frontier: at the same or lower cost, GPT-6.1 Sol (Max) scores 54.60 for $1124.
- DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 (Max) is off the frontier: at the same or lower cost, GPT-6.1 Sol (Medium) scores 46.30 for $389.
Compare something else
Accept: text/markdown or ?format=md returns this page as Markdown. JSON: /api/v1/compare/claude-fable-5-2-low/deepseek-v4-1-flash-1017 · Markdown: /api/v1/compare/claude-fable-5-2-low/deepseek-v4-1-flash-1017?format=md · llms.txt · agent skill