DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 (Max) vs DeepSeek V4 Flash 0420 (Max)
Which is better for the money: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 (Max) by DeepSeek or DeepSeek V4 Flash 0420 (Max) by DeepSeek? Intelligence, total benchmark cost, and end-to-end time from Artificial Analysis & other sources, snapshot 2026-10-25.
Trade-off
Verdict
Depends on your budget
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 (Max) scores 20.9 points higher (45.1 vs 24.2) but costs 3.0× as much to run the benchmark ($445 vs $149; both mid-range class). Pick DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 (Max) when the extra intelligence is worth the premium, otherwise DeepSeek V4 Flash 0420 (Max).
| Metric | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 (Max) | DeepSeek V4 Flash 0420 (Max) | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence (higher is better) | 45.1 | 24.2 | −46.3% DeepSeek V4 Flash 042… is 46.3% less intelligent |
| Total AA cost (lower is better) | $444.60 | $149.48 | −66.4% DeepSeek V4 Flash 042… is 66.4% cheaper |
| End-to-end time (lower is better) | 16.12s | 103.74s | +543.5% DeepSeek V4 Flash 042… is 543.5% slower |
| Price per 1M tokens (in / out) | $0.30 / $1.20 | $0.11 / $0.23 | |
| Input modalities | Text, Image | Text |
DeepSeek V4 Flash 0420 (Max) vs DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 (Max): 46.3% less intelligence, 66.4% less cost to run the AA benchmark, and 543.5% slower end-to-end.
Today's Pareto frontier
Against the frontier
- DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 (Max) is off the frontier: at the same or lower cost, GPT-6.1 Sol (Medium) scores 47.80 for $361.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash 0420 (Max) is off the frontier: at the same or lower cost, GPT-6 Luna (Max) scores 38.10 for $122.
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 (Max)DeepSeek V4 Flash 0420 (Max)Today's Pareto frontierOpen-weights frontierEvery other model
Matchup
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Accept: text/markdown or ?format=md returns this page as Markdown. JSON: /api/v1/compare/deepseek-v4-1-flash-1017/deepseek-v4-flash-0420 · Markdown: /api/v1/compare/deepseek-v4-1-flash-1017/deepseek-v4-flash-0420?format=md · llms.txt · agent skill