DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 (Max) vs Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite
Which is better for the money: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 (Max) by DeepSeek or Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite by Google? 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 29.5 points higher (45.1 vs 15.6) but costs 2.9× as much to run the benchmark ($445 vs $156; both mid-range class). Pick DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 (Max) when the extra intelligence is worth the premium, otherwise Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite.
| Metric | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 (Max) | Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence (higher is better) | 45.1 | 15.6 | −65.4% Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite is 65.4% less intelligent |
| Total AA cost (lower is better) | $444.60 | $155.87 | −64.9% Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite is 64.9% cheaper |
| End-to-end time (lower is better) | 16.12s | 6.09s | −62.2% Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite is 62.2% faster |
| Price per 1M tokens (in / out) | $0.30 / $1.20 | $0.25 / $1.50 | |
| Input modalities | Text, Image | Text, Image, Speech, Video |
Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite vs DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 (Max): 65.4% less intelligence, 64.9% less cost to run the AA benchmark, and 62.2% faster 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.
- Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite 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)Gemini 3.1 Flash-LiteToday'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/gemini-3-1-flash-lite-preview · Markdown: /api/v1/compare/deepseek-v4-1-flash-1017/gemini-3-1-flash-lite-preview?format=md · llms.txt · agent skill