DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 (Max) vs Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite
Which is better for the money: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 (Max) by DeepSeek or Gemini 3.5 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 22.9 points higher (45.1 vs 22.2) but costs 1.2× as much to run the benchmark ($445 vs $366; both mid-range class). Pick DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 (Max) when the extra intelligence is worth the premium, otherwise Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite.
| Metric | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 (Max) | Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence (higher is better) | 45.1 | 22.2 | −50.8% Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite is 50.8% less intelligent |
| Total AA cost (lower is better) | $444.60 | $365.63 | −17.8% Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite is 17.8% cheaper |
| End-to-end time (lower is better) | 16.12s | 9.59s | −40.5% Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite is 40.5% faster |
| Price per 1M tokens (in / out) | $0.30 / $1.20 | $0.30 / $2.50 | |
| Input modalities | Text, Image | Text, Image, Speech, Video |
Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite vs DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 (Max): 50.8% less intelligence, 17.8% less cost to run the AA benchmark, and 40.5% 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 3.5 Flash-Lite is off the frontier: at the same or lower cost, GPT-6.1 Sol (Medium) scores 47.80 for $361.
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 (Max)Gemini 3.5 Flash-LiteToday's Pareto frontierOpen-weights frontierEvery other model
Matchup
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