DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 (Max) vs Grok 4.3 (High)
Which is better for the money: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 (Max) by DeepSeek or Grok 4.3 (High) by SpaceXAI? 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 20.2 points higher (45.1 vs 24.9) but costs 1.2× as much to run the benchmark ($445 vs $363; both mid-range class). Pick DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 (Max) when the extra intelligence is worth the premium, otherwise Grok 4.3 (High).
| Metric | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 (Max) | Grok 4.3 (High) | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence (higher is better) | 45.1 | 24.9 | −44.8% Grok 4.3 (High) is 44.8% less intelligent |
| Total AA cost (lower is better) | $444.60 | $363.24 | −18.3% Grok 4.3 (High) is 18.3% cheaper |
| End-to-end time (lower is better) | 16.22s | 28.87s | +78.0% Grok 4.3 (High) is 78.0% slower |
| Price per 1M tokens (in / out) | $0.30 / $1.20 | $1.25 / $2.50 | |
| Input modalities | Text, Image | Text, Image |
Grok 4.3 (High) vs DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 (Max): 44.8% less intelligence, 18.3% less cost to run the AA benchmark, and 78.0% 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.
- Grok 4.3 (High) 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)Grok 4.3 (High)Today's Pareto frontierOpen-weights frontierEvery other model
Matchup
Compare something else
Agents:
Accept: text/markdown or ?format=md returns this page as Markdown. JSON: /api/v1/compare/deepseek-v4-1-flash-1017/grok-4-3 · Markdown: /api/v1/compare/deepseek-v4-1-flash-1017/grok-4-3?format=md · llms.txt · agent skill