DeepSeek V4.1 Flash (Max) vs DeepSeek V4 Flash 0420 (High)
Which is better for the money: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash (Max) by DeepSeek or DeepSeek V4 Flash 0420 (High) by DeepSeek? Intelligence, total benchmark cost, and end-to-end time from Artificial Analysis & other sources, snapshot 2026-10-24.
Trade-off
Verdict
Depends on your budget
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash (Max) scores 15.1 points higher (39.5 vs 24.4) but costs 5.5× as much to run the benchmark ($672 vs $121; premium vs mid-range cost classes). They are not alternatives at one budget: pick DeepSeek V4.1 Flash (Max) when you need intelligence above 24.4, and DeepSeek V4 Flash 0420 (High) when 24.4 is enough.
| Metric | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash (Max) | DeepSeek V4 Flash 0420 (High) | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence (higher is better) | 39.5 | 24.4 | −38.2% DeepSeek V4 Flash 042… is 38.2% less intelligent |
| Total AA cost (lower is better) | $671.96 | $121.20 | −82.0% DeepSeek V4 Flash 042… is 82.0% cheaper |
| End-to-end time (lower is better) | 14.92s | Not reported | — not comparable |
| Price per 1M tokens (in / out) | $0.29 / $1.20 | $0.11 / $0.23 | |
| Input modalities | Text, Image | Text |
DeepSeek V4 Flash 0420 (High) vs DeepSeek V4.1 Flash (Max): 38.2% less intelligence, 82.0% less cost to run the AA benchmark, and end-to-end time not fully reported.
Today's Pareto frontier
Against the frontier
- DeepSeek V4.1 Flash (Max) is off the frontier: at the same or lower cost, GPT-6.1 Sol (Xhigh) scores 51.00 for $662.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash 0420 (High) is off the frontier: at the same or lower cost, MiMo-V2.6-Flash scores 37.90 for $110.
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash (Max)DeepSeek V4 Flash 0420 (High)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/deepseek-v4-flash-0420-high · Markdown: /api/v1/compare/deepseek-v4-1-flash/deepseek-v4-flash-0420-high?format=md · llms.txt · agent skill