DeepSeek V4.1 Flash (Max) vs GPT-6 Luna (Max)
Which is better for the money: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash (Max) by DeepSeek or GPT-6 Luna (Max) by OpenAI? 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 (Max) scores 1.4 points higher (39.5 vs 38.1) but costs 5.5× as much to run the benchmark ($672 vs $122; premium vs mid-range cost classes). They are not alternatives at one budget: pick DeepSeek V4.1 Flash (Max) when you need intelligence above 38.1, and GPT-6 Luna (Max) when 38.1 is enough.
| Metric | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash (Max) | GPT-6 Luna (Max) | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence (higher is better) | 39.5 | 38.1 | −3.5% GPT-6 Luna (Max) is 3.5% less intelligent |
| Total AA cost (lower is better) | $671.96 | $122.05 | −81.8% GPT-6 Luna (Max) is 81.8% cheaper |
| End-to-end time (lower is better) | 15.03s | 84.41s | +461.6% GPT-6 Luna (Max) is 461.6% slower |
| Price per 1M tokens (in / out) | $0.29 / $1.20 | $0.10 / $0.50 | |
| Input modalities | Text, Image | Text, Image |
GPT-6 Luna (Max) vs DeepSeek V4.1 Flash (Max): 3.5% less intelligence, 81.8% less cost to run the AA benchmark, and 461.6% slower end-to-end.
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.
- GPT-6 Luna (Max) is on today's frontier: nothing is both smarter and cheaper.
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash (Max)GPT-6 Luna (Max)Today's Pareto frontierOpen-weights frontierEvery other model
Matchup
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