DeepSeek V3.2 vs Grok 4.20
DeepSeek V3.2 and Grok 4.20 are both current production-tier models. DeepSeek V3.2 is meaningfully cheaper at $0.28 / $0.42 per 1M. Grok 4.20 has a 2M context window — about 16× the 128k of DeepSeek V3.2. Grok 4.20 leads on reasoning, general knowledge, long-context retrieval.
Specs side by side
| Metric | DeepSeek DeepSeek V3.2 | xAI Grok 4.20 |
|---|---|---|
| Input price (per 1M) | $0.28 | $2 |
| Output price (per 1M) | $0.42 | $6 |
| Context window | 128k tokens | 2M tokens |
| Speed tier | balanced | balanced |
| Open weights | Yes | No |
| EU region | No | No |
| Free tier | OpenRouter | No |
| Prompt caching | Yes | Yes |
| Vision input | No | Yes |
| Extended thinking | Yes | Yes |
When to choose each
Choose DeepSeek V3.2 if…
- Cost is a priority ($0.28 / $0.42 per 1M vs $2 / $6 per 1M)
- You need open weights for self-hosting or fine-tuning
- You want a free tier for prototyping
Choose Grok 4.20 if…
- You need 2M context (16× more than DeepSeek V3.2)
- You need image input / vision
- Reasoning is central to your workload
- General knowledge is central to your workload
Benchmark delta
DeepSeek V3.2 leads on
DeepSeek V3.2 has no meaningful benchmark lead in this pair.
Grok 4.20 leads on
- Reasoning
- General knowledge
- Long-context retrieval
- Instruction following
- Tool use
FAQ — DeepSeek V3.2 vs Grok 4.20
DeepSeek V3.2 vs Grok 4.20 — which is better?
DeepSeek V3.2 and Grok 4.20 are both current production-tier models. DeepSeek V3.2 is meaningfully cheaper at $0.28 / $0.42 per 1M. Grok 4.20 has a 2M context window — about 16× the 128k of DeepSeek V3.2. Grok 4.20 leads on reasoning, general knowledge, long-context retrieval. The right pick depends on your use case — see "When to choose each" above for a data-driven decision.
How does DeepSeek V3.2 pricing compare to Grok 4.20?
DeepSeek V3.2 costs $0.28 / $0.42 per 1M vs Grok 4.20 at $2 / $6 per 1M. DeepSeek V3.2 is cheaper on output tokens by roughly 1329%. Both support prompt caching, which reduces effective cost by 80-90% on repeat system prompts.
Does DeepSeek V3.2 or Grok 4.20 have the bigger context window?
Grok 4.20 has a 2M-token context window — 16× the 128k context of DeepSeek V3.2. Enough for entire codebases, books, or multi-document RAG.
Is there a free tier for DeepSeek V3.2 or Grok 4.20?
DeepSeek V3.2: yes — Often available free via OpenRouter; official API is very cheap ($0.28 cache miss, $0.028 cached input). Grok 4.20: no — X Premium includes Grok web chat; API is paid.
Which is better for coding — DeepSeek V3.2 or Grok 4.20?
Grok 4.20 leads on coding benchmarks (DeepSeek V3.2: 88/100, Grok 4.20: 91/100). For production coding agents also weigh tool-use performance — DeepSeek V3.2 scores 82, Grok 4.20 scores 88.