DeepSeek V3.2 vs o4-mini
DeepSeek V3.2 and o4-mini are both current production-tier models. DeepSeek V3.2 is meaningfully cheaper at $0.28 / $0.42 per 1M. o4-mini leads on coding, reasoning, instruction following.
Specs side by side
| Metric | DeepSeek DeepSeek V3.2 | OpenAI o4-mini |
|---|---|---|
| Input price (per 1M) | $0.28 | $1.1 |
| Output price (per 1M) | $0.42 | $4.4 |
| Context window | 128k tokens | 200k tokens |
| Speed tier | balanced | slow |
| Open weights | Yes | No |
| EU region | No | Yes |
| 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 $1.1 / $4.4 per 1M)
- You need open weights for self-hosting or fine-tuning
- You want a free tier for prototyping
Choose o4-mini if…
- EU data residency is required
- HIPAA eligibility is required
- You need image input / vision
- Coding is central to your workload
- Reasoning is central to your workload
Benchmark delta
DeepSeek V3.2 leads on
DeepSeek V3.2 has no meaningful benchmark lead in this pair.
o4-mini leads on
- Coding
- Reasoning
- Instruction following
- Tool use
FAQ — DeepSeek V3.2 vs o4-mini
DeepSeek V3.2 vs o4-mini — which is better?
DeepSeek V3.2 and o4-mini are both current production-tier models. DeepSeek V3.2 is meaningfully cheaper at $0.28 / $0.42 per 1M. o4-mini leads on coding, reasoning, instruction following. 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 o4-mini?
DeepSeek V3.2 costs $0.28 / $0.42 per 1M vs o4-mini at $1.1 / $4.4 per 1M. DeepSeek V3.2 is cheaper on output tokens by roughly 948%. Both support prompt caching, which reduces effective cost by 80-90% on repeat system prompts.
Does DeepSeek V3.2 or o4-mini have the bigger context window?
o4-mini has a 200k-token context window — 2× the 128k context of DeepSeek V3.2. Enough for long reports and multi-document analysis.
Is there a free tier for DeepSeek V3.2 or o4-mini?
DeepSeek V3.2: yes — Often available free via OpenRouter; official API is very cheap ($0.28 cache miss, $0.028 cached input). o4-mini: no — Paid-only.
Which is better for coding — DeepSeek V3.2 or o4-mini?
o4-mini leads on coding benchmarks (DeepSeek V3.2: 88/100, o4-mini: 92/100). For production coding agents also weigh tool-use performance — DeepSeek V3.2 scores 82, o4-mini scores 88.