DeepSeek V4 Pro vs Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite
DeepSeek V4 Pro and Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite are both current production-tier models. DeepSeek V4 Pro is meaningfully cheaper at $0.43 / $0.87 per 1M. DeepSeek V4 Pro leads on coding, reasoning, general knowledge.
Specs side by side
| Metric | DeepSeek DeepSeek V4 Pro | Google Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite |
|---|---|---|
| Input price (per 1M) | $0.435 | $0.25 |
| Output price (per 1M) | $0.87 | $1.5 |
| Context window | 1M tokens | 1M tokens |
| Speed tier | balanced | ultra |
| Open weights | Yes | No |
| EU region | No | Yes |
| Free tier | No | Google AI Studio |
| Prompt caching | Yes | No |
| Vision input | No | Yes |
| Extended thinking | Yes | No |
When to choose each
Choose DeepSeek V4 Pro if…
- Cost is a priority ($0.43 / $0.87 per 1M vs $0.25 / $1.5 per 1M)
- You need open weights for self-hosting or fine-tuning
- Coding is central to your workload
- Reasoning is central to your workload
Choose Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite if…
- Low latency matters (ultra vs balanced)
- EU data residency is required
- You need image input / vision
- You want a free tier for prototyping
Benchmark delta
DeepSeek V4 Pro leads on
- Coding
- Reasoning
- General knowledge
- Instruction following
- Tool use
Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite leads on
Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite has no meaningful benchmark lead in this pair.
FAQ — DeepSeek V4 Pro vs Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite
DeepSeek V4 Pro vs Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite — which is better?
DeepSeek V4 Pro and Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite are both current production-tier models. DeepSeek V4 Pro is meaningfully cheaper at $0.43 / $0.87 per 1M. DeepSeek V4 Pro leads on coding, reasoning, general knowledge. The right pick depends on your use case — see "When to choose each" above for a data-driven decision.
How does DeepSeek V4 Pro pricing compare to Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite?
DeepSeek V4 Pro costs $0.43 / $0.87 per 1M vs Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite at $0.25 / $1.5 per 1M. DeepSeek V4 Pro is cheaper on output tokens by roughly 72%. Both support prompt caching, which reduces effective cost by 80-90% on repeat system prompts.
Does DeepSeek V4 Pro or Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite have the bigger context window?
Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite has a 1M-token context window — 1× the 1M context of DeepSeek V4 Pro. Enough for entire codebases, books, or multi-document RAG.
Is there a free tier for DeepSeek V4 Pro or Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite?
DeepSeek V4 Pro: no — No free tier on the official API — but at $0.435/$0.87 per 1M it is near-free vs frontier peers. Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite: yes — Reduced daily quota; most generous free tier of any frontier lab.
Which is better for coding — DeepSeek V4 Pro or Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite?
DeepSeek V4 Pro leads on coding benchmarks (DeepSeek V4 Pro: 91/100, Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite: 72/100). For production coding agents also weigh tool-use performance — DeepSeek V4 Pro scores 86, Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite scores 76.