DeepSeek V3 vs DeepSeek V4 Flash Base
At a Glance
| Compare |  DeepSeek V3DeepSeek | DeepSeek V4 Flash BaseDeepSeek |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing and Limits | ||
| Input priceFrom · USD / 1M tokens | $0.2574Openrouter ↗ · Aug 29, 2026 | Not reported |
| Output priceFrom · USD / 1M tokens | $0.89Deepinfra ↗ · Oct 19, 2026 | Not reported |
| Context windowMaximum documented tokens | 164K | 1,049K |
| Model facts checked | Aug 28, 2026View model evidence → | Aug 28, 2026View model evidence → |
Token prices are the lowest available sourced USD rates; input and output may use different providers. Cost ranking estimates output spend on LiveBench, not a full request bill. Ranking methodology →
Available Benchmarks
Side-by-Side Facts
| Field | DeepSeek-V3 | DeepSeek-V4-Flash-Base |
|---|---|---|
| Developer | DeepSeek | DeepSeek |
| Family | Deepseek V3 | Deepseek V4 Flash Base |
| Model | DeepSeek-V3 | DeepSeek-V4-Flash-Base |
| Version | DeepSeek-V3 | DeepSeek-V4-Flash-Base |
| Lifecycle | active | active |
| Released | 2024-12-26 | 2026-04-24 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Unknown | Unknown |
| Input modalities | Text | Text |
| Output modalities | Text | Text |
| Context window | 164K | 1,049K |
| Total parameters | 684.5B | 292B |
| Active parameters | 37B | Unknown |
| License | Unknown | Unknown |
| Open weights | Yes | Yes |
| API available | Yes | Unknown |
| Self-hostable | Yes | Yes |
| Provider access | Deepinfra (Standard), Hugging Face (Standard), Openrouter (Standard) | Unknown |
| Capabilities | chat, generation | generation |
DeepSeek V3 Capabilities
DeepSeek V4 Flash Base Capabilities
Related Comparisons
All text comparisons →| A | Pair | B | Context |
|---|---|---|---|
DeepSeek-V3DeepSeek | vs |  Sonar ProPerplexity | cross-developer peerstext |
DeepSeek-R1DeepSeek | vs | DeepSeek-V3DeepSeek | family variantstext |
DeepSeek-V3DeepSeek | vs | DeepSeek-V3.2DeepSeek | family variantstext |
DeepSeek-V3DeepSeek | vs |  Llama-3.1-405BMeta | cross-developer peerstext |
DeepSeek-V3DeepSeek | vs | cross-developer peerstext | |
DeepSeek-V3DeepSeek | vs | cross-developer peerstext | |
 MiniMax-M2.5MiniMax | vs | DeepSeek-V3DeepSeek | cross-developer peerstext |
DeepSeek-V3DeepSeek | vs |  Mistral Large 3Mistral AI | cross-developer peerstext |
DeepSeek-V3DeepSeek | vs |  Kimi-K2-InstructMoonshot AI | cross-developer peerstext |
DeepSeek-V3DeepSeek | vs |  GLM-5Z.ai | cross-developer peerstext |
DeepSeek-V3DeepSeek | vs | GLM-5.1Z.ai | cross-developer peerstext |
Primary Evidence
Sources and Freshness
Questions
DeepSeek V3 vs DeepSeek V4 Flash Base FAQs
Is DeepSeek V3 or DeepSeek V4 Flash Base better for coding?+
This comparison does not currently contain a protocol-matched coding benchmark for both DeepSeek V3 and DeepSeek V4 Flash Base, so Model Markets cannot name a coding leader from pricing, context size, or capability labels alone.
Which is cheaper, DeepSeek V3 or DeepSeek V4 Flash Base?+
Only DeepSeek V3 has a directly sourced input price: $0.2574 per million tokens. Only DeepSeek V3 has a directly sourced output price: $0.89 per million tokens.
Which has a larger context window, DeepSeek V3 or DeepSeek V4 Flash Base?+
DeepSeek V4 Flash Base has the larger sourced context window. DeepSeek V3 supports 163,840 tokens and DeepSeek V4 Flash Base supports 1,048,576 tokens.
Which performs better in benchmarks, DeepSeek V3 or DeepSeek V4 Flash Base?+
There is no overall benchmark winner: At least two independently verified, protocol-matched benchmarks are required for an overall winner.
Can DeepSeek V3 or DeepSeek V4 Flash Base be self-hosted?+
Both models have the same sourced self-hosting status: supported. DeepSeek V3 is open weight; DeepSeek V4 Flash Base is open weight.
Can DeepSeek V3 and DeepSeek V4 Flash Base understand images?+
DeepSeek V3 is not documented with image input; DeepSeek V4 Flash Base is not documented with image input. This reflects supported input modalities, not vision quality.
Which can generate longer answers, DeepSeek V3 or DeepSeek V4 Flash Base?+
Neither model has a sourced maximum output in this comparison, so a larger limit cannot be determined.
Do DeepSeek V3 and DeepSeek V4 Flash Base support reasoning and tool use?+
DeepSeek V3: none of these features are definitively sourced. DeepSeek V4 Flash Base: none of these features are definitively sourced. Feature support does not establish relative quality.
Which is available from more inference providers, DeepSeek V3 or DeepSeek V4 Flash Base?+
DeepSeek V3 has 3 sourced provider routes; DeepSeek V4 Flash Base has 0, so DeepSeek V3 has broader tracked availability.
Which offers better value, DeepSeek V3 or DeepSeek V4 Flash Base?+
There is no universal value winner. Compare the input and output prices above with the matched benchmark result for your workload: cheaper tokens can be offset by different quality, token usage, latency, or provider availability.