| Model |
Input/1M |
Output/1M |
Context |
Notes |
| Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite |
$0.10 |
$0.40 |
1M |
Cheapest input — but deprecated, shuts down June 1 |
| DeepSeek V4 Flash |
$0.14 |
$0.28 |
1M |
Cheapest output, best value overall |
| DeepSeek V4 Pro |
$0.44 |
$0.87 |
1M |
75% discount through May 31 |
| Gemini 2.5 Pro |
$1.25 |
$10.00 |
1M |
Strong reasoning, thinking model |
| Gemini 3.1 Pro |
$2.00 |
$12.00 |
1M |
Google's latest flagship |
Budget Tier: DeepSeek V4 Flash vs Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite
On the surface, Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite wins on input price ($0.10 vs $0.14). But there are important differences:
- Output price: DeepSeek V4 Flash is cheaper ($0.28 vs $0.40) — and chatbots are output-heavy
- Availability: Gemini 2.0 Flash was deprecated and shut down June 1, 2026. DeepSeek V4 Flash is the current model.
- Context window: Both have 1M token context windows
- Max output: DeepSeek V4 Flash supports 384K output tokens vs Gemini's 8K
Verdict: DeepSeek V4 Flash is the better choice for output-heavy workloads. DeepSeek wins on output price ($0.28 vs $0.40), which matters most for chatbots. Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite is a solid budget option for input-heavy tasks like classification and extraction.
Mid-Tier: DeepSeek V4 Pro vs Gemini 2.5 Pro
For tasks that need stronger reasoning:
- Price: DeepSeek V4 Pro is 2.8x cheaper on input and 11.5x cheaper on output (with the 75% discount)
- Quality: Gemini 2.5 Pro is generally considered stronger on complex reasoning tasks
- Thinking: Gemini 2.5 Pro is a "thinking" model that shows its reasoning process. DeepSeek V4 Pro also supports thinking mode.
- Discount risk: DeepSeek V4 Pro's 75% discount expires May 31. After that, it reverts to $1.74/$3.48 — still cheaper than Gemini 2.5 Pro.
Verdict: DeepSeek V4 Pro for cost-sensitive workloads. Gemini 2.5 Pro when quality matters more than cost.
Real Cost Comparison: 3 Scenarios
Chatbot (10K conversations/month, 500 input + 300 output tokens each)
Monthly cost comparison
DeepSeek V4 Flash$1.05
Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite$1.20
DeepSeek V4 Pro$4.73
Gemini 2.5 Pro$12.38
Gemini 3.1 Pro$18.60
RAG Pipeline (100K queries/month, 2K input + 500 output tokens each)
Monthly cost comparison
DeepSeek V4 Flash$4.20
Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite$4.00
DeepSeek V4 Pro$13.15
Gemini 2.5 Pro$37.50
Gemini 3.1 Pro$60.00
Code Assistant (50 devs, 20 requests/day each, 3K input + 1K output tokens)
Monthly cost comparison
DeepSeek V4 Flash$7.35
Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite$7.50
DeepSeek V4 Pro$25.99
Gemini 2.5 Pro$75.00
Gemini 3.1 Pro$108.00
When to Choose DeepSeek
- Cost is the primary concern — DeepSeek is consistently 3-15x cheaper
- High-volume workloads — the savings compound at scale
- Code generation — DeepSeek V4 Pro excels at coding tasks
- Long outputs — 384K max output vs Gemini's 8K-65K
When to Choose Gemini
- Complex reasoning — Gemini 2.5 Pro's thinking model is stronger on multi-step problems
- Multimodal inputs — Gemini natively handles images, audio, and video
- Google ecosystem — better integration with Google Cloud, Vertex AI
- Reliability — Google's infrastructure has better uptime guarantees
The Deprecation Problem
Google is aggressively deprecating older Gemini models:
- Gemini 3 Pro: Shut down March 9, 2026 (replaced by 3.1 Pro)
- Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite: Shutting down June 1, 2026
DeepSeek has been more stable — V3 is still available alongside V4. If you're building production systems, model stability matters.
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