DeepSeek vs 
Google
Verdict
- Google's flagship leads: Gemini 4 Argon at 70.7 vs DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 at 64.0.
- Google has the better model in 3 of 4 price bands.
- Google's fastest ranked model (Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite, 430 tok/s) beats DeepSeek's (DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017, 195 tok/s).
- DeepSeek publishes more open-weights models (24 vs 17).
- Google ships more often: one model every 15 days against every 37.
Best model per price band
Each provider’s highest-index model below the price ceiling. Purple marks the winner of the band.
| Price band | DeepSeek | |
|---|---|---|
| Under $0.50/M | DeepSeek V4 Flash max 59.4$0.175/M | Gemma 4 26B A4B 56.2$0.198/M |
| Under $2/M | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 max 64.0$0.525/M | Gemini 3.8 Flash high 64.4$1.50/M |
| Under $10/M | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 max 64.0$0.525/M | Gemini 4 Argon high 70.7$4.00/M |
| Any price | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 max 64.0$0.525/M | Gemini 4 Argon high 70.7$4.00/M |
Line-up
| Metric | DeepSeek | |
|---|---|---|
| Flagship index | 64.0 | 70.7 |
| Ranked models | 22 | 40 |
| Open-weights models | 24 | 17 |
| Cheapest ranked, $/M | $0.068 | $0.040 |
| Fastest ranked, tok/s | 195 | 430 |
| Release cadence, days | 37 | 15 |
| Last release | 17 Oct 2026 | 6 Oct 2026 |
| Next expected | 8 Nov 2026 – 7 Dec 2026 | 15 Oct 2026 – 27 Oct 2026 |