DeepSeek V4.1 Flash vs Qwen3.8 Max

API pricing, context window and capabilities for DeepSeek V4.1 Flash and Qwen3.8 Max, side by side. Prices are the cheapest listed serving route per 1M tokens, from LiteLLM and OpenRouter.

Verdict

computed from the published numbers

DeepSeek V4.1 Flash wins on price. Qwen3.8 Max wins on intelligence. Benchmark data is unavailable for one or both models.

Price
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash
Terminal-Bench
Not called
Intelligence
Qwen3.8 Max
Context window
Tied

Key takeaways

who wins on what, from the published numbers

DeepSeek V4.1 Flash wins

  • Cheaper input ($0.01 vs $1.65 /1M)
  • Cheaper output ($0.60 vs $4.95 /1M)
  • Higher max output (1M vs 131K)
  • More serving providers (12 vs 10)

Qwen3.8 Max wins

  • Has web search
Cheaper overall
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash
$0.01 + $0.60 /1M
Larger context
Tied
More providers
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash
12 providers

Pricing & specs

cheapest listed route · per 1M tokens
On-demand listed rates, OpenRouter routed quotes and Vercel reseller quotes. Enterprise commitments can be materially lower.
DeepSeek V4.1 FlashQwen3.8 Max
Input $/1M$0.01via Coralbricks best$1.65via DeepInfra
Output $/1M$0.60via Sail best$4.95via DeepInfra
Context window1M 1M
Max output1M best131K
Serving providers12 best10
DateReleased Sep 10, 2026 Released Aug 3, 2026

Benchmarks

Benchmark scores, side by side
DeepSeek V4.1 FlashQwen3.8 Max
Intelligence39.5 40.1 best
Terminal-BenchNot available 81%
GPQA DiamondNot available 93%
Output speed187 t/s best41 t/s
Latency (TTFT)0.96s best2.57s

Cost calculator

choose a serving route for each side
Input tokens / month
Output tokens / month
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash
via Coralbricks
$1.25
Qwen3.8 Max
via Scx AI
$13

Capabilities

feature support, side by side
FeatureDeepSeek V4.1 FlashQwen3.8 Max
Vision✓✓
Tool use✓✓
Reasoning✓✓
Audio——
Prompt caching✓✓
Structured output✓✓
Web search—✓

Related comparisons

Frequently asked questions

Which is cheaper, DeepSeek V4.1 Flash or Qwen3.8 Max?
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash is cheaper for input ($0.01 vs $1.65 per 1M tokens) from Coralbricks. DeepSeek V4.1 Flash is cheaper for output ($0.60 vs $4.95 per 1M tokens) from Sail.
What is the context window difference between DeepSeek V4.1 Flash and Qwen3.8 Max?
Both DeepSeek V4.1 Flash and Qwen3.8 Max have about a 1M-token context window.
How do DeepSeek V4.1 Flash and Qwen3.8 Max compare on benchmarks?
On the tracked benchmarks, Qwen3.8 Max leads on intelligence.
Listed prices from LiteLLM, OpenRouter and Vercel · last checked Oct 14, 2026

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