DeepSeek V3.2 vs Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite
Benchmarks, API pricing and specs, head to head. Data updated 2026-06-10.
DeepSeek · Sep 2025
The sparse-attention release that halved DeepSeek's already-lowest-in-class prices while keeping GPT-class quality.
Google · Mar 2026
The cheapest Gemini 3 model: multimodal input and a 1M context for $0.25/$1.50 — built for massive-scale pipelines.
The verdict
These two models don't yet share verified results on the benchmarks we track, so judge them on specs, pricing and intended use. DeepSeek V3.2 is about 1.8x cheaper per blended million tokens (3:1 input:output mix). Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite also takes 1M of context versus 128K for DeepSeek V3.2. And DeepSeek V3.2 is open-weights (MIT), so it can be self-hosted — a structural advantage if data control or vendor independence matters.
Specs & pricing
| DeepSeek V3.2 | Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite | |
|---|---|---|
| modhub Index | 68.4 | — |
| Input price / 1M | $0.28 | $0.25 |
| Output price / 1M | $0.42 | $1.5 |
| Context window | 128K | 1M |
| Max output | 64K | 66K |
| Open weights | yes (MIT) | no |
| Reasoning model | yes | no |
| Multimodal input | text | text, image, audio, video |
| Knowledge cutoff | Jul 2025 | Nov 2025 |
| Released | Sep 2025 | Mar 2026 |
| Example monthly cost* | $3.43 | $4.75 |
* 10M input + 1.5M output tokens per month at list prices, no caching. Green = better value on that row.
Frequently asked questions
- Which is better, DeepSeek V3.2 or Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite?
- These two models don't yet share verified results on the benchmarks we track, so judge them on specs, pricing and intended use. DeepSeek V3.2 is about 1.8x cheaper per blended million tokens (3:1 input:output mix). Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite also takes 1M of context versus 128K for DeepSeek V3.2. And DeepSeek V3.2 is open-weights (MIT), so it can be self-hosted — a structural advantage if data control or vendor independence matters.
- Which is cheaper, DeepSeek V3.2 or Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite?
- DeepSeek V3.2 costs $0.28/$0.42 per million input/output tokens, while Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite costs $0.25/$1.5. For a typical workload of 10M input and 1.5M output tokens per month, that's $3.43 versus $4.75.
- Which model is better for coding, DeepSeek V3.2 or Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite?
- We don't yet track SWE-bench Verified results for both models; check their individual pages for coding-related scores.