DeepSeek V3.2 vs OpenAI o4-mini
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.
OpenAI · Apr 2025
A compact reasoning model that punched far above its price on math — 92.7% on AIME 2025 at $1.10 per million input tokens.
The verdict
OpenAI o4-mini wins 3 of the 3 benchmarks these models share, against 0 for DeepSeek V3.2. On price the gap is dramatic: DeepSeek V3.2 works out roughly 6.1x cheaper per blended million tokens. OpenAI o4-mini also takes 200K 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.
Benchmark head-to-head 0–3
Specs & pricing
| DeepSeek V3.2 | OpenAI o4-mini | |
|---|---|---|
| modhub Index | 68.4 | 80.9 |
| Input price / 1M | $0.28 | $1.1 |
| Output price / 1M | $0.42 | $4.4 |
| Context window | 128K | 200K |
| Max output | 64K | 100K |
| Open weights | yes (MIT) | no |
| Reasoning model | yes | yes |
| Multimodal input | text | text, image |
| Knowledge cutoff | Jul 2025 | May 2024 |
| Released | Sep 2025 | Apr 2025 |
| Example monthly cost* | $3.43 | $17.60 |
* 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 OpenAI o4-mini?
- OpenAI o4-mini wins 3 of the 3 benchmarks these models share, against 0 for DeepSeek V3.2. On price the gap is dramatic: DeepSeek V3.2 works out roughly 6.1x cheaper per blended million tokens. OpenAI o4-mini also takes 200K 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 OpenAI o4-mini?
- DeepSeek V3.2 costs $0.28/$0.42 per million input/output tokens, while OpenAI o4-mini costs $1.1/$4.4. For a typical workload of 10M input and 1.5M output tokens per month, that's $3.43 versus $17.60.
- Which model is better for coding, DeepSeek V3.2 or OpenAI o4-mini?
- On SWE-bench Verified — the standard agentic-coding benchmark — OpenAI o4-mini scores 68.1% versus 67.8% for DeepSeek V3.2, making OpenAI o4-mini the stronger pick for coding agents.