ZMIME
Comparison · 2 models · Updated Nov 2, 2026

DeepSeek-V3 vs Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17 comes out ahead, 67 to 49 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.

  1. DeepSeek

    DeepSeek-V3

    Released Dec 26, 2024

    49/100
    • ECI132.3
    • Price$0.32 / $1.10
    • Context131K
    Full specs Remove DeepSeek-V3
  2. Our pick

    Google

    Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17

    Released Jun 17, 2025

    67/100
    • ECI133.8
    • Price$0.12 / $0.48
    • Context1.05M
    Full specs Remove Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17

  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17 is our pick

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17 is the better all-round choice, scoring 67/100 against DeepSeek-V3 (49). It leads on capability, price, inputs & features and context window. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.

  • CapabilityGemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17Capabilities Index (ECI): Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17 133.8 · DeepSeek-V3 132.3
  • Lowest priceGemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17 $0.21 · DeepSeek-V3 $0.515 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextGemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17 1,048,576 · DeepSeek-V3 131,072 tokens
  • Widest inputsGemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17DeepSeek-V3: Text · Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17: Text, Images, PDFs, Audio, Video
  • Self-hostingDeepSeek-V3Publishes downloadable weights (DeepSeek Model License)
How the score is built
MeasureWeightDeepSeek-V3Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17
CapabilityCapabilities Index (ECI)50%5557
Price25%6179
Inputs & features15%2590
Context window10%2561
Overall100%49/10067/100
02 — Side by side

Every spec in one table

Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.

DeepSeek-V3 vs Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17 specifications side by side
SpecificationDeepSeek-V3DeepSeekGemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17Google
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)132.3133.8 (best)
ECI rank#136 of 165#132 of 165 (best)
GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions56.5%—
OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics15.8%—
Price per million tokens
Input$0.32$0.12 (best)
Output$1.10$0.48 (best)
Cached input——
Blended (3:1)$0.515$0.21 (best)
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceMedian of 8 providersMedian of 2 providers
Limits
Context window131,072 tokens1,048,576 tokens (best)
Max output8,192 tokens65,536 tokens (best)
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesNoYes
PDFsNoYes
AudioNoYes
VideoNoYes
ReasoningNoYes
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputNoNo
Availability
WeightsOpenDeepSeek Model LicenseProprietary
API model ID——
API providers8 (best)2
ReleasedDec 26, 2024Jun 17, 2025
Knowledge cutoff—Jan 2025
03 — Cost

What would a month cost?

Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.

  • DeepSeek-V3$5.40
  • Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17$2.16
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: DeepSeek-V3 or Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17?

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17 is the better all-round choice, scoring 67/100 against DeepSeek-V3 (49). It leads on capability, price, inputs & features and context window. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.

Which is cheaper, DeepSeek-V3 or Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17?

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17 is cheaper at $0.12 input / $0.48 output per million tokens (median across 2 API providers). DeepSeek-V3 costs $0.32 input / $1.10 output per million tokens (median across 8 API providers). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.21 per million tokens for Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17 versus $0.515 for DeepSeek-V3 (2.5× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17 scores higher on the Capabilities Index (ECI): Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17 133.8 (#132 of 165) and DeepSeek-V3 132.3 (#136 of 165). The confidence ranges of the top two overlap (130.1–136.1 vs 127.5–135.5), so treat the gap as small.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for DeepSeek-V3 and Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17 yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. On overall capability, Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17 leads, which tends to carry over to coding, but test on your own codebase. Both support tool calling for agent workflows.

Which has the bigger context window?

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17 has the largest context window at 1,048,576 tokens, against 131,072 for DeepSeek-V3. Maximum output per response: DeepSeek-V3 up to 8,192, Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17 up to 65,536 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

DeepSeek-V3 accepts text; Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17 accepts text, images, PDFs, audio and video. Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17 handles the widest range of inputs.

Are any of these open source?

DeepSeek-V3 publishes its weights (DeepSeek Model License) and can be self-hosted; Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17 is proprietary.

Which is newer?

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17 is the newest, released Jun 17, 2025. DeepSeek-V3 came out Dec 26, 2024. Knowledge cutoff: Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Preview 06-17 Jan 2025.

How do you decide the winner?

Each model gets a 0–100 score on capability (50%, independent benchmark results); price (25%, blended price per million tokens (3 input : 1 output), log scale); inputs & features (15%, image, PDF, audio and video input, tool calling, structured output and reasoning); context window (10%, maximum tokens per request, log scale). Dimensions missing for any model are dropped and the remaining weights rescaled, so every model is judged on the same evidence. Specs and prices come from public model listings and the labs’ own API pages; capability scores come from independent benchmark runs. Data updated Nov 2, 2026.

05 — Keep comparing

Related comparisons