DeepSeek V4.1 Flash vs GPT-6 Astra
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash comes out ahead, 78 to 68 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.
- Our pick
DeepSeekDeepSeek V4.1 Flash
78/100- ECI155.0
- Price$0.15 / $0.60
- Context1M
OpenAIGPT-6 Astra
68/100- ECI166.5
- Price$10.00 / $50.00
- Context1.05M
Add a model
Make it a three-way comparison.
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash is our pick
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash is the better all-round choice, scoring 78/100 against GPT-6 Astra (68). It leads on price. GPT-6 Astra wins on capability and inputs & features. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.
- CapabilityGPT-6 AstraCapabilities Index (ECI): GPT-6 Astra 166.5 · DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 155.0
- Lowest priceDeepSeek V4.1 FlashDeepSeek V4.1 Flash $0.263 · GPT-6 Astra $20.00 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextGPT-6 AstraGPT-6 Astra 1,050,000 · DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1,000,000 tokens
- Widest inputsGPT-6 AstraDeepSeek V4.1 Flash: Text, Images · GPT-6 Astra: Text, Images, PDFs
- Self-hostingDeepSeek V4.1 FlashPublishes downloadable weights (MIT)
| Measure | Weight | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash | GPT-6 Astra |
|---|---|---|---|
| CapabilityCapabilities Index (ECI) | 50% | 84 | 99 |
| Price | 25% | 77 | 0 |
| Inputs & features | 15% | 70 | 80 |
| Context window | 10% | 60 | 61 |
| Overall | 100% | 78/100 | 68/100 |
Every spec in one table
Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.
| Specification | DeepSeek V4.1 FlashDeepSeek | GPT-6 AstraOpenAI |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | 155.0 | 166.5 (best) |
| ECI rank | #29 of 148 | #2 of 148 (best) |
| GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions | — | 95.8% |
| FrontierMath Tiers 1–3Research-level mathematics | — | 93.7% |
| OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics | — | 100% |
| SimpleQA VerifiedShort factual questions | — | 75.6% |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $0.15 (best) | $10.00 |
| Output | $0.60 (best) | $50.00 |
| Cached input | $0.003 (best) | $1.00 |
| Blended (3:1) | $0.263 (best) | $20.00 |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Over 272K: $20.00 / $75.00 |
| Price source | Official DeepSeek API | Official OpenAI API |
| Limits | ||
| Context window | 1,000,000 tokens | 1,050,000 tokens (best) |
| Max output | 384,000 tokens (best) | 128,000 tokens |
| Inputs and features | ||
| Text | Yes | Yes |
| Images | Yes | Yes |
| PDFs | No | Yes |
| Audio | No | No |
| Video | No | No |
| Reasoning | Yeslow · high · max | Yeslow · medium · high · xhigh · max |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | Yes | Yes |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | OpenMIT | Proprietary |
| API model ID | deepseek-flash | gpt-6-astra |
| API providers | 50 (best) | 26 |
| Released | Sep 10, 2026 | Sep 4, 2026 |
| Knowledge cutoff | May 2025 | Apr 30, 2026 |
What would a month cost?
Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.
- DeepSeek V4.1 Flash$2.70
- GPT-6 Astra$200.00
Which should you choose?
Which is better: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash or GPT-6 Astra?
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash is the better all-round choice, scoring 78/100 against GPT-6 Astra (68). It leads on price. GPT-6 Astra wins on capability and inputs & features. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.
Which is cheaper, DeepSeek V4.1 Flash or GPT-6 Astra?
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash is cheaper at $0.15 input / $0.60 output per million tokens (official DeepSeek API price). GPT-6 Astra costs $10.00 input / $50.00 output per million tokens (official OpenAI API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.263 per million tokens for DeepSeek V4.1 Flash versus $20.00 for GPT-6 Astra (76× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
GPT-6 Astra scores higher on the Capabilities Index (ECI): GPT-6 Astra 166.5 (#2 of 148) and DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 155.0 (#29 of 148). Their confidence ranges do not overlap (163.1–171.1 vs 148.8–157.6), so the gap is a real one.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for DeepSeek V4.1 Flash and GPT-6 Astra yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. On overall capability, GPT-6 Astra 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?
GPT-6 Astra has the largest context window at 1,050,000 tokens, against 1,000,000 for DeepSeek V4.1 Flash. Maximum output per response: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash up to 384,000, GPT-6 Astra up to 128,000 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash accepts text and images; GPT-6 Astra accepts text, images and PDFs. GPT-6 Astra handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash publishes its weights (MIT) and can be self-hosted; GPT-6 Astra is proprietary.
Which is newer?
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash is the newest, released Sep 10, 2026. GPT-6 Astra came out Sep 4, 2026. Knowledge cutoff: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash May 2025, GPT-6 Astra Apr 30, 2026.
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 Oct 4, 2026.
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