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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

GPT-4.1 mini vs DeepSeek-V3.1

GPT-4.1 mini comes out ahead, 60 to 55 on our weighted score, though DeepSeek-V3.1 is 14% cheaper per token.

  1. Our pick

    OpenAI

    GPT-4.1 mini

    Released Apr 14, 2025

    60/100
    • ECI135.0
    • Price$0.40 / $1.60
    • Context1.05M
    Full specs Remove GPT-4.1 mini

  2. DeepSeek

    DeepSeek-V3.1

    Released Aug 21, 2025

    55/100
    • ECI139.9
    • Price$0.385 / $1.25
    • Context131K
    Full specs Remove DeepSeek-V3.1

  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

GPT-4.1 mini is our pick

GPT-4.1 mini is the better all-round choice, scoring 60/100 against DeepSeek-V3.1 (55). It leads on inputs & features and context window. DeepSeek-V3.1 wins on capability and price. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.

  • CapabilityDeepSeek-V3.1Capabilities Index (ECI): DeepSeek-V3.1 139.9 · GPT-4.1 mini 135.0
  • Lowest priceDeepSeek-V3.1DeepSeek-V3.1 $0.601 · GPT-4.1 mini $0.70 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextGPT-4.1 miniGPT-4.1 mini 1,047,576 · DeepSeek-V3.1 131,072 tokens
  • Widest inputsGPT-4.1 miniGPT-4.1 mini: Text, Images, PDFs · DeepSeek-V3.1: Text
  • Self-hostingDeepSeek-V3.1Publishes downloadable weights (MIT License)
How the score is built
MeasureWeightGPT-4.1 miniDeepSeek-V3.1
CapabilityCapabilities Index (ECI)50%5965
Price25%5760
Inputs & features15%7035
Context window10%6124
Overall100%60/10055/100
02 — Side by side

Every spec in one table

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

GPT-4.1 mini vs DeepSeek-V3.1 specifications side by side
SpecificationGPT-4.1 miniOpenAIDeepSeek-V3.1DeepSeek
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)135.0139.9 (best)
ECI rank#115 of 148#100 of 148 (best)
GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions65.9%—
FrontierMath Tiers 1–3Research-level mathematics6.7%—
OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics44.7%—
SimpleQA VerifiedShort factual questions12.7%—
Price per million tokens
Input$0.40$0.385 (best)
Output$1.60$1.25 (best)
Cached input$0.10—
Blended (3:1)$0.70$0.601 (best)
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceOfficial OpenAI APIMedian of 8 providers
Limits
Context window1,047,576 tokens (best)131,072 tokens
Max output32,768 tokens (best)8,192 tokens
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesYesNo
PDFsYesNo
AudioNoNo
VideoNoNo
ReasoningNoYes
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputYesNo
Availability
WeightsProprietaryOpenMIT License
API model IDgpt-4.1-mini—
API providers24 (best)8
ReleasedApr 14, 2025Aug 21, 2025
Knowledge cutoffApr 2024—
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.

  • GPT-4.1 mini$7.20
  • DeepSeek-V3.1$6.35
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: GPT-4.1 mini or DeepSeek-V3.1?

GPT-4.1 mini is the better all-round choice, scoring 60/100 against DeepSeek-V3.1 (55). It leads on inputs & features and context window. DeepSeek-V3.1 wins on capability and price. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.

Which is cheaper, GPT-4.1 mini or DeepSeek-V3.1?

DeepSeek-V3.1 is cheaper at $0.385 input / $1.25 output per million tokens (median across 8 API providers). GPT-4.1 mini costs $0.40 input / $1.60 output per million tokens (official OpenAI API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.601 per million tokens for DeepSeek-V3.1 versus $0.70 for GPT-4.1 mini (1.2× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

DeepSeek-V3.1 scores higher on the Capabilities Index (ECI): DeepSeek-V3.1 139.9 (#100 of 148) and GPT-4.1 mini 135.0 (#115 of 148). The confidence ranges of the top two overlap (136.1–143.3 vs 131.2–136.6), so treat the gap as small.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for GPT-4.1 mini and DeepSeek-V3.1 yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. On overall capability, DeepSeek-V3.1 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-4.1 mini has the largest context window at 1,047,576 tokens, against 131,072 for DeepSeek-V3.1. Maximum output per response: GPT-4.1 mini up to 32,768, DeepSeek-V3.1 up to 8,192 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

GPT-4.1 mini accepts text, images and PDFs; DeepSeek-V3.1 accepts text. GPT-4.1 mini handles the widest range of inputs.

Are any of these open source?

DeepSeek-V3.1 publishes its weights (MIT License) and can be self-hosted; GPT-4.1 mini is proprietary.

Which is newer?

DeepSeek-V3.1 is the newest, released Aug 21, 2025. GPT-4.1 mini came out Apr 14, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: GPT-4.1 mini Apr 2024.

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.

05 — Keep comparing

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