Just Finished Testing DeepSeek V4 vs GPT-5.6 — Here's What I Found
I spent the last week doing something I'd been putting off: running DeepSeek V4 and GPT-5.6 through the same prompts, back to back, and actually tracking the results instead of trusting the hype.
TL;DR: the price gap is even bigger than the marketing says, and DeepSeek won a benchmark I did not see coming.
Here's the full breakdown.
The setup
Same 20 prompts across every test. Same request structure. One API key for both models (yes, that's possible — more on that at the end). I tested: price, speed, coding, reasoning, writing, translation, and math.
Models tested:
- DeepSeek V4 Flash — $0.14 in / $0.42 out per 1M tokens
- DeepSeek V4 Pro — $0.28 in / $0.84 out
- GPT-5.6 Luna — $0.27 in / $2.70 out
- GPT-5.6 Sol — $13.50 in / $60.00 out
1. Price: I had to double-check this
| Model | Input / 1M | Output / 1M |
|---|---|---|
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | $0.14 | $0.42 |
| DeepSeek V4 Pro | $0.28 | $0.84 |
| GPT-5.6 Luna | $0.27 | $2.70 |
| GPT-5.6 Sol | $13.50 | $60.00 |
DeepSeek V4 Flash costs 96% less than GPT-5.6 Sol on input. Not 50%. Not 70%. Ninety-six percent.
I ran a simulated production workload — 100K requests/month, ~1.5K tokens each. Same workload:
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: ~$52/month
- GPT-5.6 Sol: ~$4,200/month
That's not a rounding error. That's a different business.
2. Speed: Flash is genuinely fast
Same prompt ("Explain quantum computing in 3 sentences"), time to first token:
| Model | Time to First Token | Full Response |
|---|---|---|
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | ~0.4s | ~1.2s |
| GPT-5.6 Luna | ~0.6s | ~1.8s |
| DeepSeek V4 Pro | ~0.8s | ~2.1s |
| GPT-5.6 Sol | ~1.2s | ~3.5s |
The "cheap" model was the fastest in the group. That's the opposite of what I expected going in.
3. Coding: the result I did not see coming
I ran the standard battery — merge function, a small CRUD API, a Python script with edge cases, and a refactoring pass.
DeepSeek V4 Flash scored 82.7 on Terminal Bench 2.1 — an agentic coding benchmark where it beats several models that cost 50x more. In my own tests, its solutions were clean, idiomatic, and handled edge cases I didn't even mention in the prompt.
GPT-5.6 Sol is still better on complex multi-file reasoning. But for everyday coding? Honestly, I couldn't tell the difference in output quality — only in the invoice.
4. Reasoning, writing, translation, math
| Task | Winner | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Reasoning | Tie | Both nailed the classic traps |
| Writing | GPT-5.6 Sol | Richer prose — noticeable on long-form |
| Translation | DeepSeek V4 | Cleaner for Chinese↔English |
| Math | Tie | Both correct on my test set |
The pattern: DeepSeek wins or ties on technical tasks. GPT-5.6 Sol wins the creative-writing category by a hair — and costs 100x more to do it.
5. The conclusion nobody wants to hear
If you're building something real — an app, a tool, a product — start with DeepSeek V4 Flash. Upgrade to a premium model only when a specific task proves it needs to.
The old rule was "you get what you pay for." In 2026, the rule is: you pay for the top 5% of tasks. Everything else runs on DeepSeek for pennies.
Want to run this test yourself?
Both models are behind the same API key on TokenPAPA — OpenAI-compatible, so it's a one-line change to switch. New accounts get $1 free credit, which is roughly 2,800 requests on V4 Flash. Run the same prompts I did and see for yourself.
from openai import OpenAI
client = OpenAI(base_url="https://tokenpapa.ai/v1", api_key="your-key")
resp = client.chat.completions.create(
model="deepseek-v4-flash", # or gpt-5.6-luna, gpt-5.6-sol
messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Run my benchmark prompt here."}]
)
print(resp.choices[0].message.content)
FAQ
Q: Is DeepSeek V4 actually cheaper than GPT-5.6?
A: Yes — dramatically. $0.14 vs $13.50 per 1M input: a 96% price difference on most tasks I tested.
Q: Which model won the coding tests?
A: DeepSeek V4 Flash scored 82.7 on Terminal Bench 2.1 and held its own against GPT-5.6 — the biggest surprise of my testing week.
Q: When should I pay for GPT-5.6 instead?
A: Long-form creative writing and complex multi-step reasoning still favor GPT-5.6 Sol. Everything else — coding, chat, translation, math — DeepSeek V4 Flash wins on value.
Q: Can I test both with one API key?
A: Yes. TokenPAPA serves DeepSeek V4 and GPT-5.6 (plus 30+ other models) through one OpenAI-compatible key. Switch with a one-line change.
Get Started
- Sign up at tokenpapa.ai — get $1 free credit
- Create your API key — one key, both models
- Run the test yourself — 2,800+ free requests on V4 Flash
from openai import OpenAI
client = OpenAI(base_url="https://tokenpapa.ai/v1", api_key="your-key")
resp = client.chat.completions.create(
model="deepseek-v4-flash", # or gpt-5.6-luna
messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Hello!"}]
)
print(resp.choices[0].message.content)
Originally published at https://doc.tokenpapa.ai/en/docs/blog/testing-deepseek-v4-vs-gpt-5-6.
