Pricing comparison
GPT-4.1 mini vs DeepSeek V4 Pro
Per-token pricing, full-workload cost ladders, and monthly volume projections. Numbers sourced directly from each provider's rate card.
OpenAI
GPT-4.1 mini
- Input
- $0.40 / 1M
- Output
- $1.60 / 1M
- Cached input
- $0.100 / 1M
- Context
- 1.0M
- Max output
- 33K
DeepSeek
DeepSeek V4 Pro
- Input
- $1.74 / 1M
- Output
- $3.48 / 1M
- Cached input
- -
- Context
- 1M
- Max output
- 384K
Cost per request
Four common workload shapes, input tokens and a 1:2 output ratio (a standard chat/completion pattern). Long-context surcharges apply automatically where the provider charges them.
| Scenario | Tokens (in / out) | GPT-4.1 mini | DeepSeek V4 Pro | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Short prompt | 100 / 200 | $0.0004 | $0.0009 | GPT-4.1 mini |
| Typical request | 1,000 / 2,000 | $0.0036 | $0.0087 | GPT-4.1 mini |
| Long document | 10,000 / 5,000 | $0.0120 | $0.0348 | GPT-4.1 mini |
| Large prompt | 100,000 / 10,000 | $0.0560 | $0.2088 | GPT-4.1 mini |
Monthly bill at scale
Projected monthly cost at typical request volume, assuming the "typical request" shape above (1k in, 2k out).
| Traffic | Req / month | GPT-4.1 mini | DeepSeek V4 Pro | Delta |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small SaaS | 1,000 | $3.60 | $8.70 | GPT-4.1 mini -$5.10 |
| Growing product | 10,000 | $36.00 | $87.00 | GPT-4.1 mini -$51.00 |
| Heavy usage | 100,000 | $360.00 | $870.00 | GPT-4.1 mini -$510.00 |
Which should you use?
For the typical chat-shape request (~1k input, 2k output), GPT-4.1 mini comes out 142% cheaper. If you're picking one as the default, that's usually the right choice on cost alone.
GPT-4.1 mini wins on both sides of the bill - cheaper input and cheaper output. If the quality gap is in your favour, there's no cost argument for the other side.
Context window differs: GPT-4.1 mini holds 1.0M of input vs 1M on the other side. If you regularly push past the smaller ceiling, the comparison ends there.
Live cost calculator
Type in any token counts - both prices update instantly. Uses base input/output rates (no cache discount, no long-context tier).
GPT-4.1 mini
$0.0012
per request
DeepSeek V4 Pro
$0.0035
per request
Try both in the estimator →
Drop your actual prompt in, tokens are counted with the provider's own tokenizer, and the dollar number matches what lands on your invoice.
Frequently asked
- Which is cheaper, GPT-4.1 mini or DeepSeek V4 Pro?
- On a typical 1,000-input / 2,000-output request, GPT-4.1 mini costs ~$0.0036 vs ~$0.0087 on DeepSeek V4 Pro. Input or output rates can flip the answer for very lopsided workloads - see the cost ladder above.
- What's the difference in per-token pricing?
- GPT-4.1 mini charges $0.40 per 1M input tokens and $1.60 per 1M output tokens. DeepSeek V4 Pro charges $1.74 / $3.48 per 1M.
- Which has the bigger context window?
- GPT-4.1 mini is larger (1.0M) vs 1M on the other.
- Is there a cached-input discount on either?
- GPT-4.1 mini caches at $0.100 per 1M (75% off). DeepSeek V4 Pro does not publish a cached-input rate. Workloads with repeated static prefixes see the biggest savings.
- How fresh is this comparison?
- GPT-4.1 mini was re-verified on 2026-04-06 and DeepSeek V4 Pro on 2026-07-01 against each provider's published rate card. Calcis re-checks every row on a rolling schedule and re-deploys when a provider changes pricing.
GPT-4.1 mini verified 2026-04-06 · DeepSeek V4 Pro verified 2026-07-01. Rate cards at OpenAI and DeepSeek.