DeepSeek: DeepSeek V3.1 vs OpenAI: GPT-4.1 Mini
On input price, DeepSeek: DeepSeek V3.1 is ~1.6× cheaper. Verified 2026-10-21.
DeepSeek: DeepSeek V3.1 $0.250/$0.950vsOpenAI: GPT-4.1 Mini $0.400/$1.60
Verdict
On blended price (3:1 input:output), DeepSeek: DeepSeek V3.1 is ~1.6× cheaper ($0.250/$0.950 vs $0.400/$1.60 per 1M tokens). OpenAI: GPT-4.1 Mini generates 25% faster output.
Pricing
Per-million-token list prices, verified 2026-10-21. Green marks the better value.
| Metric | DeepSeek: DeepSeek V3.1 | OpenAI: GPT-4.1 Mini |
|---|---|---|
| Input / 1M | $0.250 | $0.400 |
| Output / 1M | $0.950 | $1.60 |
| Cache read / 1M | $0.130 | $0.100 |
| Blended (3:1) | $0.425/1M | $0.700/1M |
| Estimated monthly cost | DeepSeek: DeepSeek V3.1 | OpenAI: GPT-4.1 Mini |
|---|---|---|
| Chatbot10,000 reqs · 800/400 tok | $5.80 | $9.60 |
| Coding agent5,000 reqs · 8000/2000 tok | $19.50 | $32.00 |
| RAG pipeline30,000 reqs · 4000/500 tok | $44.25 | $72.00 |
Plug in your own numbers in the calculator, or paste a real bill into the Bill Shredder.
Specifications & capabilities
| Metric | DeepSeek: DeepSeek V3.1 | OpenAI: GPT-4.1 Mini |
|---|---|---|
| Context window | 164K | 1.0M |
| Max output | 33K | 33K |
| Vision input | – | ✓ |
| Tool calling | ✓ | ✓ |
| Reasoning | ✓ | – |
Performance
Measured by Artificial Analysis on live endpoints.
Output speed — higher is better
DeepSeek: DeepSeek V3.1120 tok/s
OpenAI: GPT-4.1 Mini150 tok/s
Latency (TTFT) — lower is better
DeepSeek: DeepSeek V3.1800 ms
OpenAI: GPT-4.1 Mini600 ms
| Metric | DeepSeek: DeepSeek V3.1 | OpenAI: GPT-4.1 Mini |
|---|---|---|
| Cost per task | $0.000006 | $0.000004 |
Provider
Infrastructure metrics for the organizations behind these models.
| Metric | DeepSeek | OpenAI |
|---|---|---|
| Listed endpoints | 6 | 12 |
| Reliability | 99.6% | 99.9% |
| Avg latency | 480 ms | 450 ms |
| Pricing tiers | standard, free | standard, batch, provisioned |
Full details: DeepSeek: DeepSeek V3.1 pricing · OpenAI: GPT-4.1 Mini pricing