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Model comparison

DeepSeek V4 Flash vs DeepSeek V4 Pro (Max)

Data verified

Head-to-head evidence from 20 shared benchmark results across 6 categories. Overall scores shown here use the public BenchAlign v5 ranking lane.

Sibling matchup inside the DeepSeek V4 family.

58.88/100
No comparison
N/A
0 category wins4 category wins

Public leaderboard positions: DeepSeek V4 Flash #61 (Estimated); DeepSeek V4 Pro (Max) unranked (Not scored). Intervals and evidence labels describe ranking uncertainty, not a guarantee for a specific workload.

Evidence parity. DeepSeek V4 Flash and DeepSeek V4 Pro (Max) share 20 comparable benchmark results. 4 of 8 categories are comparable. 2 results are unique to DeepSeek V4 Flash; 28 to DeepSeek V4 Pro (Max).

Updated July 23, 2026
Shared results
20
DeepSeek V4 Flash only
2
DeepSeek V4 Pro (Max) only
28
Comparable categories
4 / 8

DeepSeek V4 Flash makes more sense if you want the cheaper token bill or you would rather avoid the extra latency and token burn of a reasoning model, while DeepSeek V4 Pro (Max) is the cleaner fit if mathematics is the priority or you want the stronger reasoning-first profile.

Confidence note. This is a partial-evidence comparison with 20 shared benchmark results across 6 evidence categories; 4 of 8 categories currently have scoreable aggregates for both models. Treat the verdict as directional until coverage is more balanced.

Why this result

DeepSeek V4 Flash and DeepSeek V4 Pro (Max) sit in the same DeepSeek V4 family. This page is less about two unrelated model lineages and more about how the siblings trade off on benchmark shape, token costs, and practical limits like context window.

DeepSeek V4 Flash and DeepSeek V4 Pro (Max) finish on the same BenchAlign overall score, so this is less about a single winner and more about where the edge shows up. The BenchAlign headline says tie; the benchmark table is where the real choice happens.

DeepSeek V4 Pro (Max) is also the more expensive model on tokens at $0.43 input / $0.87 output per 1M tokens, versus $0.14 input / $0.28 output per 1M tokens for DeepSeek V4 Flash. That is roughly 3.1x on output cost alone. DeepSeek V4 Pro (Max) is the reasoning model in the pair, while DeepSeek V4 Flash is not. That usually helps on harder chain-of-thought-heavy tests, but it can also mean more latency and more token spend in real use.

Category breakdown

Exact category averages are shown below. Not measured means BenchLM does not have enough sourced public coverage for that model and category.

Category scores and score margins for DeepSeek V4 Flash and DeepSeek V4 Pro (Max)
CategoryDeepSeek V4 FlashΔDeepSeek V4 Pro (Max)
MathDeepSeek V4 Flash40.8Margin→ 54.4DeepSeek V4 Pro (Max)95.2
AgenticDeepSeek V4 Flash49.1Margin→ 25.4DeepSeek V4 Pro (Max)74.5
KnowledgeDeepSeek V4 Flash38.8Margin→ 21.3DeepSeek V4 Pro (Max)60.1
CodingDeepSeek V4 Flash64.2Margin→ 6.7DeepSeek V4 Pro (Max)70.9

Decisive benchmark drivers

The largest measured benchmark gaps in this matchup, with exact reported values.

More
A · DeepSeek V4 FlashB · DeepSeek V4 Pro (Max)

  1. HMMT Feb 2026

    Math
    Source ↗
    A 40.8%B 95.2%
    Winner: DeepSeek V4 Pro (Max)Δ 54.4
    HMMT Feb 2026: DeepSeek V4 Flash scored 40.8%; DeepSeek V4 Pro (Max) scored 95.2%. DeepSeek V4 Pro (Max) wins this benchmark.

  2. SimpleQA

    Knowledge
    Source ↗
    A 23.1%B 57.9%
    Winner: DeepSeek V4 Pro (Max)Δ 34.8
    SimpleQA: DeepSeek V4 Flash scored 23.1%; DeepSeek V4 Pro (Max) scored 57.9%. DeepSeek V4 Pro (Max) wins this benchmark.

  3. HLE

    Knowledge
    Source ↗
    A 8.1%B 37.7%
    Winner: DeepSeek V4 Pro (Max)Δ 29.6
    HLE: DeepSeek V4 Flash scored 8.1%; DeepSeek V4 Pro (Max) scored 37.7%. DeepSeek V4 Pro (Max) wins this benchmark.

  4. GPQA

    Knowledge
    Source ↗
    A 71.2%B 90.1%
    Winner: DeepSeek V4 Pro (Max)Δ 18.9
    GPQA: DeepSeek V4 Flash scored 71.2%; DeepSeek V4 Pro (Max) scored 90.1%. DeepSeek V4 Pro (Max) wins this benchmark.

  5. Terminal-Bench 2.0

    Agentic
    Source ↗
    A 49.1%B 67.9%
    Winner: DeepSeek V4 Pro (Max)Δ 18.8
    Terminal-Bench 2.0: DeepSeek V4 Flash scored 49.1%; DeepSeek V4 Pro (Max) scored 67.9%. DeepSeek V4 Pro (Max) wins this benchmark.

Operational comparison

Runtime and commercial metrics are compared only when both models have a complete sourced value.

MetricDeepSeek V4 FlashDeepSeek V4 Pro (Max)Comparison
Input / output priceUSD per 1M tokensDeepSeek V4 Flash$0.14 input / $0.28 outputDeepSeek V4 Pro (Max)$0.435 input / $0.87 outputDeepSeek V4 Flash has the lower combined listed price.
Generation speedtokens per secondDeepSeek V4 FlashNot availableDeepSeek V4 Pro (Max)Not availableA complete speed comparison is not available.
First-answer latencyseconds to first tokenDeepSeek V4 FlashNot availableDeepSeek V4 Pro (Max)Not availableA complete latency comparison is not available.
Context windowmaximum listed tokensDeepSeek V4 Flash1MDeepSeek V4 Pro (Max)1MListed context windows are equal.

Benchmark Deep Dive

AgenticDeepSeek V4 Pro (Max) wins
BenchmarkDeepSeek V4 FlashDeepSeek V4 Pro (Max)Result
Terminal-Bench 2.0Source 49.1%67.9%DeepSeek V4 Pro (Max) leads
MCP AtlasSource 64%73.6%DeepSeek V4 Pro (Max) leads
ToolathlonSource 40.7%51.8%DeepSeek V4 Pro (Max) leads
Claw-EvalSource 57.8%—Not comparable
Gert LabsSource 54.35%—Not comparable
BrowseCompSource —83.4%Not comparable
HLE w/ toolsSource —48.2%Not comparable
GDPval-AASource —1307Not comparable
AA Agentic IndexSource —36.4%Not comparable
APEX-Agents-AASource —24.3%Not comparable
τ²-bench resultsSource —96.2%Not comparable
GDPval-AASource —40.4%Not comparable
AA BriefcaseSource —932Not comparable
AA EnterpriseOps-GymSource —40.4%Not comparable
AA Harvey LABSource —84.4%Not comparable
AA ITBenchSource —38.3%Not comparable
AA Tau3 BankingSource —25.8%Not comparable
terminalBenchHardSource —46.2%Not comparable
aaTerminalBench21Source —64%Not comparable
CodingDeepSeek V4 Pro (Max) wins
BenchmarkDeepSeek V4 FlashDeepSeek V4 Pro (Max)Result
SWE-bench VerifiedSource 73.7%80.6%DeepSeek V4 Pro (Max) leads
SWE-bench ProSource 49.1%55.4%DeepSeek V4 Pro (Max) leads
SWE MultilingualSource 69.7%76.2%DeepSeek V4 Pro (Max) leads
Terminal-Bench 2.0Source 49.1%67.9%DeepSeek V4 Pro (Max) leads
CodeforcesSource —3206.0Not comparable
Vibe Code BenchSource —49.93%Not comparable
AA Coding IndexSource —59.4%Not comparable
AA-SciCodeSource —50.0%Not comparable
Reasoning
BenchmarkDeepSeek V4 FlashDeepSeek V4 Pro (Max)Result
MRCR 1MSource 37.5%83.5%DeepSeek V4 Pro (Max) leads
CorpusQA 1MSource 15.5%62.0%DeepSeek V4 Pro (Max) leads
AA-LCRSource —66.3%Not comparable
CritPtSource —12.9%Not comparable
KnowledgeDeepSeek V4 Pro (Max) wins
BenchmarkDeepSeek V4 FlashDeepSeek V4 Pro (Max)Result
MMLU-ProSource 83%87.5%DeepSeek V4 Pro (Max) leads
SimpleQASource 23.1%57.9%DeepSeek V4 Pro (Max) leads
Chinese-SimpleQASource 71.5%84.4%DeepSeek V4 Pro (Max) leads
GPQASource 71.2%90.1%DeepSeek V4 Pro (Max) leads
GPQA-DSource 71.2%90.1%DeepSeek V4 Pro (Max) leads
HLESource 8.1%37.7%DeepSeek V4 Pro (Max) leads
Artificial Analysis Intelligence IndexSource —44.3%Not comparable
AA-GPQA DiamondSource —88.8%Not comparable
AA-HLESource —35.9%Not comparable
AA-Omniscience IndexSource —-10.0%Not comparable
AA-Omniscience AccuracySource —43.3%Not comparable
AA-Omniscience Hallucination RateSource —94.0%Not comparable
AA Openness IndexSource —50.0%Not comparable
MathDeepSeek V4 Pro (Max) wins
BenchmarkDeepSeek V4 FlashDeepSeek V4 Pro (Max)Result
HMMT Feb 2026Source 40.8%95.2%DeepSeek V4 Pro (Max) leads
IMOAnswerBenchSource 41.9%89.8%DeepSeek V4 Pro (Max) leads
ApexSource 1.0%38.3%DeepSeek V4 Pro (Max) leads
Apex ShortlistSource 9.3%90.2%DeepSeek V4 Pro (Max) leads
Multimodal
BenchmarkDeepSeek V4 FlashDeepSeek V4 Pro (Max)Result
Design Arena WebsiteSource 12381264DeepSeek V4 Pro (Max) leads
Inst. Following
BenchmarkDeepSeek V4 FlashDeepSeek V4 Pro (Max)Result
AA-IFBenchSource —76.5%Not comparable
Frequently Asked Questions (5)

Which is better, DeepSeek V4 Flash or DeepSeek V4 Pro (Max)?

DeepSeek V4 Flash and DeepSeek V4 Pro (Max) are sibling variants in the DeepSeek V4 family, so the right pick depends on whether you value the better benchmark line, cheaper tokens, or the larger context window. They are tied on the BenchAlign leaderboard on the current data.

Which is better for knowledge tasks, DeepSeek V4 Flash or DeepSeek V4 Pro (Max)?

DeepSeek V4 Pro (Max) has the edge for knowledge tasks in this comparison, averaging 60.1 versus 38.8. Inside this category, SimpleQA is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.

Which is better for coding, DeepSeek V4 Flash or DeepSeek V4 Pro (Max)?

DeepSeek V4 Pro (Max) has the edge for coding in this comparison, averaging 70.9 versus 64.2. Inside this category, Terminal-Bench 2.0 is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.

Which is better for math, DeepSeek V4 Flash or DeepSeek V4 Pro (Max)?

DeepSeek V4 Pro (Max) has the edge for math in this comparison, averaging 95.2 versus 40.8. Inside this category, Apex Shortlist is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.

Which is better for agentic tasks, DeepSeek V4 Flash or DeepSeek V4 Pro (Max)?

DeepSeek V4 Pro (Max) has the edge for agentic tasks in this comparison, averaging 74.5 versus 49.1. Inside this category, Terminal-Bench 2.0 is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.

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