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HEAD TO HEAD · UPDATED NOV 6, 2026
GPT-6 Astra vs DeepSeek V4-Pro
OpenAI against DeepSeek, on sourced numbers only. Green marks the higher (or cheaper) value on each row; the text below only calls a lead when the gap is bigger than measurement noise.
| GPT-6 Astra | DeepSeek V4-Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Arena Elo | 1476 source ↗ | 1465 source ↗ |
| GPQA Diamond | 96.0% source ↗ | 92.4% source ↗ |
| $ per 1M in / out | $10 / $50 source ↗ | $0.66 / $1.98 source ↗ |
| Blended $ per 1M (3:1) | $20.00 source ↗ | $0.99 source ↗ |
| Context window | 1.05M source ↗ | 1M source ↗ |
| Output speed | not published | not published |
| Released | Sep 3, 2026 source ↗ | Aug 13, 2026 source ↗ |
| Open weights | No source ↗ | Yes source ↗ |
| Reasoning effort tiers | low · medium · high · xhigh · max (default: not stated) | low · high · max (default: high) |
| API effort control | reasoning={"effort": "low" | "medium" | "high" | "xhigh" | "max"} source ↗ | thinking={"type": "enabled" | "disabled"}, reasoning_effort="low" | "high" | "max" (medium and xhigh map to high) source ↗ |
| Additional benchmarks | DeepSWE v1.1: 74.1% source ↗ Terminal-Bench 4.0: 57.9% source ↗ AA Intelligence Index v5.0.1: 57 (Max) source ↗ | SWE-bench Verified: 80.6% (April V4 preview card, Max) source ↗ |
| Best for (workload) | OpenAI's most capable model: 96.0% GPQA Diamond, 74.1% DeepSWE v1.1 and 57.9% Terminal-Bench 4.0 (OpenAI). source ↗ | Higher GPQA Diamond than V4.1-Flash (92.4% vs 90.9%, DeepSeek); MIT open weights. source ↗ |
Arena Elo from the arena.ai text leaderboard as of Oct 27, 2026 source ↗. Speed measured by Artificial Analysis and varies by provider.
Which one should I use?
For high-volume work where cost matters most, DeepSeek V4-Pro is about 20.2 times cheaper per token. For hard science and analysis questions, GPT-6 Astra scores higher on GPQA Diamond (96.0% vs 92.4%). If you need to self-host or fine-tune, only DeepSeek V4-Pro has open weights. On release timing, OpenAI is at day 11 of a typical ~23-day gap (ADOPT NOW · FRESH RELEASE), and DeepSeek is at day 20 of a typical ~32-day gap (MID-CYCLE).
Key differences from the sourced numbers
- DeepSeek V4-Pro is the cheaper option: $0.99 vs $20.00 per 1M tokens at a 3:1 input-to-output mix (about 20.2 times less).
- On the Arena text leaderboard they are close (1476 vs 1465): a gap under 20 points is within the leaderboard's margin of error.
- On GPQA Diamond, graduate-level science questions, GPT-6 Astra leads 96.0% to 92.4%.
- GPT-6 Astra pricing note: Prompts up to 272K tokens; $20 / $75 above 272K. Batch and Flex: $5 / $25.
- DeepSeek V4-Pro pricing note: Off-peak price (cache hit $0.022 / 1M). Peak hours (01:00 to 04:00 and 06:00 to 10:00 UTC, weekdays): $1.32 / $3.96 (cache hit $0.044 / 1M). API continues until V4.1-Pro launches.
Frequently asked questions
Is GPT-6 Astra or DeepSeek V4-Pro better?
DeepSeek V4-Pro is the cheaper option: $0.99 vs $20.00 per 1M tokens at a 3:1 input-to-output mix (about 20.2 times less). On the Arena text leaderboard they are close (1476 vs 1465): a gap under 20 points is within the leaderboard's margin of error. On GPQA Diamond, graduate-level science questions, GPT-6 Astra leads 96.0% to 92.4%. GPT-6 Astra pricing note: Prompts up to 272K tokens; $20 / $75 above 272K. Batch and Flex: $5 / $25. DeepSeek V4-Pro pricing note: Off-peak price (cache hit $0.022 / 1M). Peak hours (01:00 to 04:00 and 06:00 to 10:00 UTC, weekdays): $1.32 / $3.96 (cache hit $0.044 / 1M). API continues until V4.1-Pro launches.
Which one should I use: GPT-6 Astra or DeepSeek V4-Pro?
For high-volume work where cost matters most, DeepSeek V4-Pro is about 20.2 times cheaper per token. For hard science and analysis questions, GPT-6 Astra scores higher on GPQA Diamond (96.0% vs 92.4%). If you need to self-host or fine-tune, only DeepSeek V4-Pro has open weights. On release timing, OpenAI is at day 11 of a typical ~23-day gap (ADOPT NOW · FRESH RELEASE), and DeepSeek is at day 20 of a typical ~32-day gap (MID-CYCLE).
How much does GPT-6 Astra cost compared with DeepSeek V4-Pro?
GPT-6 Astra lists at $10 / $50 per 1M input/output tokens ($20.00/1M blended at 3:1). DeepSeek V4-Pro lists at $0.66 / $1.98 per 1M input/output tokens ($0.99/1M blended at 3:1).
Facts checked Nov 5, 2026 against official sources. Every number links to its source. Spotted an error? Email [email protected].