GeminivsDeepSeek

Gemini 3.6 Flash vs DeepSeek R1

Side-by-side comparison of pricing, task quality, and projected cost at higher scale.

Pricing

Side-by-side pricing

Gemini 3.6 Flash

Fast / Budget

DeepSeek R1

Mid-tier
Input $/MTok
$0.75
$0.55
Output $/MTok
$3.75
$2.19
Cache discount
90% off
75% off
Context
1.0M
128K

Quality

Task confidence comparison

Confidence score from zero to one hundred by task type, where higher is better.
Code Generation
57
vs
0
Code Review
0
vs
0
Summarization
75
vs
0
Q&A
0
vs
0
Extraction
73
vs
0
Reasoning
85
vs
0
Classification
0
vs
0
Creative Writing
76
vs
0
Gemini 3.6 Flash
DeepSeek R1

Guidance

When to use Gemini 3.6 Flash vs DeepSeek R1

Choose Gemini 3.6 Flash when...

  • -You need a larger context window (1.0M vs 128K)
  • Similar performance; consider provider preference or ecosystem fit.

Choose DeepSeek R1 when...

  • -Cost matters: 27% cheaper on input tokens

At scale

Cost at scale

Estimated cost assuming a seventy percent input and thirty percent output token split.
Gemini 3.6 Flash
DeepSeek R1
100K tokens
$0.16
$0.10Cheaper
1M tokens
$1.65
$1.04Cheaper
10M tokens
$16.50
$10.42Cheaper

FAQ

When should I use Gemini 3.6 Flash instead of DeepSeek R1?

Gemini 3.6 Flash and DeepSeek R1 perform similarly across all tracked tasks. Pick based on pricing and provider preference.

Is DeepSeek R1 cheaper than Gemini 3.6 Flash?

Yes. DeepSeek R1 input costs $0.55/MTok vs $0.75/MTok for Gemini 3.6 Flash, saving 27% on input.

What are the context window sizes for Gemini 3.6 Flash and DeepSeek R1?

Gemini 3.6 Flash has a 1.0M token context window. DeepSeek R1 has a 128K token context window.

Track your real costs

Comparisons show estimated costs at list price. The dashboard reveals your real spend and savings.