DeepSeek Flash (4.1) vs GPT-6 Luna
DeepSeek Flash (4.1) scores higher on the Models at Work leaderboard (70 vs 66 out of 100). GPT-6 Luna is about 2.6× cheaper per blended million tokens ($0.20 vs $0.52).
| DeepSeek Flash (4.1) · DeepSeek | GPT-6 Luna · OpenAI | |
|---|---|---|
| Leaderboard rank | #9 | #10 |
| Score (0–100) | 70 | 66 |
| Tier | Fast and cheap | Fast and cheap |
| Price per 1M tokens | $0.30 in · $1.20 out | $0.10 in · $0.50 out |
| Context window | 1M | 1M |
| Open weights | Not verified | No |
| Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index | — | 38 |
| Best for | Cheap coding tiers, Bulk generation, Experiments where data residency is not a constraint | ChatGPT Free and Go tier, Simple extraction, Cost floors |
Choose DeepSeek Flash (4.1) if…
- you need cheap coding tiers
- you need bulk generation
- you need experiments where data residency is not a constraint
The reason a thousand people argued on Hacker News this week: frontier-adjacent coding for pocket change, with the caveats you would expect.
Caveats: Open-weights status and licence not verified from a primary source at time of writing. Off-peak and peak pricing differ; the cheap numbers are off-peak. Data handling terms should be read before any enterprise use.
Choose GPT-6 Luna if…
- you need chatgpt free and go tier
- you need simple extraction
- you need cost floors
OpenAI's ten-cent model: the one every ChatGPT Free user now has, and the one Haiku users keep comparing themselves to.
What practitioners say
DeepSeek Flash (4.1): The 'why isn't the industry freaking out' post hit 1,067 points; the most-upvoted replies say the price is real and the coding gap to Opus is also real.
Questions people ask
Which is better, DeepSeek Flash (4.1) or GPT-6 Luna?
DeepSeek Flash (4.1) scores higher on the Models at Work leaderboard (70 vs 66 out of 100). GPT-6 Luna is about 2.6× cheaper per blended million tokens ($0.20 vs $0.52).
When should I choose DeepSeek Flash (4.1) over GPT-6 Luna?
Choose DeepSeek Flash (4.1) for cheap coding tiers, bulk generation, experiments where data residency is not a constraint. The reason a thousand people argued on Hacker News this week: frontier-adjacent coding for pocket change, with the caveats you would expect.
When should I choose GPT-6 Luna over DeepSeek Flash (4.1)?
Choose GPT-6 Luna for chatgpt free and go tier, simple extraction, cost floors. OpenAI's ten-cent model: the one every ChatGPT Free user now has, and the one Haiku users keep comparing themselves to.
Which is cheaper, DeepSeek Flash (4.1) or GPT-6 Luna?
DeepSeek Flash (4.1) costs $0.30 per million input tokens and $1.20 per million output tokens on DeepSeek's list price (DeepSeek API pricing, read Oct 10, 2026). GPT-6 Luna costs $0.10 per million input tokens and $0.50 per million output tokens on OpenAI's list price (OpenAI API pricing, read Oct 10, 2026).
Scores come from the Models at Work leaderboard: Score is 0 to 100: 50% independent evals normalised within this table, 20% price-performance, 15% practitioner sentiment from Signals and community threads, 15% operational fit (context, speed, availability, open weights). Models within three points are a tie in practice. Vendor-published figures are labelled as such and never counted as independent. Prices are vendor list prices where published; blended figures assume three input tokens per output token.