DeepSeek V3.2 vs GPT-4.1 Nano.

Which is cheaper: DeepSeek V3.2 or GPT-4.1 Nano?

On a standard 1,500-input / 500-output call, DeepSeek V3.2 and GPT-4.1 Nano come out exactly tied at $0.00035 per call. The winner is decided entirely by your input-to-output ratio (see below).

Output tokens cost several times more than input on both models, so the more your workload leans toward long generated answers, the more the output rate dominates the bill.

Side-by-side specifications

Metric	DeepSeek V3.2	GPT-4.1 Nano
Vendor	DeepSeek	OpenAI
Input price / M tokens	$0.14	$0.10
Output price / M tokens	$0.28	$0.40
Context window	128K	1M
Cost per typical call	$0.00035	$0.00035
Cost per 10,000 calls	$3.50	$3.50

When to pick which

• Input-heavy work (RAG, document Q&A, classification) → GPT-4.1 Nano wins, thanks to its lower input rate ($0.10 vs $0.14/M).
• Output-heavy work (content, code, long answers) → DeepSeek V3.2 wins, thanks to its lower output rate ($0.28 vs $0.40/M).

Beyond the per-token math, tokenizer efficiency on non-English text and your own quality evals can shift the real cost. On context, GPT-4.1 Nano offers the larger window (1M), which matters for long documents and agent histories. Price your actual prompt in the language you serve with the calculator before committing.

Prompt caching and batching

Both providers support prompt caching (cached input bills at roughly 10% of the standard rate) and batch processing (about 50% off for 24-hour-tolerant jobs). If one model lets you cache a larger static prefix in your setup, it can become cheaper in practice even when its headline rate is higher.

The bottom line

On this balanced workload it is a tie — let your input/output ratio and quality needs break it.

FAQ

Is DeepSeek V3.2 or GPT-4.1 Nano cheaper?

On a balanced 1,500/500 call they tie at $0.00035. DeepSeek V3.2 wins output-heavy work if its output rate is lower; GPT-4.1 Nano wins input-heavy work if its input rate is lower — check the table.

What does each cost per million tokens?

DeepSeek V3.2: $0.14 input / $0.28 output. GPT-4.1 Nano: $0.10 input / $0.40 output.

Which should I choose for output-heavy generation?

The one with the lower output rate, since generation is output-bound: DeepSeek V3.2 ($0.28/M output).