DeepSeek V4 Pro vs Claude Sonnet 5.5: pricing compared
For a 30-step coding agent run, DeepSeek V4 Pro is 2.2x cheaper ($0.38 vs $0.83). Prices verified 2026-10-18.
| DeepSeek V4 Pro | Claude Sonnet 5.5 | |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | DeepSeek | Anthropic |
| Input / 1M | $1.32 | $2.00 |
| Cached input / 1M | $0.044 | $0.10 |
| Output / 1M | $3.96 | $10.00 |
| Batch discount | — | 50% |
| Context window | 1M | 1M |
| Long-context tier | none | none |
Cost on real workloads
| Workload | DeepSeek V4 Pro | Claude Sonnet 5.5 |
|---|---|---|
| 10,000 chatbot replies 2,000 input + 400 output tokens each, 50% of the prompt cached | $29.48 | $61.00 |
| One 30-step coding agent run 12K system + tools prompt, 1K output and 3K tool result per step, caching on | $0.38 | $0.83 |
| 1M documents classified (batch) 600 input + 20 output tokens each, batch API where available | $871 | $700 |
Price is only half the decision: a cheaper model that needs more steps or retries can cost more per finished task. Run your own numbers in the calculator (both models pinned), or see how both rank in the use-case guides.
FAQ
Is DeepSeek V4 Pro cheaper than Claude Sonnet 5.5?
For a typical 30-step coding agent run with caching, DeepSeek V4 Pro costs $0.38 and Claude Sonnet 5.5 costs $0.83, so DeepSeek V4 Pro is 2.2x cheaper. Per 1M tokens, DeepSeek V4 Pro is $1.32 / $3.96 and Claude Sonnet 5.5 is $2.00 / $10.00.
Which has the bigger context window?
DeepSeek V4 Pro: 1,000,000 tokens. Claude Sonnet 5.5: 1,000,000 tokens.