Model comparison
DeepSeek V3.2 vs Grok 4.20 Reasoning
Compare DeepSeek V3.2 vs Grok 4.20 Reasoning API pricing: input/output token costs, cache pricing, context windows, workload estimates, and routing fit.
DeepSeek V3.2
deepseek · deepseek/deepseek-v3.2
- Input
- $0.28
- Output
- $0.4
- Context
- 163.8K
Grok 4.20 Reasoning
xai · grok-4.20-0309-reasoning
- Input
- $1.25
- Output
- $2.5
- Context
- 1M
Quick take
DeepSeek V3.2 has the lower input price at $0.28 per 1M input tokens. DeepSeek V3.2 is cheaper for the example blended workload below. Grok 4.20 Reasoning has the larger context window at 1M tokens.
Choose DeepSeek V3.2 if...
- DeepSeek V3.2 is the better default for cost-sensitive traffic and repeated high-volume calls.
Choose Grok 4.20 Reasoning if...
- Grok 4.20 Reasoning is safer for long documents, repository analysis, and RAG prompts because it has the larger context window.
- Grok 4.20 Reasoning gives more room for long generated answers, reports, or code output.
Example workload cost
Estimates use input tokens plus 20% output tokens. They exclude provider discounts, cache hits, and tool/search surcharges.
| Workload | DeepSeek V3.2 | Grok 4.20 Reasoning | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1M input + 200K output | $0.36 | $1.75 | DeepSeek V3.2 |
| 10M input + 2M output | $3.60 | $17.50 | DeepSeek V3.2 |
| 100M input + 20M output | $36.00 | $175.00 | DeepSeek V3.2 |
Context, output, and capability fit
Grok 4.20 Reasoning provides the larger context window. Check max output separately when the task needs long reports, code generation, or full-document rewrites.
- DeepSeek V3.2 max output
- 163.8K
- Grok 4.20 Reasoning max output
- 1M
- DeepSeek V3.2 features
- prompt caching, function calling
- Grok 4.20 Reasoning features
- prompt caching, function calling
Risk notes for DeepSeek V3.2
- Smaller context window: long PDFs, codebases, or RAG prompts may need chunking.
Risk notes for Grok 4.20 Reasoning
- No major capability risk is flagged in this snapshot, but provider pages should still be verified before production routing.
Routing tags
budgethigh-volumecodingreasoningopen-weightlocal-openfrontieragentslong-contextmultimodalrag