DeepSeek-V4 Flash vs OpenAI GPT-5.6 Sol: Live Promos, Pricing, Hidden Fees & Latency
DeepSeek-V4 Flash (deepseek-v4.1-flash-1017) — Automatic Disk KV Cache (0.003/1M) & Off-Peak Promo
DeepSeek-V4 Pro (1.6T MoE) automatically caches repeated 64-token prompt prefixes on NVMe storage at $0.022/1M off-peak input tokens (vs $0.66 off-peak base) with zero code changes required, plus off-peak UTC scheduling discounts.
OpenAI GPT-5.6 Sol (gpt-5.6-sol) Startup Credits & Batch API 50% Off Promo
OpenAI GPT-6.1 Sol ($2/$10 base rate) qualifies for immediate 95% automatic prefix caching ($0.10/1M), 50% off 24-hour Batch API completions ($1/$5), and up to $150,000 in OpenAI/Azure Foundry credits via Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub (no VC funding required for initial tiers).
In Etuki October 2026 FinOps telemetry comparing DeepSeek-V4 Flash (API ID: deepseek-v4.1-flash-1017) vs OpenAI GPT-5.6 Sol (API ID: gpt-5.6-sol), DeepSeek-V4 Flash offers lower standard input pricing at $0.15/1M tokens ($0.6/1M output), while DeepSeek-V4 Flash leads in cached prefix economics at $0.003/1M tokens (98% discount). DeepSeek-V4 Flash achieves a 165ms faster P90 time-to-first-token latency (115ms vs 280ms).
Off-Peak: $0.15/$0.60 ($0.003 cache); Weekday UTC Peak: $0.30/$1.20 ($0.006 cache). Search/Fetch API ($0.75/1K) begins billing 2026-10-31T16:00:00Z (Nov 1 00:00 Beijing).
Enable Prompt Context Caching & Batch API to reduce repeated system prompt input token burn by 50%-97.5%.
| Specification / FinOps Dimension | DeepSeek-V4 Flash | OpenAI GPT-5.6 Sol | Verified Advantage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Official Vendor API ID | deepseek-v4.1-flash-1017 | gpt-5.6-sol | Pinned Snapshot IDs |
| Standard Input / Output (per 1M) | $0.15 / $0.6 | $4 / $20 | DeepSeek-V4 Flash |
| Cache Read Price (per 1M) | $0.003/1M (98% Off) | $0.4/1M (90% Off) | DeepSeek-V4 Flash |
| Context Window / Max Output | 128K In / 64K Out | 1050K In / 128K Out | OpenAI GPT-5.6 Sol |
| P90 First-Token / Edge Latency | 115ms | 280ms | DeepSeek-V4 Flash (-165ms) |
DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 high-speed coding & triage model: Off-Peak $0.15/$0.60 ($0.003/1M KV cache hit, 98% off); Peak $0.30/$1.20 ($0.006 cache).
OpenAI prior-generation Sol tier ($4.00/$20.00 <=272K, $0.40 cache read; >272K cliff $8/$30; promo active until 2026-11-21).
Real-Time Stack Cost & Hidden-Fee Simulator (MAU / Token / Egress / GMV)
Calibrated with Reddit r/FinOps & r/devops telemetry: Includes Context Caching, Bandwidth Egress, and MoR Tax
☀️Switch from DeepSeek-V4 Flash to OpenAI GPT-5.6 Sol
OpenAI prior-generation Sol tier ($4.00/$20.00 <=272K, $0.40 cache read; >272K cliff $8/$30; promo active until 2026-11-21). Verified P90 latency of 280ms.