DeepSeek-V4-Pro vs Claude Opus 5.5
A side-by-side look at DeepSeek-V4-Pro from DeepSeek and Claude Opus 5.5 from Anthropic: list prices, context windows, licensing and capabilities, with monthly costs worked out for three common workloads.
The short version
- Lower list price: DeepSeek-V4-Pro, about 4.0× cheaper on a blended basis (three parts input to one part output).
- Larger context window: DeepSeek-V4-Pro (1M vs 1M tokens).
- Open weights: only DeepSeek-V4-Pro can be downloaded and self-hosted (MIT).
- Inputs: DeepSeek-V4-Pro accepts text; Claude Opus 5.5 accepts text, images, pdf.
- Newer release: Claude Opus 5.5 (September 22, 2026).
Specs side by side
| DeepSeek-V4-Pro | Claude Opus 5.5 | |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | DeepSeek | Anthropic |
| Released | Apr 24, 2026 | Sep 22, 2026 |
| Status | Current | Current |
| Weights and license | Open weights MIT | Closed Proprietary |
| Tier | Frontier | Frontier |
| Context window | 1M | 1M |
| Max output | 375K | 125K |
| Input per 1M tokens | $1.32 | $4 |
| Output per 1M tokens | $3.96 | $20 |
| Cached input per 1M | $0.044 | $0.20 |
| Input types | Text | Text, Images, PDF |
| Reasoning mode | Yes | Yes |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes |
| Parameters | 1.6T total, 49B active | Undisclosed |
Highlighted cells are better on that line: lower price or larger limit. List prices, standard tier, checked October 10, 2026.
What they cost for real workloads
| Workload (monthly) | DeepSeek-V4-Pro | Claude Opus 5.5 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Support chatbot30,000 conversations a month, 2,000 input and 400 output tokens each | $127 | $480 | DeepSeek-V4-Pro saves $353 |
| Document summaries2,000 documents a month, 12,000 input and 800 output tokens each | $38 | $128 | DeepSeek-V4-Pro saves $90 |
| Coding agent1,000 tasks a month, 60,000 input and 6,000 output tokens each | $103 | $360 | DeepSeek-V4-Pro saves $257 |
Standard rates without caching or batch discounts. Try your own volumes.
Choose DeepSeek-V4-Pro if
- cost per token is a deciding factor
- you need more than 1M tokens of context in one request
- you need to self-host, fine-tune or keep data inside your own network
- mIT-licensed weights at 1.6T scale
- 1M-token context and up to 384K output tokens
Choose Claude Opus 5.5 if
- you mainly need it for enterprise, which Anthropic emphasizes for this model
- your inputs include images, pdf
- anthropic's recommended default for most workloads
- 1M-token context with no long-context surcharge
Our take
Both are positioned for agents, coding, long documents. On list price the gap is about 4.0×, which matters most for high-volume, input-heavy workloads. Quality differences shift with every release, so treat this page as a shortlist tool: run 20-50 of your real tasks through both, score the outputs, and divide the bill by the number of tasks each one got right.
Read the full profiles: DeepSeek-V4-Pro and Claude Opus 5.5. For help designing that test, see how to read LLM benchmarks.
Frequently asked questions
Which is cheaper, DeepSeek-V4-Pro or Claude Opus 5.5?
DeepSeek-V4-Pro has the lower list price: $1.32 input and $3.96 output per million tokens, versus $4 and $20. Discounts for caching and batch processing can change the real bill, so price your own token mix.
Which has the bigger context window?
DeepSeek-V4-Pro accepts 1M tokens, compared with 1M for Claude Opus 5.5.
Can I run DeepSeek-V4-Pro or Claude Opus 5.5 on my own hardware?
DeepSeek-V4-Pro is open-weight (MIT), so yes, with enough GPU memory. Claude Opus 5.5 is closed, so only through hosted APIs.
Is DeepSeek-V4-Pro better than Claude Opus 5.5?
It depends on the task. Public benchmarks and arena rankings move with every release and rarely match a specific workload. Use the specs here to shortlist, then test both on your own prompts and compare accuracy, latency and cost per correct answer.
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