DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 or Grok 4.6: which to choose?

Side-by-side comparison

Criterion	DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017	Grok 4.6
Developer	DeepSeek	xAI
Released	October 17, 2026	August 12, 2026
Capability index	90.6 / 100	86.1 / 100
Input price	$0.15	$2
Output price	$0.60	$6
Cost of a typical task	$0.004	$0.052
Context window	1,048,576 tokens	500,000 tokens
Maximum output	393,216 tokens	500,000 tokens
Reasoning mode	Yes	Yes
Tool calling	Yes	Yes
Accepted inputs	text, image	text, image, PDF
Open weights	Yes	No
Knowledge cutoff	May 2025	February 1, 2026

Two models head to head

This comparison pits the flagship models of two major developers against each other: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 and Grok 4.6, one from DeepSeek, the other from xAI. The first dates from October 17, 2026, the second from August 12, 2026.

All figures below come from public sources checked on October 22, 2026: models.dev and OpenRouter for prices and capabilities, Epoch AI for scores.

Performance

On our capability index, DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 scores 90.6 out of 100 and Grok 4.6 86.1. DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 leads by 4.5 points.

On the 3 benchmarks reported for both, DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 wins 2 times and Grok 4.6 1:

GPQA Diamond (PhD-level science questions): DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 93.2%, Grok 4.6 94%
OTIS Mock AIME (competition mathematics problems): DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 99.4%, Grok 4.6 99.2%
FrontierMath (very hard research-level mathematics): DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 71.2%, Grok 4.6 66%

Which one costs less?

DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 costs $0.15 per million input tokens and $0.60 per million output tokens; Grok 4.6 costs $2 and $6.

For a typical agent task (read 20,000 tokens, write 2,000), expect $0.004 with DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 versus $0.052 with Grok 4.6. DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 is 12.4 times cheaper, a gap that adds up quickly over 1,000 tasks: $47.8 difference.

Run the numbers with your own volumes in the agent cost calculator.

Under the hood

DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 reads more in one go: 1,048,576 tokens of context (roughly 1,573 pages), versus 500,000 for Grok 4.6.

Reasoning mode: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 yes, Grok 4.6 yes. Tool calling: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 yes, Grok 4.6 yes. Image input: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 yes, Grok 4.6 yes.

DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 publishes its weights and can run on your servers; Grok 4.6 is a closed model, available only through an API.

Knowledge cutoff: May 2025 for DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017, February 1, 2026 for Grok 4.6.

In short

Our reading of the data:

Choose DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 for a higher capability index, a lower cost, a larger context window, open weights (you can host it yourself) and a more recent release.

This verdict relies on public figures; it does not replace a trial on your own tasks.

Frequently asked questions

DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 or Grok 4.6: which is better?

On our index (Epoch AI data), DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 scores 90.6 and Grok 4.6 86.1 out of 100. The best choice also depends on price and on your use case.

Which one is cheaper?

DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017. To read 20,000 tokens and write 2,000, expect $0.004 with DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 and $0.052 with Grok 4.6 (prices as of October 22, 2026).

Which one has the larger context window?

DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017, with 1,048,576 tokens versus 500,000.

Can I run DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 or Grok 4.6 on my own servers?

Only DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017, whose weights are published. Grok 4.6 is used through an API.

DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 vs Grok 4.6