DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 vs Qwen3.8 Max 0902: a data-driven comparison

Side-by-side comparison

Criterion	DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017	Qwen3.8 Max 0902
Developer	DeepSeek	Alibaba Cloud (Qwen)
Released	October 17, 2026	September 2, 2026
Capability index	90.6 / 100	88.4 / 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	1,000,000 tokens
Maximum output	393,216 tokens	50,000 tokens
Reasoning mode	Yes	Yes
Tool calling	Yes	Yes
Accepted inputs	text, image	text, image, video, PDF
Open weights	Yes	No
Knowledge cutoff	May 2025	Not disclosed

Two models head to head

DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 and Qwen3.8 Max 0902 are the flagship models of two major developers, one from DeepSeek, the other from Alibaba Cloud (Qwen). DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 was released on October 17, 2026, Qwen3.8 Max 0902 on September 2, 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.

What the benchmarks say

On our capability index, DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 scores 90.6 out of 100 and Qwen3.8 Max 0902 88.4. DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 leads by 2.2 points.

On the 3 benchmarks reported for both, DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 wins 2 times and Qwen3.8 Max 0902 1:

GPQA Diamond (PhD-level science questions): DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 93.2%, Qwen3.8 Max 0902 92.3%
OTIS Mock AIME (competition mathematics problems): DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 99.4%, Qwen3.8 Max 0902 100%
FrontierMath (very hard research-level mathematics): DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 71.2%, Qwen3.8 Max 0902 65.6%

Budget

DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 costs $0.15 per million input tokens and $0.60 per million output tokens; Qwen3.8 Max 0902 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 Qwen3.8 Max 0902. 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.

Context and capabilities

DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 reads more in one go: 1,048,576 tokens of context (roughly 1,573 pages), versus 1,000,000 for Qwen3.8 Max 0902.

Reasoning mode: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 yes, Qwen3.8 Max 0902 yes. Tool calling: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 yes, Qwen3.8 Max 0902 yes. Image input: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 yes, Qwen3.8 Max 0902 yes.

DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 publishes its weights and can run on your servers; Qwen3.8 Max 0902 is a closed model, available only through an API.

In short

Our reading of the data:

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

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 Qwen3.8 Max 0902: which is better?

On our index (Epoch AI data), DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 scores 90.6 and Qwen3.8 Max 0902 88.4 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 Qwen3.8 Max 0902 (prices as of October 22, 2026).

Which one has the larger context window?

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

Can I run DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 or Qwen3.8 Max 0902 on my own servers?

Only DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017, whose weights are published. Qwen3.8 Max 0902 is used through an API.

DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 vs Qwen3.8 Max 0902