DeepSeek V4-Pro vs Gemini 4 Carbon
DeepSeek · China | Google · US · Updated June 2026
Quick verdict
Pick DeepSeek V4-Pro for open-weight 1.6t moe (~49b active) — deepseek's largest, self-hostable or 1m-token context with up to 384k output tokens. Pick Gemini 4 Carbon for ranked first on the artificial analysis intelligence index v5.0 with 59 at launch (artificial analysis now shows 60) or google-reported 88.2% on sec-bench pro and 54.8% on exploitgym for vulnerability discovery and exploit validation. Choose DeepSeek V4-Pro if you need self-hosting or data privacy; Gemini 4 Carbon if you want a managed API.
DeepSeek V4-Pro (DeepSeek, China) and Gemini 4 Carbon (Google, US) line up two different AI ecosystems against each other — a comparison that is as much about cost philosophy and openness as raw capability. DeepSeek V4-Pro is deepSeek's 1.6-trillion-parameter open-weight model at $0.435/$0.87 — strong open-weight coding and a 1M context at a fraction of flagship prices. Gemini 4 Carbon is google's October 28, 2026 limited release for cyber defenders - top of the Artificial Analysis index at launch, priced at $2/$10 introductory, with no public API date yet. They diverge most on price and open vs. closed weights — each quantified below from the models' real specs.
Key differences at a glance
- ▸Price: DeepSeek V4-Pro is about 3× cheaper on input ($0.66/$1.98 per 1M tokens vs $2/$10 per 1M tokens) — meaningful once you are processing millions of tokens a month.
- ▸Context window: both advertise 1M (~1,500 pages). Tie on paper — test on your own long inputs, since usable recall varies by model.
- ▸Recency: Gemini 4 Carbon is the newer model by about 6 months (released October 28, 2026), usually meaning fresher training data and capabilities.
- ▸Ecosystem: this is a China-vs-US matchup — they differ in pricing philosophy, data-residency options, and tooling ecosystems, not only benchmarks.
Side-by-side specs
| Spec | DeepSeek V4-Pro | Gemini 4 Carbon |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | DeepSeek (China) | Google (US) |
| Released | April 24, 2026 | October 28, 2026 |
| Context window | 1M (~1,500 pages) | 1M tokens (~1,500 pages) |
| Price (in/out) | $0.66/$1.98 per 1M tokens | $2/$10 per 1M tokens |
| Open weight? | Yes — self-hostable | No — API only |
| Modalities | text, code | text, image, audio, video, code |
| SWE-Bench Verified | Not published | Not published |
| MRCR v2 @ 1M | Not published | Not published |
Who wins what
Open-weight 1.6T MoE (~49B active) — DeepSeek's largest, self-hostable
DeepSeek V4-Pro
Open weights make this possible at all — Gemini 4 Carbon is API-only, so it cannot leave the vendor's servers.
1M-token context with up to 384K output tokens
DeepSeek V4-Pro
Gemini 4 Carbon is comparatively weak here — google has not published context or modality specs - the 1M window and modalities shown come from Artificial Analysis and Vals
Permanent low pricing at $0.435/$0.87 per million, set May 2026
DeepSeek V4-Pro
Gemini 4 Carbon is comparatively weak here — introductory pricing rises to $4/$20 afterward, and Google has not said when that happens
Ranked first on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index v5.0 with 59 at launch (Artificial Analysis now shows 60)
Gemini 4 Carbon
Google's October 28, 2026 limited release for cyber defenders - top of the Artificial Analysis index at launch, priced at $2/$10 introductory, with no public API date yet — and it is the newer of the two.
Google-reported 88.2% on SEC-bench Pro and 54.8% on ExploitGym for vulnerability discovery and exploit validation
Gemini 4 Carbon
DeepSeek V4-Pro is comparatively weak here — independent SWE-Bench Verified placement is inconsistent across sources
Google-reported 71.0% on CWE-bench for patching
Gemini 4 Carbon
Gemini 4 Carbon lists google-reported 71.0% on CWE-bench for patching among its strengths; DeepSeek V4-Pro does not.
Lowest cost at scale
DeepSeek V4-Pro
At $0.66/$1.98 per 1M tokens, it is the cheaper of the two — the gap dominates the bill on high-volume workloads.
Which should you pick?
A cost-sensitive startup shipping high volume
→ DeepSeek V4-Pro
At $0.66/$1.98 per 1M tokens it undercuts Gemini 4 Carbon, and on millions of tokens that margin decides the monthly bill.
A team with data-privacy or self-hosting needs
→ DeepSeek V4-Pro
Open weights let you run it on your own hardware; Gemini 4 Carbon is API-only.
Anyone whose priority is open-weight 1.6t moe (~49b active) — deepseek's largest, self-hostable
→ DeepSeek V4-Pro
It is specifically built for that.
Anyone whose priority is ranked first on the artificial analysis intelligence index v5.0 with 59 at launch (artificial analysis now shows 60)
→ Gemini 4 Carbon
That is its strongest area.
An enterprise with regional data-residency rules
→ Gemini 4 Carbon or DeepSeek V4-Pro
Origin (China vs US) affects where data is processed and which compliance regime applies — check the provider's terms for your region.
DeepSeek V4-Pro: where it fits
DeepSeek's 1.6-trillion-parameter open-weight model at $0.435/$0.87 — strong open-weight coding and a 1M context at a fraction of flagship prices. Released April 24, 2026 by DeepSeek, it is built for open-weight 1.6T MoE (~49B active) — DeepSeek's largest, self-hostable, 1M-token context with up to 384K output tokens, permanent low pricing at $0.435/$0.87 per million, set May 2026, and sources place it near the top of open-weight coding, around 80 on SWE-Bench Verified.
Its trade-offs are real: independent SWE-Bench Verified placement is inconsistent across sources, pro and Pro-Max variants are quoted with different scores, text and code only — no image, audio or video, and overlaps DeepSeek V4 and V3.2 already in this comparison. At $0.66 in / $1.98 out per million tokens, it sits in the budget price band.
Gemini 4 Carbon: where it fits
Google's October 28, 2026 limited release for cyber defenders - top of the Artificial Analysis index at launch, priced at $2/$10 introductory, with no public API date yet. Released October 28, 2026 by Google, it is built for ranked first on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index v5.0 with 59 at launch (Artificial Analysis now shows 60), google-reported 88.2% on SEC-bench Pro and 54.8% on ExploitGym for vulnerability discovery and exploit validation, google-reported 71.0% on CWE-bench for patching, and introductory $2/$10 per million tokens, matching Gemini 4 Argon, with cached input 95% off.
Its trade-offs: limited release: rolling out to a subset of cyber defenders, then trusted partners via the Fairwind Program, with no date for developers or consumers, no public API model listing yet, so most users cannot call it today, introductory pricing rises to $4/$20 afterward, and Google has not said when that happens, and google has not published context or modality specs - the 1M window and modalities shown come from Artificial Analysis and Vals. At $2 in / $10 out per million tokens, it sits in the mid price band.
The bottom line for this matchup
The defining split here is open vs. closed. DeepSeek V4-Pro gives you weights you control — self-host it, fine-tune it, keep data in-house, pay only for hardware. Gemini 4 Carbon gives you a managed, always-updated API with no infrastructure to run. Teams with GPUs, privacy requirements, or huge volume often favour the open model; teams that want zero ops and the latest capabilities favour the closed one. Capability is close enough that this operational question, not the benchmark, usually decides it.
Want both DeepSeek V4-Pro and Gemini 4 Carbon without two subscriptions? LumiChats gives you these plus 40+ models under one ₹69/day pass (about $1/day) — draft with one, cross-check with the other.
See pricingFrequently asked questions
Is DeepSeek V4-Pro or Gemini 4 Carbon better for coding?
Public SWE-Bench figures are not available for either model, so the honest test is your own repository — run an identical real bug through both. By design, DeepSeek V4-Pro leans toward open-weight 1.6t moe (~49b active) — deepseek's largest, self-hostable while Gemini 4 Carbon leans toward ranked first on the artificial analysis intelligence index v5.0 with 59 at launch (artificial analysis now shows 60), and that positioning usually predicts which feels better on your codebase.
Which is cheaper, DeepSeek V4-Pro or Gemini 4 Carbon?
DeepSeek V4-Pro is open-weight, so self-hosting means no per-token fee (you pay for hardware instead), while Gemini 4 Carbon is API-metered at $2/$10 per 1M tokens. For most teams without GPUs, the API model is cheaper to start; at very high volume, self-hosting can win.
Which has the bigger context window?
Both advertise 1M (~1,500 pages). Remember advertised ≠ usable: recall typically degrades before the ceiling.
Can I use both DeepSeek V4-Pro and Gemini 4 Carbon together?
Yes — a multi-model platform like LumiChats gives you DeepSeek V4-Pro, Gemini 4 Carbon and 40+ others under one ₹69/day pass (about $1/day), so you can draft with one and cross-check with the other instead of buying two subscriptions.
Which is newer, DeepSeek V4-Pro or Gemini 4 Carbon?
Gemini 4 Carbon — released October 28, 2026, about 6 months after DeepSeek V4-Pro.
Related comparisons
Specifications and benchmarks reflect publicly reported figures as of June 2026 and may change as providers release updates. Always verify on your own workload.