Compare verified published API prices for DeepSeek V4 Pro and Claude Sonnet 5.5. This page compares price, not output quality.
Verified Oct 9, 2026, DeepSeek V4 Pro lists input at $1.32 and output at $3.96 per 1M tokens, while Claude Sonnet 5.5 lists $2.00 input and $10.00 output. DeepSeek V4 Pro is 34% cheaper on input. DeepSeek V4 Pro is 60.4% cheaper on output. This is a comparison of published prices only, not output quality.
| Model | Input $/1M | Cached input $/1M | Output $/1M | Source | Last verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DeepSeek V4 Pro | $1.32 | $0.044 | $3.96 | Official source | Oct 9, 2026 |
| Claude Sonnet 5.5 | $2.00 | $0.10 | $10.00 | Official source | Oct 9, 2026 |
Prices from official provider pages, verified on the date shown.
Published rates
| Field | DeepSeek V4 Pro | Claude Sonnet 5.5 |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | DeepSeek | Anthropic |
| Input / 1M | $1.32 | $2.00 |
| Cached input / 1M | $0.044 | $0.10 |
| Output / 1M | $3.96 | $10.00 |
| Batch input / 1M | Not listed | $1.00 |
| Batch output / 1M | Not listed | $5.00 |
| Context window | 1M | 1M |
| Release date | Apr 24, 2026 | Sep 28, 2026 |
| Official source | DeepSeek pricing ↗ | Anthropic pricing ↗ |
Standard token prices
Costs below allocate 1M total tokens across each input:output ratio. They use standard prices only, without cache or Batch discounts.
| Input:output ratio | DeepSeek V4 Pro | Claude Sonnet 5.5 | Cheaper published price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10:1 (RAG / long context) | $1.56 | $2.73 | DeepSeek V4 Pro by 42.8% |
| 3:1 (chat) | $1.98 | $4.00 | DeepSeek V4 Pro by 50.5% |
| 1:1 | $2.64 | $6.00 | DeepSeek V4 Pro by 56% |
| 1:3 (long generation) | $3.30 | $8.00 | DeepSeek V4 Pro by 58.8% |
Computed examples
| Workload | Assumed volume | DeepSeek V4 Pro | Claude Sonnet 5.5 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Side project | 10,000 requests/month | $22.44 | $46.00 | DeepSeek V4 Pro by $23.56 (51.2%) |
| Customer support chatbot | 10,000 conversations/month | $203.35 | $351.30 | DeepSeek V4 Pro by $147.95 (42.1%) |
| Agent task | 1,000 tasks/month | $28.51 | $56.00 | DeepSeek V4 Pro by $27.49 (49.1%) |
Provider conditions
Rates are selected by request time in UTC.
Official pricing notes: Higher-capability DeepSeek tier with 1M context and 384K max output. DeepSeek uses time-based pricing. This estimate uses the peak rate; off-peak rates are 50% lower.
Batch API: input $1.00 and output $5.00 per 1M tokens.
Verified changes
On Sep 28, 2026, Anthropic added Claude Sonnet 5.5 with published input $2.00 and output $10.00 per 1M tokens.
View this update in the price monitorOperational costs
Retries, failed calls, fallback requests, and longer outputs can raise the cost of completing a task even when the published token price is lower. Model the effect with the LLM Retry & Fallback Cost Calculator, read the cost-per-successful-task guide, or estimate a migration with the Model Switch Cost Calculator.
Primary evidence and next steps
Common questions
DeepSeek V4 Pro is 34% cheaper on input. DeepSeek V4 Pro is 60.4% cheaper on output. This compares published list prices, not output quality.
At 800 input and 300 output tokens per request, DeepSeek V4 Pro costs about $22.44 and Claude Sonnet 5.5 costs about $46.00 at standard list prices.
At a 10:1 input-to-output token ratio, DeepSeek V4 Pro costs $1.56 and Claude Sonnet 5.5 costs $2.73 per 1M total tokens. DeepSeek V4 Pro by 42.8%.
The prices come from DeepSeek and Anthropic official pricing sources, verified on Oct 9, 2026 and Oct 9, 2026, respectively. See the AI API pricing dataset.