Claude Opus 5.5 vs DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017
Claude Opus 5.5 leads the LLM Stats Score 60.4 to 51.2. DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 is 15.2x cheaper per token.
Anthropic · DeepSeek · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
Claude Opus 5.5 leads the overall LLM Stats Score 60.4 to 51.2, ranking #1 overall.
In the 6 individual benchmarks reported for both models, Claude Opus 5.5 wins 4; this is a narrower head-to-head signal than the composite indexes.
On price, DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 is roughly 15.2x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 also accepts a larger context window (1,048,576 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.
Based on current LLM Stats indexes, shared benchmarks, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.
Choose Claude Opus 5.5
- overall performance matters — it scores 60.4 and ranks #1 on LLM Stats
- your work emphasizes reasoning and coding — it leads those capability indexes
- you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 4 of 6 exact shared results
Choose DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017
- cost matters — it's about 15.2x cheaper per token
- you process long inputs — it offers a 1,048,576 token context window
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Oct 2026
- you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Capability indexes
Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks
Individual benchmarks
31 reported for Claude Opus 5.5 · 11 for DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017
Claude Opus 5.5 outperforms in 4 benchmarks (Chartography, Humanity's Last Exam (no tools, text-only), Program Bench, Terminal-Bench 4.0), while DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 is better at 2 benchmarks (AutomationBench, DeepSWE 1.1).
Claude Opus 5.5 shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.
Human preference
Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, Claude Opus 5.5 ($4.00/1M tokens) is 13.3x more expensive than DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 ($0.30/1M tokens).
For output processing, Claude Opus 5.5 ($20.00/1M tokens) is 16.7x more expensive than DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 ($1.20/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Claude Opus 5.5 is more expensive than DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 accepts 1,048,576 input tokens compared to Claude Opus 5.5's 1,000,000 tokens. DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 can generate longer responses up to 393,216 tokens, while Claude Opus 5.5 is limited to 128,000 tokens.
Input capabilities
Documented input modalities across available providers
Both Claude Opus 5.5 and DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 support multimodal inputs.
They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.
Claude Opus 5.5
DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017
License
Usage and distribution terms
Claude Opus 5.5 is licensed under a proprietary license, while DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 uses MIT.
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
Proprietary
Closed source
MIT
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
Claude Opus 5.5 was released on 2026-09-22, while DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 was released on 2026-10-17.
DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 is 1 month newer than Claude Opus 5.5.
Sep 22, 2026
1 months ago
Oct 17, 2026
5 days ago
3w newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Claude Opus 5.5 has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2026-06-01, while DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017's cutoff date is not specified.
We can confirm Claude Opus 5.5's training data extends to 2026-06-01, but cannot make a direct comparison without DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017's cutoff date.
Jun 2026
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Provider Availability
Claude Opus 5.5 is available from Anthropic. DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 is available from DeepSeek.
Claude Opus 5.5
DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Claude Opus 5.5 and DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about Claude Opus 5.5 vs DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017.