DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) vs Gemma 3n E4B Instructed
DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) is 79.4x cheaper per token.
DeepSeek · Google · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) outperforms in 4 benchmarks (AIME 2025, GPQA, LiveCodeBench, MMLU-Pro), while Gemma 3n E4B Instructed is better at 0 benchmarks. DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
On price, DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) is roughly 79.4x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) also accepts a larger context window (131,072 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.
Based on current benchmark, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.
Choose DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking)
- you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 4 of 4 shared benchmarks
- cost matters — it's about 79.4x cheaper per token
- you process long inputs — it offers a 131,072 token context window
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Dec 2025
- you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune
Choose Gemma 3n E4B Instructed
- you want predictable pricing at $20.00/M input and $40.00/M output
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) outperforms in 4 benchmarks (AIME 2025, GPQA, LiveCodeBench, MMLU-Pro), while Gemma 3n E4B Instructed is better at 0 benchmarks.
DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Arena Performance
Playground indexes and blind preference scores
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) ($0.28/1M tokens) is 71.4x cheaper than Gemma 3n E4B Instructed ($20.00/1M tokens).
For output processing, DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) ($0.42/1M tokens) is 95.2x cheaper than Gemma 3n E4B Instructed ($40.00/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Gemma 3n E4B Instructed is more expensive than DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking).*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) has 677.0B more parameters than Gemma 3n E4B Instructed, making it 8462.5% larger.
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) accepts 131,072 input tokens compared to Gemma 3n E4B Instructed's 32,000 tokens. DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) can generate longer responses up to 65,536 tokens, while Gemma 3n E4B Instructed is limited to 32,000 tokens.
Input Capabilities
Supported data types and modalities
Gemma 3n E4B Instructed supports multimodal inputs, whereas DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) does not.
Gemma 3n E4B Instructed can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.
DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking)
Gemma 3n E4B Instructed
License
Usage and distribution terms
DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) is licensed under MIT, while Gemma 3n E4B Instructed uses a proprietary license.
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
MIT
Open weights
Proprietary
Closed source
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) was released on 2025-12-01, while Gemma 3n E4B Instructed was released on 2025-06-26.
DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) is 5 months newer than Gemma 3n E4B Instructed.
Dec 1, 2025
8 months ago
5mo newerJun 26, 2025
1.2 years ago
Knowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Gemma 3n E4B Instructed has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2024-06-01, while DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking)'s cutoff date is not specified.
We can confirm Gemma 3n E4B Instructed's training data extends to 2024-06-01, but cannot make a direct comparison without DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking)'s cutoff date.
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Jun 2024
Provider Availability
DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) is available from DeepSeek. Gemma 3n E4B Instructed is available from Together.
DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking)
Gemma 3n E4B Instructed
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) and Gemma 3n E4B Instructed side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) vs Gemma 3n E4B Instructed.