Model Comparison
DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) vs GPT-5Which is better in 2026?
GPT-5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) is 10.9x cheaper per token.
Verdict: DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) vs GPT-5 — which is better?
DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) (by DeepSeek) and GPT-5 (by OpenAI) are two of the AI models people compare most. Here is how they stack up on benchmarks, price and capabilities, and which one to pick in 2026.
DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) outperforms in 1 benchmarks (Humanity's Last Exam), while GPT-5 is better at 5 benchmarks (AIME 2025, BrowseComp, GPQA, HMMT 2025, SWE-Bench Verified). GPT-5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
On price, DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) is roughly 10.9x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
GPT-5 also accepts a larger context window (400,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.
Choose DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) if…
- cost matters — it's about 10.9x cheaper per token
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Dec 2025
- you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune
Choose GPT-5 if…
- you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 5 of 6 shared benchmarks
- you process long inputs — it offers a 400,000 token context window
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) outperforms in 1 benchmarks (Humanity's Last Exam), while GPT-5 is better at 5 benchmarks (AIME 2025, BrowseComp, GPQA, HMMT 2025, SWE-Bench Verified).
GPT-5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Arena Performance
Human preference votes
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) ($0.28/1M tokens) is 4.5x cheaper than GPT-5 ($1.25/1M tokens).
For output processing, DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) ($0.42/1M tokens) is 23.8x cheaper than GPT-5 ($10.00/1M tokens).
In conclusion, GPT-5 is more expensive than DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking).*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
GPT-5 accepts 400,000 input tokens compared to DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking)'s 131,072 tokens. GPT-5 can generate longer responses up to 128,000 tokens, while DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) is limited to 65,536 tokens.
Input Capabilities
Supported data types and modalities
GPT-5 supports multimodal inputs, whereas DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) does not.
GPT-5 can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.
DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking)
GPT-5
License
Usage and distribution terms
DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) is licensed under MIT, while GPT-5 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 GPT-5 was released on 2025-08-07.
DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) is 4 months newer than GPT-5.
Dec 1, 2025
7 months ago
3mo newerAug 7, 2025
11 months ago
Knowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
GPT-5 has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2024-09-30, while DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking)'s cutoff date is not specified.
We can confirm GPT-5's training data extends to 2024-09-30, but cannot make a direct comparison without DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking)'s cutoff date.
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Sep 2024
Provider Availability
DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) is available from DeepSeek. GPT-5 is available from OpenAI.
DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking)
GPT-5
Outputs Comparison
Key Takeaways
GPT-5
View detailsOpenAI
Detailed Comparison
Interactive Arena
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) and GPT-5 side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
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FAQ
Common questions about DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) vs GPT-5.