The AI arena is free today

Open Superagent

DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) vs Seed 1.8

DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) and Seed 1.8 are closely matched at 32.7 and 34.2 on the LLM Stats Score. DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) is 2.2x cheaper per token.

DeepSeek · ByteDance · Updated for 2026

Which is better?

DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) and Seed 1.8 are closely matched on the overall LLM Stats Score at 32.7 and 34.2.

The models split the 6 individual benchmarks reported for both models evenly.

On price, DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) is roughly 2.2x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.

Seed 1.8 also accepts a larger context window (256,000 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 DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking)

  • cost matters — it's about 2.2x cheaper per token
  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune

Choose Seed 1.8

  • you process long inputs — it offers a 256,000 token context window
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Feb 2026

At a glance

The differences that matter most.

DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking)
DeepSeek
Seed 1.8
ByteDance
Core performance indexes
LLM Stats Score
32.7
#102
34.2
#91
Reasoning
32.7
#100
33.5
#93
Coding
22.9
#77
19.8
#99
Agents
11.2
#109
14.9
#86
Cost, coverage & limits
Benchmark wins
3 of 6
3 of 6
Input price
$0.28 / M
$0.25 / M
Output price
$0.42 / M
$2.00 / M
Context window
131,072
256,000

Capability indexes

Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks

3 shared
Index
DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking)
Seed 1.8
Math
30.3#76
32.5#57
Tool use
10.0#128
6.6#142
Research
10.1#56
19.3#23
Conservative TrueSkill rating · higher is betterHow scores work

Individual benchmarks

14 reported for DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) · 57 for Seed 1.8

6 shared

DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) outperforms in 3 benchmarks (MMLU-Pro, SWE-Bench Verified, Terminal-Bench 2.0), while Seed 1.8 is better at 3 benchmarks (AIME 2025, BrowseComp, BrowseComp-zh).

Both models are evenly matched across the benchmarks.

Wed Sep 09 2026 • llm-stats.com

Human preference

Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) costs less

For input processing, DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) ($0.28/1M tokens) is 1.1x more expensive than Seed 1.8 ($0.25/1M tokens).

For output processing, DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) ($0.42/1M tokens) is 4.8x cheaper than Seed 1.8 ($2.00/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Seed 1.8 is more expensive than DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking).*

* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens

Lowest available price from all providers
Wed Sep 09 2026 • llm-stats.com
DeepSeek
DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking)
Input tokens$0.28
Output tokens$0.42
Best providerDeepSeek
ByteDance
Seed 1.8
Input tokens$0.25
Output tokens$2.00
Best providerDeepinfra
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue→

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Seed 1.8 accepts 256,000 input tokens compared to DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking)'s 131,072 tokens. Seed 1.8 can generate longer responses up to 256,000 tokens, while DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) is limited to 65,536 tokens.

DeepSeek
DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking)
Input131,072 tokens
Output65,536 tokens
ByteDance
Seed 1.8
Input256,000 tokens
Output256,000 tokens
Wed Sep 09 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input capabilities

Documented input modalities across available providers

Seed 1.8 supports multimodal inputs, whereas DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) does not.

Seed 1.8 can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.

DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking)

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Seed 1.8

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) is licensed under MIT, while Seed 1.8 uses a proprietary license.

License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.

DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking)

MIT

Open weights

Seed 1.8

Proprietary

Closed source

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) was released on 2025-12-01, while Seed 1.8 was released on 2026-02-17.

Seed 1.8 is 3 months newer than DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking).

DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking)

Dec 1, 2025

9 months ago

Seed 1.8

Feb 17, 2026

6 months ago

2mo newer

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.

Unable to compare the recency of their training data.

No cutoff dates available

Provider Availability

DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) is available from DeepSeek. Seed 1.8 is available from DeepInfra.

DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking)

deepseek logo
DeepSeek
Input Price:Input: $0.28/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.42/1M

Seed 1.8

deepinfra logo
Deepinfra
Input Price:Input: $0.25/1MOutput Price:Output: $2.00/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) and Seed 1.8 side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking)
✓ Preferred
Seed 1.8
Open in Playground

FAQ

Common questions about DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) vs Seed 1.8.

Which is better, DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) or Seed 1.8?

DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) and Seed 1.8 are closely matched on the LLM Stats Score at 32.7 and 34.2. DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) is made by DeepSeek and Seed 1.8 is made by ByteDance. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their capability indexes, individual benchmarks, pricing, and limits above.

How does DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) compare to Seed 1.8 in benchmarks?

DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) scores AIME 2025: 93.1%, HMMT 2025: 90.2%, MMLU-Pro: 85.0%, LiveCodeBench: 83.3%, GPQA: 82.4%. Seed 1.8 scores CountBench: 96.3%, AIME 2025: 94.3%, VLMsAreBlind: 93.0%, MMLU: 92.3%, AI2D: 89.1%.

Is DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) cheaper than Seed 1.8?

Seed 1.8 is 1.1x cheaper for input tokens. DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) costs $0.28/M input and $0.42/M output via deepseek. Seed 1.8 costs $0.25/M input and $2.00/M output via deepinfra.

What are the context window sizes for DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) and Seed 1.8?

DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) supports 131K tokens and Seed 1.8 supports 256K tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) and Seed 1.8?

Key differences include LLM Stats Score (32.7 vs 34.2), context window (131K vs 256K), input pricing ($0.28 vs $0.25/M), multimodal support (no vs yes), licensing (MIT vs Proprietary). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) and Seed 1.8?

DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) is developed by DeepSeek and Seed 1.8 is developed by ByteDance.

Related comparisons