DeepSeek-V4-Flash-0731 vs LongCat-Flash-Thinking
Comparing DeepSeek-V4-Flash-0731 and LongCat-Flash-Thinking across benchmarks, pricing, and capabilities.
DeepSeek · Meituan · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
DeepSeek-V4-Flash-0731 and LongCat-Flash-Thinking trade strengths across price, capabilities, and technical limits. The better choice depends on the workload.
On price, DeepSeek-V4-Flash-0731 is roughly 4.7x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
DeepSeek-V4-Flash-0731 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 benchmark, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.
Choose DeepSeek-V4-Flash-0731
- cost matters — it's about 4.7x 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 Jul 2026
Choose LongCat-Flash-Thinking
- you want predictable pricing at $0.30/M input and $1.20/M output
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
DeepSeek-V4-Flash-0731 and LongCat-Flash-Thinkingdon't have any common benchmark datasets to compare. They may have been evaluated on different testing suites.
Arena Performance
Playground indexes and blind preference scores
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, DeepSeek-V4-Flash-0731 ($0.09/1M tokens) is 3.3x cheaper than LongCat-Flash-Thinking ($0.30/1M tokens).
For output processing, DeepSeek-V4-Flash-0731 ($0.18/1M tokens) is 6.7x cheaper than LongCat-Flash-Thinking ($1.20/1M tokens).
In conclusion, LongCat-Flash-Thinking is more expensive than DeepSeek-V4-Flash-0731.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
LongCat-Flash-Thinking has 256.0B more parameters than DeepSeek-V4-Flash-0731, making it 84.2% larger.
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
DeepSeek-V4-Flash-0731 accepts 1,048,576 input tokens compared to LongCat-Flash-Thinking's 128,000 tokens. DeepSeek-V4-Flash-0731 can generate longer responses up to 384,000 tokens, while LongCat-Flash-Thinking is limited to 128,000 tokens.
License
Usage and distribution terms
Both models are licensed under MIT.
Both models share the same licensing terms, providing consistent usage rights.
MIT
Open weights
MIT
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
DeepSeek-V4-Flash-0731 was released on 2026-07-31, while LongCat-Flash-Thinking was released on 2025-09-22.
DeepSeek-V4-Flash-0731 is 10 months newer than LongCat-Flash-Thinking.
Jul 31, 2026
3 weeks ago
10mo newerSep 22, 2025
11 months ago
Knowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.
Unable to compare the recency of their training data.
Provider Availability
DeepSeek-V4-Flash-0731 is available from DeepInfra, Novita, Fireworks. LongCat-Flash-Thinking is available from Meituan.
DeepSeek-V4-Flash-0731
LongCat-Flash-Thinking
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against DeepSeek-V4-Flash-0731 and LongCat-Flash-Thinking side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about DeepSeek-V4-Flash-0731 vs LongCat-Flash-Thinking.