DeepSeek-V4-Flash-Vision-Exp vs LongCat-Flash-Thinking
Comparing DeepSeek-V4-Flash-Vision-Exp and LongCat-Flash-Thinking across benchmarks, pricing, and capabilities.
DeepSeek · Meituan · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
DeepSeek-V4-Flash-Vision-Exp and LongCat-Flash-Thinking trade strengths across price, capabilities, and technical limits. The better choice depends on the workload.
On price, DeepSeek-V4-Flash-Vision-Exp is roughly 1.6x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
DeepSeek-V4-Flash-Vision-Exp 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-Vision-Exp
- cost matters — it's about 1.6x 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 Aug 2026
Choose LongCat-Flash-Thinking
- you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
DeepSeek-V4-Flash-Vision-Exp 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-Vision-Exp ($0.22/1M tokens) is 1.4x cheaper than LongCat-Flash-Thinking ($0.30/1M tokens).
For output processing, DeepSeek-V4-Flash-Vision-Exp ($0.66/1M tokens) is 1.8x cheaper than LongCat-Flash-Thinking ($1.20/1M tokens).
In conclusion, LongCat-Flash-Thinking is more expensive than DeepSeek-V4-Flash-Vision-Exp.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
DeepSeek-V4-Flash-Vision-Exp accepts 1,048,576 input tokens compared to LongCat-Flash-Thinking's 128,000 tokens. DeepSeek-V4-Flash-Vision-Exp can generate longer responses up to 393,216 tokens, while LongCat-Flash-Thinking is limited to 128,000 tokens.
Input Capabilities
Supported data types and modalities
DeepSeek-V4-Flash-Vision-Exp supports multimodal inputs, whereas LongCat-Flash-Thinking does not.
DeepSeek-V4-Flash-Vision-Exp can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.
DeepSeek-V4-Flash-Vision-Exp
LongCat-Flash-Thinking
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
DeepSeek-V4-Flash-Vision-Exp was released on 2026-08-21, while LongCat-Flash-Thinking was released on 2025-09-22.
DeepSeek-V4-Flash-Vision-Exp is 11 months newer than LongCat-Flash-Thinking.
Aug 21, 2026
3 days ago
11mo 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-Vision-Exp is available from DeepSeek. LongCat-Flash-Thinking is available from Meituan.
DeepSeek-V4-Flash-Vision-Exp
LongCat-Flash-Thinking
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against DeepSeek-V4-Flash-Vision-Exp and LongCat-Flash-Thinking side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about DeepSeek-V4-Flash-Vision-Exp vs LongCat-Flash-Thinking.