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DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 vs Inkling-Small

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 leads the LLM Stats Score 51.2 to 38.2. DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 and Inkling-Small cost the same.

DeepSeek · Thinking Machines Lab · Updated for 2026

Which is better?

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 leads the overall LLM Stats Score 51.2 to 38.2, ranking #15 overall.

In the 1 individual benchmarks reported for both models, DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 wins 1; this is a narrower head-to-head signal than the composite indexes.

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 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 LLM Stats indexes, shared benchmarks, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.

Choose DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017

  • overall performance matters — it scores 51.2 and ranks #15 on LLM Stats
  • your work emphasizes reasoning and coding — it leads those capability indexes
  • you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 1 of 1 exact shared results
  • you process long inputs — it offers a 1,048,576 token context window
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Oct 2026

Choose Inkling-Small

  • you want predictable pricing at $0.30/M input and $1.20/M output

At a glance

The differences that matter most.

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017
DeepSeek
Inkling-Small
Thinking Machines Lab
Core performance indexes
LLM Stats Score
51.2
#15
38.2
#83
Reasoning
48.8
#18
37.6
#84
Coding
39.3
#14
28.2
#74
Agents
38.7
#8
22.5
#77
Cost, coverage & limits
Benchmark wins
1 of 1
0 of 1
Input price
$0.30 / M
$0.30 / M
Output price
$1.20 / M
$1.20 / M
Context window
1,048,576
256,000

Capability indexes

Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks

4 shared
Index
DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017
Inkling-Small
Math
31.8#69
33.0#60
Vision
32.3#25
20.2#87
Tool use
31.3#6
18.5#80
Multimodal
35.0#14
17.2#94
Conservative TrueSkill rating · higher is betterHow scores work

Individual benchmarks

11 reported for DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 · 24 for Inkling-Small

1 shared

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 outperforms in 1 benchmarks (Humanity's Last Exam), while Inkling-Small is better at 0 benchmarks.

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Fri Oct 23 2026 • llm-stats.com

Human preference

Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

For input processing, DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 ($0.30/1M tokens) costs the same as Inkling-Small ($0.30/1M tokens).

For output processing, DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 ($1.20/1M tokens) costs the same as Inkling-Small ($1.20/1M tokens).

In conclusion, DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 and Inkling-Small cost the same.*

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

Lowest available price from all providers
Fri Oct 23 2026 • llm-stats.com
DeepSeek
DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017
Input tokens$0.30
Output tokens$1.20
Best providerDeepSeek
Thinking Machines Lab
Inkling-Small
Input tokens$0.30
Output tokens$1.20
Best providerUnknown Organization
Notice missing or incorrect data?

Model Size

Parameter count comparison

487.2B diff

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 has 487.2B more parameters than Inkling-Small, making it 176.5% larger.

DeepSeek
DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017
763.2Bparameters
Thinking Machines Lab
Inkling-Small
276.0Bparameters
763.2B
DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017
276.0B
Inkling-Small

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 accepts 1,048,576 input tokens compared to Inkling-Small's 256,000 tokens. DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 can generate longer responses up to 393,216 tokens, while Inkling-Small is limited to 256,000 tokens.

DeepSeek
DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017
Input1,048,576 tokens
Output393,216 tokens
Thinking Machines Lab
Inkling-Small
Input256,000 tokens
Output256,000 tokens
Fri Oct 23 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input capabilities

Documented input modalities across available providers

Both DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 and Inkling-Small support multimodal inputs.

They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Inkling-Small

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 is licensed under MIT, while Inkling-Small uses Apache 2.0.

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

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017

MIT

Open weights

Inkling-Small

Apache 2.0

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 was released on 2026-10-17, while Inkling-Small was released on 2026-07-30.

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 is 3 months newer than Inkling-Small.

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017

Oct 17, 2026

5 days ago

2mo newer
Inkling-Small

Jul 30, 2026

2 months ago

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-V4.1-Flash-1017 is available from DeepSeek. Inkling-Small is available from Thinking Machines Lab, DeepInfra.

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017

deepseek logo
DeepSeek
Input Price:Input: $0.30/1MOutput Price:Output: $1.20/1M

Inkling-Small

thinking-machines logo
Unknown Organization
Input Price:Input: $0.30/1MOutput Price:Output: $1.20/1M
deepinfra logo
Deepinfra
Input Price:Input: $0.45/1MOutput Price:Output: $1.20/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 and Inkling-Small side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017
✓ Preferred
Inkling-Small
Open in Playground

FAQ

Common questions about DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 vs Inkling-Small.

Which is better, DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 or Inkling-Small?

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 leads the LLM Stats Score 51.2 to 38.2. DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 is made by DeepSeek and Inkling-Small is made by Thinking Machines Lab. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their capability indexes, individual benchmarks, pricing, and limits above.

How does DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 compare to Inkling-Small in benchmarks?

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 scores BabyVision: 92.5%, Chartography: 83.0%, DeepSWE 1.1: 77.0%, NL2Repo: 68.2%, AutomationBench: 60.5%. Inkling-Small scores AIME 2026: 95.5%, VoiceBench Avg: 90.1%, GPQA: 89.5%, Global-MMLU-Lite: 86.7%, ARC-AGI: 84.0%.

Is DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 cheaper than Inkling-Small?

Both models cost $0.30 per million input tokens.

What are the context window sizes for DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 and Inkling-Small?

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 supports 1.0M tokens and Inkling-Small 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-V4.1-Flash-1017 and Inkling-Small?

Key differences include LLM Stats Score (51.2 vs 38.2), context window (1.0M vs 256K), licensing (MIT vs Apache 2.0). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 and Inkling-Small?

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 is developed by DeepSeek and Inkling-Small is developed by Thinking Machines Lab.

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