The AI arena is free today

Open Superagent

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 vs LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 leads the LLM Stats Score 51.0 to 35.2. DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 and LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601 cost the same.

DeepSeek · Meituan · Updated for 2026

Which is better?

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 leads the overall LLM Stats Score 51.0 to 35.2, 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 51.0 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 LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601

  • 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
LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601
Meituan
Core performance indexes
LLM Stats Score
51.0
#15
35.2
#105
Reasoning
48.6
#18
35.3
#99
Coding
39.1
#15
18.7
#127
Agents
38.6
#9
9.4
#144
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
128,000

Capability indexes

Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks

2 shared
Index
DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017
LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601
Math
31.8#67
30.3#81
Tool use
30.9#7
24.3#41
Conservative TrueSkill rating · higher is betterHow scores work

Individual benchmarks

11 reported for DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 · 11 for LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601

1 shared

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 outperforms in 1 benchmarks (Humanity's Last Exam), while LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601 is better at 0 benchmarks.

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

Mon Oct 19 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 LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601 ($0.30/1M tokens).

For output processing, DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 ($1.20/1M tokens) costs the same as LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601 ($1.20/1M tokens).

In conclusion, DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 and LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601 cost the same.*

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

Lowest available price from all providers
Mon Oct 19 2026 • llm-stats.com
DeepSeek
DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017
Input tokens$0.30
Output tokens$1.20
Best providerDeepSeek
Meituan
LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601
Input tokens$0.30
Output tokens$1.20
Best providerMeituan
Notice missing or incorrect data?

Model Size

Parameter count comparison

203.2B diff

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 has 203.2B more parameters than LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601, making it 36.3% larger.

DeepSeek
DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017
763.2Bparameters
Meituan
LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601
560.0Bparameters
763.2B
DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017
560.0B
LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 accepts 1,048,576 input tokens compared to LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601's 128,000 tokens. DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 can generate longer responses up to 393,216 tokens, while LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601 is limited to 128,000 tokens.

DeepSeek
DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017
Input1,048,576 tokens
Output393,216 tokens
Meituan
LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601
Input128,000 tokens
Output128,000 tokens
Mon Oct 19 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input capabilities

Documented input modalities across available providers

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 supports multimodal inputs, whereas LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601 does not.

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017

Text
Images
Audio
Video

LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Both models are licensed under MIT.

Both models share the same licensing terms, providing consistent usage rights.

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017

MIT

Open weights

LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601

MIT

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 was released on 2026-10-17, while LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601 was released on 2026-01-14.

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 is 9 months newer than LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601.

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017

Oct 17, 2026

2 days ago

9mo newer
LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601

Jan 14, 2026

9 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. LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601 is available from Meituan.

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017

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

LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601

meituan logo
Meituan
Input Price:Input: $0.30/1MOutput 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 LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601 side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017
✓ Preferred
LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601
Open in Playground

FAQ

Common questions about DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 vs LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601.

Which is better, DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 or LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601?

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 leads the LLM Stats Score 51.0 to 35.2. DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 is made by DeepSeek and LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601 is made by Meituan. 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 LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601 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%. LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601 scores AIME 2025: 99.6%, Tau2 Telecom: 99.3%, Tau2 Retail: 88.6%, LiveCodeBench: 82.8%, GPQA: 80.5%.

Is DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 cheaper than LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601?

Both models cost $0.30 per million input tokens.

What are the context window sizes for DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 and LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601?

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 supports 1.0M tokens and LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601 supports 128K 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 LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601?

Key differences include LLM Stats Score (51.0 vs 35.2), context window (1.0M vs 128K), multimodal support (yes vs no). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 and LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601?

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 is developed by DeepSeek and LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601 is developed by Meituan.

Related comparisons