Model Comparison

DeepSeek VL2 Small vs o4-miniWhich is better in 2026?

o4-mini significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Verdict: DeepSeek VL2 Small vs o4-mini — which is better?

DeepSeek VL2 Small (by DeepSeek) and o4-mini (by OpenAI) are two of the AI models people compare most. Here is how they stack up on benchmarks, price and capabilities, and which one to pick in 2026.

DeepSeek VL2 Small outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while o4-mini is better at 2 benchmarks (MathVista, MMMU). o4-mini significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Choose DeepSeek VL2 Small if…

  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune

Choose o4-mini if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 2 of 2 shared benchmarks
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Apr 2025
Want to compare interactively?Try the playground

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

2 benchmarks

DeepSeek VL2 Small outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while o4-mini is better at 2 benchmarks (MathVista, MMMU).

o4-mini significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Wed Jun 24 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Only o4-mini specifies input context (200,000 tokens). Only o4-mini specifies output context (100,000 tokens).

DeepSeek
DeepSeek VL2 Small
Input- tokens
Output- tokens
OpenAI
o4-mini
Input200,000 tokens
Output100,000 tokens
Wed Jun 24 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Both DeepSeek VL2 Small and o4-mini support multimodal inputs.

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

DeepSeek VL2 Small

Text
Images
Audio
Video

o4-mini

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

DeepSeek VL2 Small is licensed under deepseek, while o4-mini uses a proprietary license.

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

DeepSeek VL2 Small

deepseek

Open weights

o4-mini

Proprietary

Closed source

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

DeepSeek VL2 Small was released on 2024-12-13, while o4-mini was released on 2025-04-16.

o4-mini is 4 months newer than DeepSeek VL2 Small.

DeepSeek VL2 Small

Dec 13, 2024

1.5 years ago

o4-mini

Apr 16, 2025

1.2 years ago

4mo newer

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

o4-mini has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2024-05-31, while DeepSeek VL2 Small's cutoff date is not specified.

We can confirm o4-mini's training data extends to 2024-05-31, but cannot make a direct comparison without DeepSeek VL2 Small's cutoff date.

DeepSeek VL2 Small

—

o4-mini

May 2024

Outputs Comparison

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Key Takeaways

DeepSeek
Has open weights
OpenAI
Larger context window (200,000 tokens)
Higher MathVista score (84.3% vs 60.7%)
Higher MMMU score (81.6% vs 48.0%)
DeepSeekDeepSeek VL2 Small
OpenAIo4-mini
Compare in Playground

Detailed Comparison

AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
DeepSeek
DeepSeek VL2 Small
OpenAI
o4-mini

FAQ

Common questions about DeepSeek VL2 Small vs o4-mini.

Which is better, DeepSeek VL2 Small or o4-mini?

o4-mini significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. DeepSeek VL2 Small is made by DeepSeek and o4-mini is made by OpenAI. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does DeepSeek VL2 Small compare to o4-mini in benchmarks?

DeepSeek VL2 Small scores DocVQA: 92.3%, ChartQA: 84.5%, OCRBench: 83.4%, TextVQA: 83.4%, MMBench: 80.3%. o4-mini scores AIME 2024: 93.4%, AIME 2025: 92.7%, MathVista: 84.3%, MMMU: 81.6%, GPQA: 81.4%.

What are the context window sizes for DeepSeek VL2 Small and o4-mini?

DeepSeek VL2 Small supports an unknown number of tokens and o4-mini supports 200K tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between DeepSeek VL2 Small and o4-mini?

Key differences include licensing (deepseek vs Proprietary). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes DeepSeek VL2 Small and o4-mini?

DeepSeek VL2 Small is developed by DeepSeek and o4-mini is developed by OpenAI.

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