DeepSeek V3.2 vs GPT-5.4: which is better for agents?

GPT-5.4 scores higher on output quality (7.7/10 vs 5.2/10), while DeepSeek V3.2 is the cheaper option. DeepSeek V3.2 is best for existing V3.2 setups with short prompts; GPT-5.4 is best for existing GPT-5.4 setups that have not moved to the GPT-6 family. Live community votes on this page show what people actually prefer.

Is DeepSeek V3.2 cheaper than GPT-5.4?

DeepSeek V3.2 is cheaper: roughly $0.42 vs $6.25 per 1M tokens (blended). DeepSeek V3.2: $0.26 in · $0.80 out / 1M tokens. GPT-5.4: $2.50 in · $15 out / 1M tokens.

Can I switch between DeepSeek V3.2 and GPT-5.4 in the same agent?

Yes. Model-agnostic agents (Cline, Aider, OpenClaw, Hermes Agent, Kilo Code, OpenCode) let you swap models per task. Many people route hard tasks to the stronger model and routine work to the cheaper one.

DeepSeek V3.2 vs GPT-5.4: Which AI Model Is Better? (2026)

Community vote

Pick a winner in each dimension. You can change your vote any time.

Output Quality

Correctness and depth of what it produces

Agentic Ability

Tool calls, instruction-following, and multi-step tasks

Speed

Tokens per second and time-to-first-token

Value for Money

How much capability you get per dollar

Reliability

Consistent results: fewer refusals, loops and format breaks

Specs and pricing side by side

Spec

DeepSeek V3.2

GPT-5.4

Maker

DeepSeek

OpenAI

Blended price / 1M

$0.42

$6.25

Input / output

$0.26 in · $0.80 out / 1M tokens

$2.50 in · $15 out / 1M tokens

Context window

164K

1.1M

Open weights

Yes

Tool use

Yes

Reasoning

Yes

Output Quality

5.2

7.7

Agentic Ability

4.7

6.2

Speed

7.8

7.6

Value for Money

6.3

4.6

Reliability

8.4

8.6

Pricing and capabilities synced from the OpenRouter catalogue. Scores are editorial (0–10).

Verdict: DeepSeek V3.2 or GPT-5.4?

Updated 2026-10-17

Choose DeepSeek V3.2 if you want existing V3.2 setups with short prompts. Choose GPT-5.4 if you want existing GPT-5.4 setups that have not moved to the GPT-6 family.

In our editorial scoring, GPT-5.4 leads in 3 of five dimensions (output quality, agentic ability and reliability), while DeepSeek V3.2 leads in 2. On price, DeepSeek V3.2 runs about $0.42 per 1M tokens (blended) and is open-weight; GPT-5.4 is about $6.25 and proprietary.

Where DeepSeek V3.2 falls short