DeepSeek V4.1 Flash vs Step 3.7 Flash
DeepSeek vs Alibaba Cloud Model Studio · StepFun · prices and specs, line by line
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash (DeepSeek) vs Step 3.7 Flash (Alibaba Cloud Model Studio · StepFun), side by side: input/output/cache-hit prices, time-based pricing, context window, modalities and a fixed-assumption monthly cost. Green marks the better row.
| Dimension | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash | Step 3.7 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| Vendor / channel | DeepSeek | Alibaba Cloud Model Studio · StepFun |
| Context window | 1000K | 256K |
| Modalities | Text, Image understanding | Text, Image understanding, Video understanding |
| Features | Half price off-peak, Best for batch jobs, Fast reasoning | Low-cost, lightweight, By StepFun |
| Input (cache miss) | Peak ¥2 / off-peak ¥1 | ¥1.35 |
| Output | Peak ¥8 / off-peak ¥4 | ¥8.1 |
| Cache hit | Peak ¥0.04 / off-peak ¥0.02 | ¥0.27 |
| Time-based pricing | Off-peak ≈ half of peak (peak=Weekdays 9:00-12:00, 14:00-18:00) | |
| Est. monthly cost* | ¥13.84 | ¥25.60 |
| Price source | Tencent Cloud TokenHub pricing | Alibaba Cloud Model Studio — Step 3.7 Flash model page |
| Verified | 2026-09-18 | 2026-10-28 |
* Fixed assumptions for the example monthly cost: 100 calls/day · 2,000 input / 800 output tokens per call · off-peak rates · 30% cache hit rate · 30-day month — the same formula and defaults as the cost calculator. USD models are converted to CNY at the reference rate for comparison (see summary). Costs within display precision are marked tied; neither side is favored.
Comparison summary (fixed usage basis)
- Estimated monthly cost: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash ¥13.84 vs Step 3.7 Flash ¥25.60 on a common CNY basis (list prices ¥13.84 / ¥25.60) — at this fixed usage, DeepSeek V4.1 Flash is cheaper by ¥11.76/month.
- Cost ratio: under this basis, Step 3.7 Flash costs about 1.8× DeepSeek V4.1 Flash (DeepSeek V4.1 Flash is ~46% cheaper). The ratio holds only at the current list prices, reference rate and fixed usage assumptions; it says nothing about capability, output quality or overall value.
- Input unit price (off-peak / single-price basis): list prices ¥1 vs ¥1.35; after conversion DeepSeek V4.1 Flash is lower (by ≈ ¥0.35/1M tokens).
- Output unit price (off-peak / single-price basis): list prices ¥4 vs ¥8.1; after conversion DeepSeek V4.1 Flash is lower (by ≈ ¥4.1/1M tokens).
- Cache-hit price (off-peak basis): DeepSeek V4.1 Flash ¥0.02; Step 3.7 Flash ¥0.27.
- Context window: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1000K vs Step 3.7 Flash 256K — DeepSeek V4.1 Flash is 3.9× Step 3.7 Flash.
- Modalities: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash=Text, Image understanding; Step 3.7 Flash=Text, Image understanding, Video understanding (Step 3.7 Flash adds Video understanding).
- Price sources: Tencent Cloud TokenHub pricing (verified 2026-09-18), Alibaba Cloud Model Studio — Step 3.7 Flash model page (verified 2026-10-28); unit: official list price per 1M tokens (DeepSeek V4.1 Flash in CNY, Step 3.7 Flash in CNY).
These are computations from published list prices under fixed call volume, token usage, cache assumptions and billing rules. They are not rankings of capability, output quality or overall value, and do not constitute purchase advice.