DeepSeek V4 Pro Leads Global AI Cost-Efficiency After Price Cut
- tech360.tv
- 1 hour ago
- 2 min read
DeepSeek V4 Pro, a flagship artificial intelligence model, has been ranked among the world’s best for intelligence per dollar, exceeding major US counterparts in cost-efficiency. This follows a 75 per cent promotional price cut made permanent by the Chinese start-up.
The Hangzhou-based start-up, DeepSeek, announced the permanent price reduction for its V4 Pro model. This move came a month after the release of its V4 generation, which includes both the V4 Pro and a lighter variant, V4 Flash.
DeepSeek’s strategy reflects how Chinese companies compete in the global AI race by offering cost-efficient model capabilities. This differs from US counterparts that typically provide cutting-edge models at premium prices.
According to third-party benchmark firm Artificial Analysis, the price cut positions V4 Pro at the global frontier for cost-efficiency. This assessment measures the amount of intelligence users can extract per dollar.
DeepSeek’s official application programming interface, API, price for V4 Pro is now as low as USD 0.0036 per 1 million cached input tokens, and USD 0.87 per 1 million output tokens. Running Artificial Analysis’ Intelligence Index benchmark tests costs USD 268 for the model.
In comparison, OpenAI’s GPT-5.5 and Anthropic’s Claude Opus 4.7, their latest flagship models, cost approximately 12 and 19 times more, respectively, to perform the same benchmark task. Standardised third-party tests ensure better cross-model comparisons.
Most other leading models on Artificial Analysis’ intelligence-per-dollar ranking are also from China. These include MiniMax’s M2.7 and Xiaomi’s MiMo V2.5 Pro.
China’s big technology giants are also following suit, with Alibaba Group Holding slashing the official API price for its latest model, Qwen3.7 Max, announced on Wednesday, by 50 per cent. This promotional campaign runs until June 22.
Artificial Analysis ranked Qwen3.7 Max as the top Chinese model for raw intelligence, though its intelligence-per-dollar ranking under the new pricing is not yet established. Alibaba Group Holding owns the South China Morning Post.
Cost-efficiency gains by Chinese models have significantly lowered AI cost barriers in recent years. DeepSeek’s V4 Flash model, for instance, was released with identical pricing to its V2 model two years prior.
DeepSeek stated in April that prices would "drop significantly" in the second half of the year. This anticipated reduction hinges on domestic chip giant Huawei Technologies’ Ascend 950PR supernodes shipping at scale.
DeepSeek V4 Pro now leads global intelligence-per-dollar rankings.
The model's 75 per cent promotional price cut has been made permanent.
DeepSeek's V4 Pro offers significantly lower costs compared to models from OpenAI and Anthropic for benchmark tasks.
Source: SCMP
