# DeepSeek vs Dolphin

> Dolphin's API serves DeepSeek V4.1 Flash, so this is the same open model from its maker or from a decentralized network of consumer GPUs.

Canonical: https://www.subconscious.dev/compare/deepseek-vs-dolphin · By The Subconscious Team · Updated October 11, 2026

## How they compare

DeepSeek charges $0.30 in and $1.20 out for V4.1 Flash at peak and half that off-peak, with 1M context, 384K max output and image understanding. Data on its hosted API is stored in China. Dolphin charges $0.01 in and $0.07 out for the same model, with requests encrypted end to end and nodes unable to log them. Its API launched in October 2026, runs on consumer GPUs across the internet and publishes no speed, context or SLA.

DeepSeek is the reference host for its own models, with documented limits and max reasoning effort when more depth is needed. Dolphin is far cheaper but gives up predictable latency and uptime, and signup takes a crypto wallet and Telegram. For background jobs Dolphin is worth a test, and for user-facing work DeepSeek or another established host is safer.

## What each one does

### DeepSeek

DeepSeek is the Chinese lab whose open-weight models reset price expectations for the whole market. Its main model is V4.1 Flash, with 1M context and 384K max output, which shipped September 10, 2026 with built-in image understanding at $0.30 in and $1.20 out at peak. DeepSeek is phasing out V4 Pro: since September 14, deepseek-v4-pro requests route to V4.1 Flash at Flash rates until V4.1 Pro launches. Cache hits cost a few cents per million or less, and the weights ship on Hugging Face under an MIT license.

### Dolphin

Dolphin began in 2023 as Eric Hartford's series of open-source, uncensored fine-tunes, trained to drop the refusals and baked-in guidelines of their base models so that the developer sets the rules through the system prompt. Current releases include Dolphin Llama 3.1 8B and Dolphin Mistral 24B Venice Edition, built with Venice, and the project publishes nearly 100 models on Hugging Face. It also runs a chat app, a Telegram bot and a synthetic data service that generates answers to commonly refused prompts.

## Which is best, and when

### Choose DeepSeek for

- Documented 1M context and 384K output
- Max reasoning effort for harder tasks
- Off-peak pricing on a first-party API

### Choose Dolphin for

- Lowest price on DeepSeek V4.1 Flash
- Background jobs with loose latency needs
- Requests nodes cannot log

## At a glance

| Attribute | DeepSeek | Dolphin |
|---|---|---|
| Model access | Open weights (MIT) | Open weights, uncensored fine-tunes |
| Flagship models | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash, Dolphin Mistral 24B |
| Speed | ~209 tok/s on V4.1 Flash | - |
| Price | Off-peak hours at half price | $0.01 in, $0.07 out (DeepSeek V4.1 Flash) |
| Customization | Open weights to fine-tune | Own uncensored fine-tunes |
| Deployment | First-party API, Hugging Face weights | Decentralized serverless API |
| Long context | 1M, 384K max output | - |

## FAQ

### What is the difference between DeepSeek and Dolphin?

Dolphin's API serves DeepSeek V4.1 Flash, so this is the same open model from its maker or from a decentralized network of consumer GPUs.

### When should I choose DeepSeek over Dolphin?

Documented 1M context and 384K output; Max reasoning effort for harder tasks; Off-peak pricing on a first-party API.

### When should I choose Dolphin over DeepSeek?

Lowest price on DeepSeek V4.1 Flash; Background jobs with loose latency needs; Requests nodes cannot log.

### Is DeepSeek or Dolphin cheaper?

DeepSeek: Off-peak hours at half price. Dolphin: $0.01 in, $0.07 out (DeepSeek V4.1 Flash). The cheaper choice depends on the model and workload.

## Running long-horizon agents?

If your agents run past 200K tokens, compare both against Subconscious: [Subconscious vs DeepSeek](https://www.subconscious.dev/compare/subconscious-vs-deepseek.md), [Subconscious vs Dolphin](https://www.subconscious.dev/compare/subconscious-vs-dolphin.md).

Full profiles: [DeepSeek](https://www.subconscious.dev/providers/deepseek.md), [Dolphin](https://www.subconscious.dev/providers/dolphin.md).