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DeepSeek vs Particle.AI
Particle.AI resells DeepSeek Flash models, plus its own V4.1 Flash tune Particle-1, through its API and Vercel AI Gateway. DeepSeek's own API offers V4.1 Flash with off-peak pricing.
By The Subconscious Team · Updated
DeepSeek vs Particle.AI: key differences
Particle.AI serves DeepSeek's weights, so this is a comparison of two routes to the same Flash models. On its own API, Particle lists DeepSeek V4.1 Flash at $0.25 in and $1 out with $0.03 cache reads, plus GLM 5.3 Flash, all at 1M context. DeepSeek's own V4.1 Flash is $0.30 in and $1.20 out at peak, and exactly half that off-peak.
So Particle is cheaper during DeepSeek's peak hours, and DeepSeek is cheaper off-peak. Particle also lists Particle-1, its own tune of V4.1 Flash, at the same price, and Vercel users need no new contract. DeepSeek direct adds reasoning effort settings and up to 384K output, but stores hosted data in China. Particle is a very early company with a tiny catalog and little public track record. Many teams will put both behind a gateway and route by price and hour.
What DeepSeek and Particle.AI do
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. An updated checkpoint, V4.1-Flash-1017, replaced it on October 17 at the same price. DeepSeek had planned to route deepseek-v4-pro requests to V4.1 Flash from September 14 but reversed course, and still serves V4 Pro at $1.32 in and $3.96 out at peak until a 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.
Example models: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash
Full DeepSeek profile
Particle.AI
Particle AI is an early San Francisco infrastructure startup with a mission to make intelligence as cheap and abundant as electricity. The team works on post-training, inference optimization and distributed systems, all aimed at pushing down cost per unit of intelligence. It is still hiring its founding team and works fully in person. Mixpanel founder Suhail Doshi started it, with backing from Y Combinator, 8VC, Caffeinated Capital and angels including Patrick Collison, Adam D'Angelo and Aaron Levie.
Example models: Particle-1, DeepSeek V4.1 Flash, GLM 5.3 Flash
Full Particle.AI profileShould you choose DeepSeek or Particle.AI?
DeepSeek
Choose DeepSeek for
- Off-peak Flash calls below Particle's price
- Long outputs up to 384K
- Getting DeepSeek releases from the source
Particle.AI
Choose Particle.AI for
- Cheaper DeepSeek Flash during DeepSeek's peak hours
- Vercel users who want no new contract
- Particle-1, a V4.1 Flash tune that uses fewer tokens
DeepSeek vs Particle.AI at a glance
| Attribute | DeepSeek |  Particle.AI |
|---|---|---|
| Model access | Open weights (MIT) | Open weights plus its own Particle-1 tune |
| Flagship models | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash | Particle-1, DeepSeek V4.1 Flash, GLM 5.3 Flash |
| Speed | ~209 tok/s on V4.1 Flash | ~110 tok/s on Particle-1 (Vercel AI Gateway) |
| Price | Off-peak hours at half price | $0.15 in, $0.50 out (GLM 5.3 Flash); $0.25 in, $1 out (Particle-1) |
| Customization | Open weights to fine-tune | Unknown |
| Deployment | First-party API, Hugging Face weights | Serverless API, Vercel AI Gateway |
| Long context | 1M, 384K max output | 1M |
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between DeepSeek and Particle.AI?
Particle.AI resells DeepSeek Flash models, plus its own V4.1 Flash tune Particle-1, through its API and Vercel AI Gateway. DeepSeek's own API offers V4.1 Flash with off-peak pricing.
When should I choose DeepSeek over Particle.AI?
Off-peak Flash calls below Particle's price; Long outputs up to 384K; Getting DeepSeek releases from the source.
When should I choose Particle.AI over DeepSeek?
Cheaper DeepSeek Flash during DeepSeek's peak hours; Vercel users who want no new contract; Particle-1, a V4.1 Flash tune that uses fewer tokens.
Is DeepSeek or Particle.AI cheaper?
DeepSeek: Off-peak hours at half price. Particle.AI: $0.15 in, $0.50 out (GLM 5.3 Flash); $0.25 in, $1 out (Particle-1). The cheaper choice depends on the model and workload.
Which has more context, DeepSeek or Particle.AI?
DeepSeek: 1M, 384K max output. Particle.AI: 1M.
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