DeepSeek vs Qwen 3.5: Which Chinese LLM to Choose?
DeepSeek and Qwen β two of China's best LLMs, both 98%+ cheaper than GPT-4o. But how do you choose between them? We compared them across four dimensions.
1. Key Specs
| Dimension | DeepSeek V4 Flash | DeepSeek V4 Pro | Qwen 3.5 397B |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parameters | 236B (MoE) | 671B (MoE) | 397B (Dense) |
| Input price | $0.07/M | $0.30/M | $0.12/M |
| Output price | $0.25/M | $1.10/M | $0.35/M |
| Context window | 128K | 128K | 256K |
2. Code Generation
DeepSeek V4 Pro leads on HumanEval (92.3% vs 90.1%), but Qwen 3.5 excels at multi-language programming. For Python-heavy projects, DeepSeek wins; for polyglot codebases, Qwen is more balanced.
3. Chinese Language
Both are strong, but with different strengths: DeepSeek handles classical Chinese and cultural content better, while Qwen excels at Chinese NLP tasks (NER, sentiment analysis) and long-document summarization (thanks to its 256K context).
4. Math & Reasoning
DeepSeek V4 Pro dominates: 78.1% vs 71.2% on MATH benchmark. For math-heavy applications, DeepSeek Pro is the clear winner β though at 3x the price of Qwen 3.5.
Want to Try Both?
Access DeepSeek and Qwen with one API key through Alibaba Cloud Bailian. 100 free credits on signup.
Sign Up Free β5. Recommendation
- Maximum savings β DeepSeek V4 Flash ($0.25/M)
- Best reasoning β DeepSeek V4 Pro ($1.10/M)
- Long documents + balance β Qwen 3.5 397B ($0.35/M)
Best strategy: use both through Alibaba Cloud Bailian β Flash for simple tasks, Qwen for long documents, Pro for complex reasoning. Total cost is still 2-3% of GPT-4o.
This article contains affiliate links. Benchmark data from public evaluations. Pricing as of July 2026.