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Claude Opus 4.8 vs DeepSeek V3.2: API Cost Comparison

Compare the API pricing, context windows, features, and real-world cost projections for Claude Opus 4.8 (Anthropic) and DeepSeek V3.2 (DeepSeek). Use the interactive calculator below to compute your exact monthly cost based on your token usage and request volume.

Prices verified Jun 26, 2026

Interactive Cost Calculator

AnthropicClaude Opus 4.8DeepSeekDeepSeek V3.2

Fills in typical token counts for a workload type

Tokens in each prompt sent to the model

Tokens generated in each response

Total API calls per month

Showing costs for 2 models. Cheapest: DeepSeek V3.2 at $4.90/month.

Cheapest: DeepSeek V3.2 at $4.90/mo — save 97.2% vs Claude Opus 4.8
Alert
BestDeepSeek V3.2
DeepSeek$4.90$0.000490$2.80$2.1097.2%Alerts coming soon
Claude Opus 4.8
Anthropic$175.00$0.017500$50.00$125.00Alerts coming soon

Monthly Cost Comparison

Price Comparison at a Glance

All prices are in USD per 1 million tokens ($/M tokens). Lower is cheaper.

Pricing TypeClaude Opus 4.8DeepSeek V3.2Cheaper
Input (standard)$5.00/M$0.28/MDeepSeek V3.2
Output$25.00/M$0.42/MDeepSeek V3.2
Cached inputN/A$0.03/M

Prices last verified: 2026-03-06 – 2026-06-26

Cost Breakdown by Usage Volume

Estimated monthly costs at different request volumes, assuming 1,000 input tokens and 500 output tokens per request. Adjust in the calculator above for your specific use case.

VolumeClaude Opus 4.8MonthlyDeepSeek V3.2MonthlyClaude Opus 4.8Per requestDeepSeek V3.2Per request
1K requests/mo$17.50$0.49$0.017500$0.000490
10K requests/mo$175.00$4.90$0.017500$0.000490
100K requests/mo$1,750.00$49.00$0.017500$0.000490
1M requests/mo$17,500.00$490.00$0.017500$0.000490

Green values indicate the lower-cost option at each volume tier. Cost per request is calculated at 1,000 input + 500 output tokens using standard (non-batch, non-cached) pricing.

Price History

Input price per 1M tokens

When to Choose Claude Opus 4.8

by Anthropic

  • General chatbot

Input / 1M tokens

$5.00/M

Output / 1M tokens

$25.00/M

Context window

1,000,000

Tier

premium

When to Choose DeepSeek V3.2

by DeepSeek

  • Code generation
  • Content & copywriting
  • General chatbot

Input / 1M tokens

$0.28/M

Output / 1M tokens

$0.42/M

Context window

128,000

Tier

premium

Key Differences Beyond Price

Cost is only one factor in choosing an AI model. Context window size, rate limits, supported features, and latency all affect whether a model fits your use case.

CapabilityClaude Opus 4.8DeepSeek V3.2
Context window1,000,000 tokens128,000 tokens
Max output tokens128,000 tokens8,192 tokens
Performance tierPremiumPremium
Vision / image inputYesNo
Function callingYesYes
JSON modeYesYes
Prompt cachingNoYes
Batch API (50% discount)NoNo
Extended reasoningYesNo
Fine-tuningNoNo

DeepSeek V3.2 notes

V3.2 unified pricing. Off-peak pricing (16:30-00:30 UTC) offers further discounts.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Claude Opus 4.8 cheaper than DeepSeek V3.2?

At standard usage (1,000 input tokens, 500 output tokens, 100,000 requests/month), DeepSeek V3.2 costs $49.00/month versus $1,750.00/month for Claude Opus 4.8 — a 97% saving. Your actual savings will vary based on your token profile; output-heavy workloads amplify differences in output pricing.

Which model has a larger context window, Claude Opus 4.8 or DeepSeek V3.2?

Claude Opus 4.8 has a larger context window at 1,000,000 tokens, compared to 128,000 tokens for DeepSeek V3.2. A larger context window is important for processing long documents, multi-turn conversations, or large codebases without truncation.

Do Claude Opus 4.8 and DeepSeek V3.2 support the Batch API?

Neither Claude Opus 4.8 nor DeepSeek V3.2 currently supports a batch API with discounted pricing. For batch-eligible alternatives, consider models from OpenAI, Anthropic, or Google that include batch API support.

Which model offers better prompt caching?

DeepSeek V3.2 supports prompt caching at $0.03/M for cached input, while Claude Opus 4.8 does not offer prompt caching. For RAG applications or chatbots with large, repeated context, DeepSeek V3.2's caching capability can substantially reduce effective costs.

What are the best use cases for Claude Opus 4.8 vs DeepSeek V3.2?

Both models are well-suited for General chatbot. Claude Opus 4.8 is particularly strong for overlapping tasks. DeepSeek V3.2 is favored for Code generation, Content & copywriting. At the same quality level, the lower-cost model is usually preferable; use this page's calculator to compare total monthly spend at your volume.

What is the cost per request for Claude Opus 4.8 vs DeepSeek V3.2?

At 1,000 input tokens and 500 output tokens per request — a typical conversational workload — Claude Opus 4.8 costs $0.017500 per request and DeepSeek V3.2 costs $0.000490 per request. At 100,000 requests/month, that translates to $1,750.00 and $49.00 respectively. Use the interactive calculator to adjust these parameters for your actual workload.

Claude Opus 4.8 vs DeepSeek V3.2: Summary

When comparing Claude Opus 4.8 and DeepSeek V3.2 for API cost, the right choice depends on your workload's token profile, required features, and tolerance for latency. DeepSeek V3.2 offers lower total cost at standard usage volumes (1,000 input + 500 output tokens per request at 100,000 requests/month) at $49.00/month, compared to $1,750.00/month for Claude Opus 4.8.

Both models are priced in USD per million tokens, the standard unit across all major AI API providers. Claude Opus 4.8 charges $5.00/M for input tokens and $25.00/M for output tokens. DeepSeek V3.2 charges $0.28/M input and $0.42/M output. If your workload is output-heavy (more tokens generated than consumed as input), the model with the lower output price compounds cost savings significantly at scale.

Prompt caching is supported by DeepSeek V3.2 but not Claude Opus 4.8. For workloads with large, repeated system prompts or document context — such as RAG pipelines or multi-turn conversations with a fixed knowledge base — prompt caching can reduce effective input costs by 60–90%, which may change the cost ranking between these two models at your specific usage pattern.

Context window capacity differs between the two: Claude Opus 4.8 supports up to 1,000,000 tokens in a single request, versus 128,000 tokens for DeepSeek V3.2. A larger context window is essential for document summarization, large codebase analysis, and multi-document retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) applications.

Use the interactive calculator at the top of this page to enter your actual token usage and monthly request volume for a precise cost comparison tailored to your workload. Adjust for batch API discounts and prompt caching to find the most cost-effective option for your specific deployment.

Explore other model comparisons from the same providers or performance tiers.

Related Provider Pages

View complete pricing tables and model lineups for the providers behind these models.

Relevant Use Cases

See cost recommendations for workloads where Claude Opus 4.8 or DeepSeek V3.2 is recommended.