[espadrine]

> DeepSeek models cost more to use than comparable U.S. models

They compare DeepSeek v3.1 to GPT-5 mini. Those have very different sizes, which makes it a weird choice. I would expect a comparison with GPT-5 High, which would likely have had the opposite finding, given the high cost of GPT-5 High, and relatively similar results.

Granted, DeepSeek typically focuses on a single model at a time, instead of OpenAI's approach to a suite of models of varying costs. So there is no model similar to GPT-5 mini, unlike Alibaba which has Qwen 30B A3B. Still, weird choice.

Besides, DeepSeek has shown with 3.2 that it can cut prices in half through further fundamental research.

[edflsafoiewq]

> CAISI chose GPT-5-mini as a comparator for V3.1 because it is in a similar performance class, allowing for a more meaningful comparison of end-to-end expenses.