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DeepSeek V3 vs Qwen3.5 397B

Head-to-head comparison across 3benchmark categories. Overall scores shown here use BenchLM's provisional ranking lane.

DeepSeek V3

36

VS

Qwen3.5 397B

64

1 categoriesvs2 categories

Verified leaderboard positions: DeepSeek V3 unranked · Qwen3.5 397B #15

Pick Qwen3.5 397B if you want the stronger benchmark profile. DeepSeek V3 only becomes the better choice if knowledge is the priority or you want the cheaper token bill.

Category Radar

Head-to-Head by Category

Category Breakdown

Coding

Qwen3.5 397B
39.2vs60.3

+21.1 difference

Knowledge

DeepSeek V3
70vs65.2

+4.8 difference

Inst. Following

Qwen3.5 397B
86.1vs92.6

+6.5 difference

Operational Comparison

DeepSeek V3

Qwen3.5 397B

Price (per 1M tokens)

$0.27 / $1.1

$0.6 / $3.6

Speed

N/A

96 t/s

Latency (TTFT)

N/A

2.44s

Context Window

128K

128K

Quick Verdict

Pick Qwen3.5 397B if you want the stronger benchmark profile. DeepSeek V3 only becomes the better choice if knowledge is the priority or you want the cheaper token bill.

Qwen3.5 397B is clearly ahead on the provisional aggregate, 64 to 36. The gap is large enough that you do not need to squint at the spreadsheet to see the difference.

Qwen3.5 397B's sharpest advantage is in coding, where it averages 60.3 against 39.2. The single biggest benchmark swing on the page is SWE-bench Verified, 42% to 76.2%. DeepSeek V3 does hit back in knowledge, so the answer changes if that is the part of the workload you care about most.

Qwen3.5 397B is also the more expensive model on tokens at $0.60 input / $3.60 output per 1M tokens, versus $0.27 input / $1.10 output per 1M tokens for DeepSeek V3. That is roughly 3.3x on output cost alone.

Benchmark Deep Dive

Frequently Asked Questions (4)

Which is better, DeepSeek V3 or Qwen3.5 397B?

Qwen3.5 397B is ahead on BenchLM's provisional leaderboard, 64 to 36. The biggest single separator in this matchup is SWE-bench Verified, where the scores are 42% and 76.2%.

Which is better for knowledge tasks, DeepSeek V3 or Qwen3.5 397B?

DeepSeek V3 has the edge for knowledge tasks in this comparison, averaging 70 versus 65.2. Inside this category, GPQA is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.

Which is better for coding, DeepSeek V3 or Qwen3.5 397B?

Qwen3.5 397B has the edge for coding in this comparison, averaging 60.3 versus 39.2. Inside this category, SWE-bench Verified is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.

Which is better for instruction following, DeepSeek V3 or Qwen3.5 397B?

Qwen3.5 397B has the edge for instruction following in this comparison, averaging 92.6 versus 86.1. Inside this category, IFEval is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.

Self-host vs API cost

Estimates at 50,000 req/day · 1000 tokens/req average.

DeepSeek V3
API / mo$1,028
Self-host / mo$18,221
Break-even1.2B/day
Qwen3.5 397B
API / mo$3,150
Self-host / moN/A
Break-even
Proprietary model — self-hosting not applicable.
Model the full break-even

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Last updated: May 1, 2026

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