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Model comparison

DeepSeek V4 Flash (High) vs Inkling

Data verified

Head-to-head evidence from 9 shared benchmark results across 3 categories. Overall scores shown here use the public BenchAlign v5 ranking lane.

53.87/100
Margin
15.1pts
winning →
Thinking Machines Lab
69/100
1 category wins3 category wins

Verified leaderboard positions: DeepSeek V4 Flash (High) #29; Inkling #17

BenchAlign evidence: DeepSeek V4 Flash (High) estimated; Inkling not scored. Intervals and evidence labels describe ranking uncertainty, not a guarantee for a specific workload.

Evidence parity. DeepSeek V4 Flash (High) and Inkling share 9 comparable benchmark results. 4 of 8 categories are comparable. 27 results are unique to DeepSeek V4 Flash (High); 7 to Inkling.

Updated July 15, 2026
Shared results
9
DeepSeek V4 Flash (High) only
27
Inkling only
7
Comparable categories
4 / 8

Pick Inkling if you want the stronger benchmark profile. DeepSeek V4 Flash (High) only becomes the better choice if knowledge is the priority or you want the cheaper token bill.

Confidence note. This is a partial-evidence comparison with 9 shared benchmark results across 3 evidence categories; 4 of 8 categories currently have scoreable aggregates for both models. Treat the verdict as directional until coverage is more balanced.

Why this result

Inkling is clearly ahead on the provisional aggregate, 69 to 62. The gap is large enough that you do not need to squint at the spreadsheet to see the difference.

Inkling's sharpest advantage is in agentic, where it averages 69.4 against 55.3. The single biggest benchmark swing on the page is BrowseComp, 53.5% to 77.1%. DeepSeek V4 Flash (High) does hit back in knowledge, so the answer changes if that is the part of the workload you care about most.

Inkling is also the more expensive model on tokens at $1.87 input / $4.68 output per 1M tokens, versus $0.14 input / $0.28 output per 1M tokens for DeepSeek V4 Flash (High). That is roughly 16.7x on output cost alone. DeepSeek V4 Flash (High) is the reasoning model in the pair, while Inkling is not. That usually helps on harder chain-of-thought-heavy tests, but it can also mean more latency and more token spend in real use.

Category breakdown

Exact category averages are shown below. Not measured means BenchLM does not have enough sourced public coverage for that model and category.

Category scores and score margins for DeepSeek V4 Flash (High) and Inkling
CategoryDeepSeek V4 Flash (High)ΔInkling
AgenticDeepSeek V4 Flash (High)55.3Margin 14.1Inkling69.4
MathDeepSeek V4 Flash (High)91.9Margin 5.2Inkling97.1
KnowledgeDeepSeek V4 Flash (High)52.4Margin 0.7Inkling51.7
CodingDeepSeek V4 Flash (High)68.5Margin 0.1Inkling68.6
MultimodalDeepSeek V4 Flash (High)Not measuredMarginNo overlapInkling76.5
Inst. FollowingDeepSeek V4 Flash (High)Not measuredMarginNo overlapInkling79.8

Decisive benchmark drivers

The largest measured benchmark gaps in this matchup, with exact reported values.

More
A · DeepSeek V4 Flash (High)B · Inkling
  1. BrowseComp

    Agentic
    Source ↗
    A 53.5%B 77.1%
    Winner: InklingΔ 23.6
    BrowseComp: DeepSeek V4 Flash (High) scored 53.5%; Inkling scored 77.1%. Inkling wins this benchmark.
  2. HLE

    Knowledge
    Source ↗
    A 29.4%B 46%
    Winner: InklingΔ 16.6
    HLE: DeepSeek V4 Flash (High) scored 29.4%; Inkling scored 46%. Inkling wins this benchmark.
  3. Terminal-Bench 2.0

    Agentic
    Source ↗
    A 56.6%B 63.8%
    Winner: InklingΔ 7.2
    Terminal-Bench 2.0: DeepSeek V4 Flash (High) scored 56.6%; Inkling scored 63.8%. Inkling wins this benchmark.
  4. SWE-bench Pro

    Coding
    Source ↗
    A 52.3%B 54.3%
    Winner: InklingΔ 2
    SWE-bench Pro: DeepSeek V4 Flash (High) scored 52.3%; Inkling scored 54.3%. Inkling wins this benchmark.
  5. SWE-bench Verified

    Coding
    Source ↗
    A 78.6%B 77.6%
    Winner: DeepSeek V4 Flash (High)Δ 1
    SWE-bench Verified: DeepSeek V4 Flash (High) scored 78.6%; Inkling scored 77.6%. DeepSeek V4 Flash (High) wins this benchmark.

Operational comparison

Runtime and commercial metrics are compared only when both models have a complete sourced value.

MetricDeepSeek V4 Flash (High)InklingComparison
Input / output priceUSD per 1M tokensDeepSeek V4 Flash (High)$0.14 input / $0.28 outputInkling$1.87 input / $4.68 outputDeepSeek V4 Flash (High) has the lower combined listed price.
Generation speedtokens per secondDeepSeek V4 Flash (High)Not availableInklingNot availableA complete speed comparison is not available.
First-answer latencyseconds to first tokenDeepSeek V4 Flash (High)Not availableInklingNot availableA complete latency comparison is not available.
Context windowmaximum listed tokensDeepSeek V4 Flash (High)1MInkling1MListed context windows are equal.

Benchmark Deep Dive

AgenticInkling wins
BenchmarkDeepSeek V4 Flash (High)InklingResult
Terminal-Bench 2.0Source 56.6%63.8%Inkling leads
BrowseCompSource 53.5%77.1%Inkling leads
HLE w/ toolsSource 40.3%Not comparable
MCP AtlasSource 67.4%74.1%Inkling leads
ToolathlonSource 43.5%Not comparable
τ²-bench resultsSource 95.6%Not comparable
Design Arena Agentic Web DevSource 1258Not comparable
CodingInkling wins
BenchmarkDeepSeek V4 Flash (High)InklingResult
LiveCodeBench Pass@1-COTSource 88.4%Not comparable
CodeforcesSource 2816.0Not comparable
SWE-bench VerifiedSource 78.6%77.6%DeepSeek V4 Flash (High) leads
SWE-bench ProSource 52.3%54.3%Inkling leads
SWE MultilingualSource 70.2%Not comparable
Terminal-Bench 2.0Source 56.6%63.8%Inkling leads
Terminal-Bench HardSource 38.6%Not comparable
AA-SciCodeSource 42.0%Not comparable
Reasoning
BenchmarkDeepSeek V4 Flash (High)InklingResult
MRCR 1MSource 76.9%Not comparable
CorpusQA 1MSource 59.3%Not comparable
AA-LCRSource 62.7%Not comparable
CritPtSource 3.4%Not comparable
KnowledgeDeepSeek V4 Flash (High) wins
BenchmarkDeepSeek V4 Flash (High)InklingResult
MMLU-ProSource 86.4%Not comparable
SimpleQASource 28.9%Not comparable
Chinese-SimpleQASource 73.2%Not comparable
GPQASource 87.4%87.9%Inkling leads
GPQA-DSource 87.4%87.9%Inkling leads
HLESource 29.4%46%Inkling leads
Artificial Analysis Intelligence IndexSource 37.4%Not comparable
AA-GPQA DiamondSource 86.7%Not comparable
AA-HLESource 27.8%Not comparable
AA-Omniscience IndexSource -22.3%Not comparable
AA-Omniscience AccuracySource 35.5%Not comparable
AA-Omniscience Hallucination RateSource 89.7%Not comparable
HLE w/o toolsSource 30%Not comparable
MathInkling wins
BenchmarkDeepSeek V4 Flash (High)InklingResult
HMMT Feb 2026Source 91.9%Not comparable
IMOAnswerBenchSource 85.1%Not comparable
ApexSource 19.1%Not comparable
Apex ShortlistSource 72.1%Not comparable
AIME26Source 97.1%Not comparable
Multimodal
BenchmarkDeepSeek V4 Flash (High)InklingResult
Design Arena WebsiteSource 1242Not comparable
MMMU-ProSource 73.5%Not comparable
CharXivSource 82%Not comparable
CharXiv w/o toolsSource 78.1%Not comparable
Inst. Following
BenchmarkDeepSeek V4 Flash (High)InklingResult
AA-IFBenchSource 73.5%Not comparable
IFBenchSource 79.8%Not comparable
Frequently Asked Questions (5)

Which is better, DeepSeek V4 Flash (High) or Inkling?

Inkling is ahead on BenchLM's provisional leaderboard, 69 to 62. The biggest single separator in this matchup is BrowseComp, where the scores are 53.5% and 77.1%.

Which is better for knowledge tasks, DeepSeek V4 Flash (High) or Inkling?

DeepSeek V4 Flash (High) has the edge for knowledge tasks in this comparison, averaging 52.4 versus 51.7. Inside this category, HLE is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.

Which is better for coding, DeepSeek V4 Flash (High) or Inkling?

Inkling has the edge for coding in this comparison, averaging 68.6 versus 68.5. Inside this category, Terminal-Bench 2.0 is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.

Which is better for math, DeepSeek V4 Flash (High) or Inkling?

Inkling has the edge for math in this comparison, averaging 97.1 versus 91.9. DeepSeek V4 Flash (High) stays close enough that the answer can still flip depending on your workload.

Which is better for agentic tasks, DeepSeek V4 Flash (High) or Inkling?

Inkling has the edge for agentic tasks in this comparison, averaging 69.4 versus 55.3. Inside this category, BrowseComp is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.

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Last updated: July 15, 2026

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