Model comparison
DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) vs Inkling
Head-to-head evidence from 9 shared benchmark results across 3 categories. Overall scores shown here use the public BenchAlign v5 ranking lane.
Verified leaderboard positions: DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) #21; Inkling #17
Evidence parity. DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) and Inkling share 9 comparable benchmark results. 4 of 8 categories are comparable. 31 results are unique to DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max); 7 to Inkling.
Updated July 15, 2026- Shared results
- 9
- DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) only
- 31
- Inkling only
- 7
- Comparable categories
- 4 / 8
Pick DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) if you want the stronger benchmark profile. Inkling only becomes the better choice if agentic is the priority or you would rather avoid the extra latency and token burn of a reasoning model.
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
DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) finishes one point ahead on BenchLM's provisional leaderboard, 70 to 69. That is enough to call, but not enough to treat as a blowout. This matchup comes down to a few meaningful edges rather than one model dominating the board.
DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max)'s sharpest advantage is in knowledge, where it averages 55.6 against 51.7. The single biggest benchmark swing on the page is HLE, 34.8% to 46%. Inkling does hit back in agentic, 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 (Max). That is roughly 16.7x on output cost alone. DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) 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 | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) | Δ | Inkling |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agentic | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max)63.8 | Margin→ 5.6 | Inkling69.4 |
| Knowledge | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max)55.6 | Margin← 3.9 | Inkling51.7 |
| Math | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max)94.8 | Margin→ 2.3 | Inkling97.1 |
| Coding | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max)68.8 | Margin← 0.2 | Inkling68.6 |
| Multimodal | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max)Not measured | MarginNo overlap | Inkling76.5 |
| Inst. Following | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max)Not measured | MarginNo overlap | Inkling79.8 |
Decisive benchmark drivers
The largest measured benchmark gaps in this matchup, with exact reported values.
More
- Source ↗
HLE
KnowledgeA 34.8%B 46%Winner: InklingΔ 11.2HLE: DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) scored 34.8%; Inkling scored 46%. Inkling wins this benchmark. - Source ↗
Terminal-Bench 2.0
AgenticA 56.9%B 63.8%Winner: InklingΔ 6.9Terminal-Bench 2.0: DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) scored 56.9%; Inkling scored 63.8%. Inkling wins this benchmark. - Source ↗
BrowseComp
AgenticA 73.2%B 77.1%Winner: InklingΔ 3.9BrowseComp: DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) scored 73.2%; Inkling scored 77.1%. Inkling wins this benchmark. - Source ↗
SWE-bench Pro
CodingA 52.6%B 54.3%Winner: InklingΔ 1.7SWE-bench Pro: DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) scored 52.6%; Inkling scored 54.3%. Inkling wins this benchmark. - Source ↗
SWE-bench Verified
CodingA 79%B 77.6%Winner: DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max)Δ 1.4SWE-bench Verified: DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) scored 79%; Inkling scored 77.6%. DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) wins this benchmark.
Operational comparison
Runtime and commercial metrics are compared only when both models have a complete sourced value.
| Metric | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) | Inkling | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| Input / output priceUSD per 1M tokens | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max)$0.14 input / $0.28 output | Inkling$1.87 input / $4.68 output | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) has the lower combined listed price. |
| Generation speedtokens per second | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max)Not available | InklingNot available | A complete speed comparison is not available. |
| First-answer latencyseconds to first token | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max)Not available | InklingNot available | A complete latency comparison is not available. |
| Context windowmaximum listed tokens | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max)1M | Inkling1M | Listed context windows are equal. |
Benchmark Deep Dive
AgenticInkling wins10 benchmarks
| Benchmark | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) | Inkling | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Terminal-Bench 2.0Source | 56.9% | 63.8% | Inkling leads |
| BrowseCompSource | 73.2% | 77.1% | Inkling leads |
| HLE w/ toolsSource | 45.1% | — | Not comparable |
| MCP AtlasSource | 69% | 74.1% | Inkling leads |
| GDPval-AASource | 1189 | — | Not comparable |
| ToolathlonSource | 47.8% | — | Not comparable |
| AA Agentic IndexSource | 31.1% | — | Not comparable |
| τ²-bench resultsSource | 95% | — | Not comparable |
| GDPval-AASource | 34.4% | — | Not comparable |
| Design Arena Agentic Web DevSource | — | 1258 | Not comparable |
CodingDeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) wins9 benchmarks
| Benchmark | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) | Inkling | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| LiveCodeBench Pass@1-COTSource | 91.6% | — | Not comparable |
| CodeforcesSource | 3052.0 | — | Not comparable |
| SWE-bench VerifiedSource | 79% | 77.6% | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) leads |
| SWE-bench ProSource | 52.6% | 54.3% | Inkling leads |
| SWE MultilingualSource | 73.3% | — | Not comparable |
| Terminal-Bench 2.0Source | 56.9% | 63.8% | Inkling leads |
| AA Coding IndexSource | 56.2% | — | Not comparable |
| Terminal-Bench HardSource | 35.6% | — | Not comparable |
| AA-SciCodeSource | 44.9% | — | Not comparable |
Reasoning4 benchmarks
KnowledgeDeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) wins13 benchmarks
| Benchmark | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) | Inkling | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| MMLU-ProSource | 86.2% | — | Not comparable |
| SimpleQASource | 34.1% | — | Not comparable |
| Chinese-SimpleQASource | 78.9% | — | Not comparable |
| GPQASource | 88.1% | 87.9% | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) leads |
| GPQA-DSource | 88.1% | 87.9% | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) leads |
| HLESource | 34.8% | 46% | Inkling leads |
| Artificial Analysis Intelligence IndexSource | 40.3% | — | Not comparable |
| AA-GPQA DiamondSource | 89.4% | — | Not comparable |
| AA-HLESource | 32.1% | — | Not comparable |
| AA-Omniscience IndexSource | -22.9% | — | Not comparable |
| AA-Omniscience AccuracySource | 37.2% | — | Not comparable |
| AA-Omniscience Hallucination RateSource | 95.8% | — | Not comparable |
| HLE w/o toolsSource | — | 30% | Not comparable |
MathInkling wins5 benchmarks
Multimodal4 benchmarks
Frequently Asked Questions (5)
Which is better, DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) or Inkling?
DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) is ahead on BenchLM's provisional leaderboard, 70 to 69. The biggest single separator in this matchup is HLE, where the scores are 34.8% and 46%.
Which is better for knowledge tasks, DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) or Inkling?
DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) has the edge for knowledge tasks in this comparison, averaging 55.6 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 (Max) or Inkling?
DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) has the edge for coding in this comparison, averaging 68.8 versus 68.6. 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 (Max) or Inkling?
Inkling has the edge for math in this comparison, averaging 97.1 versus 94.8. DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) stays close enough that the answer can still flip depending on your workload.
Which is better for agentic tasks, DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) or Inkling?
Inkling has the edge for agentic tasks in this comparison, averaging 69.4 versus 63.8. Inside this category, Terminal-Bench 2.0 is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.
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