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Model comparison

DeepSeek V4 Flash vs MAI-Thinking-1

Data verified

Head-to-head evidence from 9 shared benchmark results across 4 categories. Overall scores shown here use the public BenchAlign v5 ranking lane.

58.88/100
No comparison
N/A
1 category wins3 category wins

Public leaderboard positions: DeepSeek V4 Flash #61 (Estimated); MAI-Thinking-1 unranked (Not scored). Intervals and evidence labels describe ranking uncertainty, not a guarantee for a specific workload.

Evidence parity. DeepSeek V4 Flash and MAI-Thinking-1 share 9 comparable benchmark results. 4 of 8 categories are comparable. 13 results are unique to DeepSeek V4 Flash; 4 to MAI-Thinking-1.

Updated July 23, 2026
Shared results
9
DeepSeek V4 Flash only
13
MAI-Thinking-1 only
4
Comparable categories
4 / 8

Treat this as a split decision. DeepSeek V4 Flash makes more sense if agentic is the priority or you need the larger 1M context window; MAI-Thinking-1 is the better fit if mathematics is the priority or you want the stronger reasoning-first profile.

Confidence note. This is a partial-evidence comparison with 9 shared benchmark results across 4 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 and MAI-Thinking-1 finish on the same BenchAlign overall score, so this is less about a single winner and more about where the edge shows up. The BenchAlign headline says tie; the benchmark table is where the real choice happens.

MAI-Thinking-1 is the reasoning model in the pair, while DeepSeek V4 Flash 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. DeepSeek V4 Flash gives you the larger context window at 1M, compared with 256K for MAI-Thinking-1.

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 and MAI-Thinking-1
CategoryDeepSeek V4 FlashΔMAI-Thinking-1
MathDeepSeek V4 Flash40.8Margin→ 48.9MAI-Thinking-189.7
KnowledgeDeepSeek V4 Flash38.8Margin→ 33.7MAI-Thinking-172.5
AgenticDeepSeek V4 Flash49.1Margin← 3.1MAI-Thinking-146.0
CodingDeepSeek V4 Flash64.2Margin→ 1.3MAI-Thinking-165.5
Inst. FollowingDeepSeek V4 FlashNot measuredMarginNo overlapMAI-Thinking-185.0

Decisive benchmark drivers

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

More
A · DeepSeek V4 FlashB · MAI-Thinking-1

  1. HMMT Feb 2026

    Math
    Source ↗
    A 40.8%B 84.9%
    Winner: MAI-Thinking-1Δ 44.1
    HMMT Feb 2026: DeepSeek V4 Flash scored 40.8%; MAI-Thinking-1 scored 84.9%. MAI-Thinking-1 wins this benchmark.

  2. GPQA

    Knowledge
    Source ↗
    A 71.2%B 84.2%
    Winner: MAI-Thinking-1Δ 13
    GPQA: DeepSeek V4 Flash scored 71.2%; MAI-Thinking-1 scored 84.2%. MAI-Thinking-1 wins this benchmark.

  3. SimpleQA

    Knowledge
    Source ↗
    A 23.1%B 31%
    Winner: MAI-Thinking-1Δ 7.9
    SimpleQA: DeepSeek V4 Flash scored 23.1%; MAI-Thinking-1 scored 31%. MAI-Thinking-1 wins this benchmark.

  4. SWE-bench Pro

    Coding
    Source ↗
    A 49.1%B 52.8%
    Winner: MAI-Thinking-1Δ 3.7
    SWE-bench Pro: DeepSeek V4 Flash scored 49.1%; MAI-Thinking-1 scored 52.8%. MAI-Thinking-1 wins this benchmark.

  5. Terminal-Bench 2.0

    Agentic
    Source ↗
    A 49.1%B 46%
    Winner: DeepSeek V4 FlashΔ 3.1
    Terminal-Bench 2.0: DeepSeek V4 Flash scored 49.1%; MAI-Thinking-1 scored 46%. DeepSeek V4 Flash wins this benchmark.

Operational comparison

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

MetricDeepSeek V4 FlashMAI-Thinking-1Comparison
Input / output priceUSD per 1M tokensDeepSeek V4 Flash$0.14 input / $0.28 outputMAI-Thinking-1Not availableA complete price comparison is not available.
Generation speedtokens per secondDeepSeek V4 FlashNot availableMAI-Thinking-1Not availableA complete speed comparison is not available.
First-answer latencyseconds to first tokenDeepSeek V4 FlashNot availableMAI-Thinking-1Not availableA complete latency comparison is not available.
Context windowmaximum listed tokensDeepSeek V4 Flash1MMAI-Thinking-1256KDeepSeek V4 Flash lists the larger context window.

Benchmark Deep Dive

AgenticDeepSeek V4 Flash wins
BenchmarkDeepSeek V4 FlashMAI-Thinking-1Result
Terminal-Bench 2.0Source 49.1%46%DeepSeek V4 Flash leads
MCP AtlasSource 64%—Not comparable
ToolathlonSource 40.7%—Not comparable
Claw-EvalSource 57.8%—Not comparable
Gert LabsSource 54.35%—Not comparable
CodingMAI-Thinking-1 wins
BenchmarkDeepSeek V4 FlashMAI-Thinking-1Result
SWE-bench VerifiedSource 73.7%73.5%DeepSeek V4 Flash leads
SWE-bench ProSource 49.1%52.8%MAI-Thinking-1 leads
SWE MultilingualSource 69.7%—Not comparable
Terminal-Bench 2.0Source 49.1%46.0%DeepSeek V4 Flash leads
Reasoning
BenchmarkDeepSeek V4 FlashMAI-Thinking-1Result
MRCR 1MSource 37.5%—Not comparable
CorpusQA 1MSource 15.5%—Not comparable
Graphwalks BFS 128KSource —90%Not comparable
KnowledgeMAI-Thinking-1 wins
BenchmarkDeepSeek V4 FlashMAI-Thinking-1Result
MMLU-ProSource 83%85%MAI-Thinking-1 leads
SimpleQASource 23.1%31%MAI-Thinking-1 leads
Chinese-SimpleQASource 71.5%—Not comparable
GPQASource 71.2%84.2%MAI-Thinking-1 leads
GPQA-DSource 71.2%84.2%MAI-Thinking-1 leads
HLESource 8.1%—Not comparable
MathMAI-Thinking-1 wins
BenchmarkDeepSeek V4 FlashMAI-Thinking-1Result
HMMT Feb 2026Source 40.8%84.9%MAI-Thinking-1 leads
IMOAnswerBenchSource 41.9%—Not comparable
ApexSource 1.0%—Not comparable
Apex ShortlistSource 9.3%—Not comparable
AIME 2025Source —97%Not comparable
AIME26Source —94.5%Not comparable
Multimodal
BenchmarkDeepSeek V4 FlashMAI-Thinking-1Result
Design Arena WebsiteSource 1238—Not comparable
Inst. Following
BenchmarkDeepSeek V4 FlashMAI-Thinking-1Result
IFBenchSource —85%Not comparable
Frequently Asked Questions (5)

Which is better, DeepSeek V4 Flash or MAI-Thinking-1?

DeepSeek V4 Flash and MAI-Thinking-1 are tied on the BenchAlign overall score, so the right pick depends on which category matters most for your use case.

Which is better for knowledge tasks, DeepSeek V4 Flash or MAI-Thinking-1?

MAI-Thinking-1 has the edge for knowledge tasks in this comparison, averaging 72.5 versus 38.8. Inside this category, GPQA is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.

Which is better for coding, DeepSeek V4 Flash or MAI-Thinking-1?

MAI-Thinking-1 has the edge for coding in this comparison, averaging 65.5 versus 64.2. Inside this category, SWE-bench Pro is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.

Which is better for math, DeepSeek V4 Flash or MAI-Thinking-1?

MAI-Thinking-1 has the edge for math in this comparison, averaging 89.7 versus 40.8. Inside this category, HMMT Feb 2026 is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.

Which is better for agentic tasks, DeepSeek V4 Flash or MAI-Thinking-1?

DeepSeek V4 Flash has the edge for agentic tasks in this comparison, averaging 49.1 versus 46. Inside this category, Terminal-Bench 2.0 is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.

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