Model Comparison
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 vs DeepSeek V4.1 Flash
Too close to call: the best configurations, DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 (max) and DeepSeek V4.1 Flash (max), are 63 Elo apart, and their 95% ranges overlap. Among 81 models, each ranked by its best configuration, DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 is #13 and DeepSeek V4.1 Flash is #15. Cost per script: $0.014 for DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 (max) and $0.017 for DeepSeek V4.1 Flash (max).
Last updated , from board data generated at 16:59 UTC.
Picks and Verdict
Ranks in the picks and verdict are configuration ranks: each setting's place among all 134 configurations. The cards above give each model's rank.
PickDeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 (max)
Pick DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 (max) for everyday drafting, since it costs less and runs faster than the old snapshot's max, at $0.014 and 1.3 minutes a script.
PickDeepSeek V4.1 Flash
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash (max)
Pick DeepSeek V4.1 Flash (max) when steady drafts and exact length matter more than voice, since it varies least on this page and scores 95.9 on Length Adherence.
At max, the board can't see what the 1017 snapshot changed. DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 (max) is #24 on the board and DeepSeek V4.1 Flash (max) #30, 63 Elo apart, but their 95% ranges overlap. At high, the level DeepSeek uses when none is set, the change is real. The new snapshot leads there by 97 Elo with separate ranges, and DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 (high) lands 26 Elo above the old max, inside overlapping ranges, for $0.0095 a script against $0.017 and 0.9 minutes against 2.4. The new max also thinks less, 16,960 reasoning tokens against 22,010, and finishes in 1.3 minutes. Ranked by best configuration, the new snapshot is the #13 model of 81 and the old one the #15 model. The gains show up in tone, craft and hooks, each a point or more up at max, and substance gains 2.0 at high. The old snapshot keeps steadier drafts at both levels, closer length, 93.1 against 88.8 at high, and slightly better visual cues. I'd switch to the 1017 snapshot and run it at max, since the extra half a cent over high buys six points of length adherence.
How to Read the Writing Score, Writing Elo and 95% Ranges
Writing Score and Writing Elo. The Writing Score (0 to 100) is the weighted average of the nine metric scores: seven from the judges, Length Adherence from code and the Slop Score half from each. The Writing Elo is a rating from pairwise comparisons: on each script, each configuration's average across its drafts is compared with every other configuration's, and gaps within the draft-to-draft variation count as draws. Elo rewards winning often, so the two can put configurations in a different order.
Elo ranges. Each 95% range shows how far a configuration's Elo could move if the drafts had come out slightly differently. It comes from resampling every configuration's recorded draft scores on each reference script and ranking again. Comparing two separate ranges does not test the Elo gap between them: ranges far apart are strong evidence for the order, and overlapping ranges do not mean a tie. The reference scripts stay fixed, so the ranges say nothing about new scripts. The methodology page has the full description.
All Thinking Levels of Both Models
Every ranked configuration of DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 and DeepSeek V4.1 Flash, scored on the same 10 scripts by the same four judges.
- Each row is one configuration: the model at one thinking level. The dot is its Writing Elo, a rating from pairwise comparisons of the scores on each script, and the bar is its 95% range: how far that Elo could move if the drafts had come out slightly differently.
- When two bars overlap, the board cannot order those two configurations. Bars far apart are strong evidence for the order.
- The table under the chart lists the same configurations in the same order and adds the Writing Score (the 0 to 100 consensus of the judges and code), cost, time and configuration rank (the place among all configurations on the board).
Shaded rows are the configurations chosen for the metric comparison below.
| Configuration | Writing Elo | 95% Range | Writing Score | Cost / Script | Time / Script | Reasoning Tokens | Configuration Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 (max) | 2087 | 2039 to 2140 | 81.6 | $0.014 | 1.3 min | 16,960 | #24 |
| DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 (high) | 2050 | 2001 to 2092 | 81.1 | $0.0095 | 0.9 min | 9,728 | #27 |
| DeepSeek V4.1 Flash (max) | 2024 | 1982 to 2061 | 81.0 | $0.017 | 2.4 min | 22,010 | #30 |
| DeepSeek V4.1 Flash (high) | 1953 | 1912 to 1995 | 80.3 | $0.012 | 1.1 min | 13,809 | #41 |
| DeepSeek V4.1 Flash (low) | 1852 | 1799 to 1909 | 79.3 | $0.0077 | 0.7 min | 6,740 | #47 |
| DeepSeek V4.1 Flash (no thinking) | 1625 | 1574 to 1672 | 76.8 | $0.0037 | 0.3 min | 0 | #66 |
Cost is one script at the API list price of the route used, uncached and without judging. Time is the average for one accepted script, retries included.
Computed Findings Across Thinking Levels
Each finding is computed from the configurations above. Where two 95% ranges overlap, the board cannot order those two configurations.
- Best Configurations Head to Head. DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 (max) at Elo 2087 (range 2039 to 2140) and DeepSeek V4.1 Flash (max) at Elo 2024 (range 1982 to 2061) have overlapping 95% ranges, so the board cannot separate the two best configurations.
- Lowest Thinking Levels Head to Head. At their lowest thinking levels, DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 (high) at Elo 2050 and $0.0095 per script leads DeepSeek V4.1 Flash (no thinking) at Elo 1625 and $0.0037 per script by 425 Elo. Their 95% ranges do not overlap.
- Same Level Name, Side by Side. DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 has the higher Writing Elo at every level name both models use: high and max. The 95% ranges do not overlap at high. Level names come from each provider, so the same name does not promise the same reasoning budget.
- Cheapest Configuration Overlapping the Top One. DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 (high), at $0.0095 per script, is the cheapest configuration whose 95% range overlaps that of DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 (max), at $0.014 per script: 2001 to 2092 against 2039 to 2140, so the board cannot separate them. DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 (max) costs about 1.5 times as much per script.
- Cheapest DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 Configuration Above DeepSeek V4.1 Flash's Best. The cheapest DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 configuration with a higher Writing Elo than DeepSeek V4.1 Flash (max), at Elo 2024 and $0.017 per script, is DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 (high), at Elo 2050 and $0.0095 per script. Their 95% ranges overlap, so the board cannot separate them. It costs less than the configuration it beats.
- Lowest to Highest Thinking Level. DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 moves +37 Elo from high to max, at about 1.5 times the cost per script. DeepSeek V4.1 Flash moves +399 Elo from no thinking to max, at about 4.6 times the cost per script.
Writing Elo at Each Shared Level Name
| Level | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash | Gap | 95% Ranges |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| high | 2050 | 1953 | +97 | Separate |
| max | 2087 | 2024 | +63 | Overlap |
Gap is DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 minus DeepSeek V4.1 Flash at the same level name, using each model's highest-rated configuration at that level.
Two Chosen Configurations Compared
Pick one configuration of each model to compare their metric scores, consistency across drafts and per-script scores. Each menu starts on the model's best configuration.
Scores by Metric
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 (max) scores higher on six of the nine metrics and DeepSeek V4.1 Flash (max) on three. Weighted by each metric's share of the Writing Score, Tone & Voice Match does the most to put DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 (max) ahead, with a 1.1-point lead on that metric. The weight beside each metric is its share of the Writing Score.
Consistency Across Drafts
| DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 (max) | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash (max) | |
|---|---|---|
| Score spread across drafts (±) | 1.58 | 1.30 |
| Lowest script score | 79.9 Script 4 | 79.7 Script 10 |
| Highest script score | 83.0 Script 7 | 82.4 Script 7 |
| Range across scripts | 3.1 | 2.7 |
Spread is how much the Writing Score moves between a configuration's drafts, and lower is steadier. Green marks the better number in each row.
Scores by Script
Writing Score on each reference script. Gap is DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 (max) minus DeepSeek V4.1 Flash (max), and the higher score is in bold.
| Script | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 (max) | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash (max) | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Script 1 opinion / warning explainer | 80.5 | 80.8 | -0.3 |
| Script 2 news-analysis / skeptical explainer | 80.8 | 81.2 | -0.4 |
| Script 3 personal roadmap / opinion | 80.5 | 81.2 | -0.7 |
| Script 4 short explainer | 79.9 | 80.1 | -0.2 |
| Script 5 news-analysis / opinion explainer | 82.9 | 81.1 | +1.8 |
| Script 6 founder announcement / personal origin story | 81.2 | 80.8 | +0.4 |
| Script 7 personal technical walkthrough / agentic workflow case study | 83.0 | 82.4 | +0.6 |
| Script 8 product release announcement / personal observation | 82.6 | 80.7 | +1.9 |
| Script 9 career guide / hiring analysis | 83.0 | 82.2 | +0.8 |
| Script 10 engineering process walkthrough / presentation adaptation | 81.6 | 79.7 | +1.9 |
Scorecards and Thinking Pages
Each configuration name in the table above opens its own scorecard.
Compare With Another Model
Pick a second model. A pair with its own written match-up opens that page, and any other pair opens in the comparison tool.
Nearby Match-Ups by Best Writing Elo
Every configuration wrote five drafts for each of the same 10 briefs, from the same prompt. Generation was closed-book, with the prompt as the only source and no web search or other tools. Each judge scores every draft once: Claude Opus 5.5 at medium effort through the Claude Code subscription, GPT-6.1 Sol at medium reasoning through the Codex CLI, GLM 5.3 Flash through OpenRouter, and Jev 1.13, a typed judge from TypeSafe that answers each metric as a multiple-choice question. The channel's finished script is their reference for the voice, and it gets no score on the board itself.
← All comparisons