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DeepInfra vs Google Gemini API

SEPT 2026 audit

A comparison of DeepInfra and Google Gemini API built from values read directly from each provider's own documentation, with the source recorded against every figure.

Updated 12 criteria comparedSources last checked

The short answer

Choose DeepInfra if…

Running open-weight models at the lowest published per-token rates here — DeepSeek-V4-Flash at $0.06 per million input is a fraction of what the lab itself charges — with dedicated H100s at $2.20 an hour if throughput demands it.

Editorial · Palash Bagchi · approved

Choose Google Gemini API if…

Getting to a working prototype without a card, then staying on the cheapest frontier-adjacent rates in this set — $0.75 per million input tokens is well under half what Anthropic and OpenAI charge for their top models.

Editorial · Palash Bagchi · approved

Consider something else if…

  • DeepInfra: Only some models carry per-token pricing; the rest bill for inference execution time, which is a different and harder thing to forecast.
  • Google Gemini API: The rates are dated: they roughly double on 1 January 2027, free-tier content is used to improve Google's products, and rate limits are not published anywhere you can read before signing up.

5 sourced criteria separate them — see where, with sources, below.

Visit DeepInfra documentationVisit Google Gemini API documentation

No affiliate links, sponsored placements or paid rankings appear on this site. Ordering follows the sourced data and the stated criteria.

01.

At a glance.

CriterionDeepInfraGoogle Gemini API
Pricing
Pricing modelTwo products on one bill: per-token serverless inference with a separate cached-input rate for each model, and dedicated GPUs billed per minute and invoiced weekly. Models without per-token pricing are billed for inference execution time instead.Per million tokens, with dated price changes published in advance — the current Gemini 3.x rates are explicitly promotional through 31 December 2026 and roughly double on 1 January 2027. A free tier exists, and its content is used to improve Google's products where the paid tier's is not.
Inference
Input price, top model
$1.30 per million input tokens for DeepSeek-V4-Pro, the most expensive model in its catalogue. Cached input is $0.10.
$0.75 per million input tokens for Gemini 3.8 Flash through 31 December 2026, then $1.50. Gemini 3.1 Pro, still preview, is $2.00 for prompts up to 200k tokens and $4.00 above.
Output price, top model
$2.60 per million output tokens for DeepSeek-V4-Pro.
$3.75 per million output tokens for Gemini 3.8 Flash through 31 December 2026, then $7.50. Thinking tokens are billed as output.
Input price, cheapest model
$0.06 per million input tokens for DeepSeek-V4-Flash-0731, with cached input at $0.015 and output at $0.18. DeepSeek itself charges $0.44 at peak for the same checkpoint and Fireworks $0.22.
$0.30 per million input tokens for Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite, with output at $2.50.
Context window
1024k tokens on the DeepSeek V4 models it serves; 160k on the V3 generation. The window is the model's rather than a platform limit.
1,048,576 tokens for Gemini 3.8 Flash. Read from the Vertex AI model card: the Gemini API docs build their model cards client-side and publish no figure a fetch can read.
Prompt cachingSupportedSupported

Only criteria both providers publish appear here; a tinted cell marks a real difference. Criteria only one of them documents are listed below, and an absence there means we found no source — not that the feature is missing. How we source this.

The small bar above a value is inetGeek's own lean toward that side — computed from the same facts shown, never a number the provider published. See the picker below "The short answer" to weigh only the criteria you care about.

02.

Where they differ.

Pricing model

DeepInfra
Two products on one bill: per-token serverless inference with a separate cached-input rate for each model, and dedicated GPUs billed per minute and invoiced weekly. Models without per-token pricing are billed for inference execution time instead.
Google Gemini API
Per million tokens, with dated price changes published in advance — the current Gemini 3.x rates are explicitly promotional through 31 December 2026 and roughly double on 1 January 2027. A free tier exists, and its content is used to improve Google's products where the paid tier's is not.
Sources (2) →
  • Pricing — DeepInfra ↗

    “Some of our langauge models offer per token pricing. Most other models are billed for inference execution time. [...] Billed in minute granularity Invoiced weekly”

    Read 2026-09-06 · official pricing

  • Gemini Developer API Pricing ↗

    “Paid Tier, per 1M tokens in USD [...] $0.75 through December 31, 2026. $1.50 starting January 1, 2027. [...] Used to improve our products | Yes | No”

    Read 2026-09-06 · official pricing

Input price, top model

DeepInfra
$1.30 per million input tokens for DeepSeek-V4-Pro, the most expensive model in its catalogue. Cached input is $0.10.
Google Gemini API
$0.75 per million input tokens for Gemini 3.8 Flash through 31 December 2026, then $1.50. Gemini 3.1 Pro, still preview, is $2.00 for prompts up to 200k tokens and $4.00 above.
Sources (2) →
  • Pricing — DeepInfra ↗

    “DeepSeek-V4-Pro 1024k $1.30 / $0.10 cached $2.60”

    Read 2026-09-06 · official pricing

  • Gemini Developer API Pricing ↗

    “Gemini 3.8 Flash [...] Input price | Free of charge | $0.75 through December 31, 2026. $1.50 starting January 1, 2027. [...] Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview [...] Input price | Not available | $2.00, prompts <= 200k tokens $4.00, prompts > 200k tokens”

    Read 2026-09-06 · official pricing

Output price, top model

DeepInfra
$2.60 per million output tokens for DeepSeek-V4-Pro.
Google Gemini API
$3.75 per million output tokens for Gemini 3.8 Flash through 31 December 2026, then $7.50. Thinking tokens are billed as output.
Sources (2) →
  • Pricing — DeepInfra ↗

    “DeepSeek-V4-Pro 1024k $1.30 / $0.10 cached $2.60”

    Read 2026-09-06 · official pricing

  • Gemini Developer API Pricing ↗

    “Output price (including thinking tokens) | Free of charge | $3.75 through December 31, 2026. $7.50 starting January 1, 2027.”

    Read 2026-09-06 · official pricing

Input price, cheapest model

DeepInfra
$0.06 per million input tokens for DeepSeek-V4-Flash-0731, with cached input at $0.015 and output at $0.18. DeepSeek itself charges $0.44 at peak for the same checkpoint and Fireworks $0.22.
Google Gemini API
$0.30 per million input tokens for Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite, with output at $2.50.
Sources (2) →
  • Pricing — DeepInfra ↗

    “DeepSeek-V4-Flash-0731 1024k $0.06 / $0.015 cached $0.18”

    Read 2026-09-06 · official pricing

  • Gemini Developer API Pricing ↗

    “Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite [...] Input price | Free of charge | $0.30 (text / image / video / audio) Output price (including thinking tokens) | Free of charge | $2.50”

    Read 2026-09-06 · official pricing

Context window

DeepInfra

1024k tokens on the DeepSeek V4 models it serves; 160k on the V3 generation. The window is the model's rather than a platform limit.

Google Gemini API

1,048,576 tokens for Gemini 3.8 Flash. Read from the Vertex AI model card: the Gemini API docs build their model cards client-side and publish no figure a fetch can read.

Sources (2) →

When these numbers change, hear about it. Sources are re-checked monthly; a repricing goes out as a short note.

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03.

Documented by only one.

These criteria are published by one provider and not the other. An absence here means we have not found a source, not that the feature is missing.

Free tierGoogle Gemini API: Yes
Max output tokensGoogle Gemini API: 65,536 tokens for Gemini 3.8 Flash, and Google counts thinking tokens as output.
Batch discountGoogle Gemini API: 50% off through the Batch API, which is a paid-tier feature.
Rate limitsGoogle Gemini API: Tied to a usage tier — Free, then Tier 1/2/3 unlocked by cumulative spend — and enforced as requests per minute, input tokens per minute and requests per day. Google publishes no numbers in the docs: limits are viewed in AI Studio and are stated not to be guaranteed.
H100 SXM, per GPU-hourDeepInfra: $2.20 per GPU-hour for a dedicated H100 80GB — below every dedicated cloud in this dataset. A100 80GB is $0.89, H200 $2.69, B200 $3.69. Billed in minute granularity, invoiced weekly.
Largest GPU offeredDeepInfra: 270GB per GPU on a B300, at $4.89 per GPU-hour.
04.

Questions this comparison answers.

Should I choose DeepInfra or Google Gemini API?

Pick DeepInfra if Running open-weight models at the lowest published per-token rates here — DeepSeek-V4-Flash at $0.06 per million input is a fraction of what the lab itself charges — with dedicated H100s at $2.20 an hour if throughput demands it.

Pick Google Gemini API if Getting to a working prototype without a card, then staying on the cheapest frontier-adjacent rates in this set — $0.75 per million input tokens is well under half what Anthropic and OpenAI charge for their top models.

Provider pages

DeepInfraServerless inference for open-weight models with published cached-input rates, plus dedicated GPUs billed by the minute.Google Gemini APIHosted inference for the Gemini model family, with a free tier and per-million-token paid pricing.

Related comparisons

Anthropic vs DeepInfraAnthropic vs Google Gemini APIBaseten vs Google Gemini APIDeepInfra vs BasetenDeepInfra vs DeepSeekDeepInfra vs Fireworks AIDeepInfra vs Novita AIDeepInfra vs OpenAI

Every page here is sourced and dated.