DeepSeek has emerged as a serious frontier contender at a fraction of the price. We compare it head-to-head with GPT-5.2, then show you how to test both with LLMWise Compare mode.
| Dimension | DeepSeek V3 | GPT-5.2 | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Math & Reasoning | DeepSeek V3 was trained with a heavy emphasis on mathematical and logical reasoning, and it performs at or above frontier level on competition math benchmarks. | GPT-5.2 handles math well for a general-purpose model but falls short of DeepSeek V3 on olympiad-style problems and formal proofs. | |
| Coding | DeepSeek V3 is exceptionally strong at coding, particularly in Python, C++, and algorithmic problem-solving. It often matches or beats premium models on coding benchmarks. | GPT-5.2 is a very capable coding model with a wider ecosystem of tooling, but raw code generation quality is comparable or slightly behind DeepSeek V3. | |
| Cost | DeepSeek V3 is dramatically cheaper than GPT-5.2, often by an order of magnitude per token, making it one of the best value propositions in the LLM space. | GPT-5.2 is premium-priced. For cost-sensitive applications, the price difference versus DeepSeek V3 is hard to justify unless you need specific OpenAI features. | |
| Speed | DeepSeek V3 delivers competitive inference speed, though routing through certain providers can add latency compared to OpenAI's optimized infrastructure. | GPT-5.2 benefits from OpenAI's highly optimized serving infrastructure, resulting in consistent low-latency responses across regions. | |
| Creative Writing | DeepSeek V3 can produce coherent creative content but lacks the stylistic polish and narrative flair that GPT-5.2 brings to fiction and copywriting. | GPT-5.2 remains the leader in creative writing tasks, with natural voice, tonal range, and an ability to maintain engaging narrative over long outputs. | |
| General Tasks | DeepSeek V3 handles general knowledge and instruction-following well, though it occasionally shows weaker performance on culturally Western topics and nuanced English idioms. | GPT-5.2 is the more well-rounded generalist, with strong performance across virtually any task category and excellent instruction-following. | |
| API Maturity | DeepSeek's API is functional but younger, with less documentation, fewer SDKs, and a smaller community compared to OpenAI's ecosystem. | OpenAI has the most mature API ecosystem in the industry, with comprehensive docs, robust SDKs, and extensive third-party integration support. |
DeepSeek V3 is a legitimate frontier model that beats GPT-5.2 on math, coding, and cost. GPT-5.2 retains advantages in creative writing, general polish, speed, and ecosystem maturity. For technical workloads where budget matters, DeepSeek V3 is hard to beat. For polished, general-purpose production use, GPT-5.2 is still the safer bet.
Use LLMWise Compare mode to test both models on your own prompts in one API call.
500 free credits. One API key. Nine models. No credit card required.