DeepSeek: DeepSeek V3 0324 vs Qwen: Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-02-15: Live Promos, Pricing, Hidden Fees & Latency
Verified 2026 FinOps benchmark comparing DeepSeek: DeepSeek V3 0324 (deepseek/deepseek-chat-v3-0324) vs Qwen: Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-02-15 (qwen/qwen3.5-plus-02-15). Simulate cache read multipliers, context cliffs, MAU bills, and P90 latency.
DeepSeek: DeepSeek V3 0324 (deepseek/deepseek-chat-v3-0324) — Automatic Disk KV Cache ($0.145/1M) & Off-Peak Promo
DeepSeek-V4 Pro (1.6T MoE) automatically caches repeated 64-token prompt prefixes on NVMe storage at $0.07/1M input tokens (50% off $0.14 base) with zero code changes required, plus off-peak UTC scheduling discounts.
Qwen: Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-02-15 (qwen/qwen3.5-plus-02-15) 2026 Q4 Developer Promotion & Volume Credits
Official 2026 Q4 promotion for Qwen: Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-02-15: Activate ephemeral prefix caching to slash input costs by 50% (down to $0.13/1M) or route via asynchronous Batch API for 50% off standard token rates.
In Etuki October 2026 FinOps telemetry comparing DeepSeek: DeepSeek V3 0324 (API ID: deepseek/deepseek-chat-v3-0324) vs Qwen: Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-02-15 (API ID: qwen/qwen3.5-plus-02-15), Qwen: Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-02-15 offers lower standard input pricing at $0.26/1M tokens ($1.56/1M output), while Qwen: Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-02-15 leads in cached prefix economics at $0.13/1M tokens (50% discount). DeepSeek: DeepSeek V3 0324 achieves a 0ms faster P90 time-to-first-token latency (280ms vs 280ms).
Auto-discovered via live global telemetry registry.
Auto-discovered via live global telemetry registry.
| Specification / FinOps Dimension | DeepSeek: DeepSeek V3 0324 | Qwen: Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-02-15 | Verified Advantage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Official Vendor API ID | deepseek/deepseek-chat-v3-0324 | qwen/qwen3.5-plus-02-15 | Pinned Snapshot IDs |
| Standard Input / Output (per 1M) | $0.29 / $1.14 | $0.26 / $1.56 | Qwen: Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-02-15 |
| Cache Read Price (per 1M) | $0.145/1M (50% Off) | $0.13/1M (50% Off) | Qwen: Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-02-15 |
| Context Window / Max Output | 160K In / 113K Out | 977K In / 64K Out | DeepSeek: DeepSeek V3 0324 |
| P90 First-Token / Edge Latency | 280ms | 280ms | DeepSeek: DeepSeek V3 0324 (-0ms) |
DeepSeek V3, a 685B-parameter, mixture-of-experts model, is the latest iteration of the flagship chat model family from the DeepSeek team. It succeeds the [DeepSeek V3](/deepseek/d
The Qwen3.5 native vision-language series Plus models are built on a hybrid architecture that integrates linear attention mechanisms with sparse mixture-of-experts models, achievin
Real-Time Stack Cost & Hidden-Fee Simulator (MAU / Token / Egress / GMV)
Calibrated with Reddit r/FinOps & r/devops telemetry: Includes Context Caching, Bandwidth Egress, and MoR Tax
🛰️Switch from DeepSeek: DeepSeek V3 0324 to Qwen: Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-02-15
The Qwen3.5 native vision-language series Plus models are built on a hybrid architecture that integrates linear attention mechanisms with sparse mixture-of-experts models, achievin Verified P90 latency of 280ms.