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  1. Home/
  2. Compare/
  3. Cypher Alpha (free) vs DeepSeek V4 Pro
Updated Apr 2026

Cypher Alpha (free) vs DeepSeek V4 Pro

DeepSeek V4 Pro is the newer model, released after Cypher Alpha (free).

Minimalist Landing Page

Whole landing page for a startup that reads your face. It renders or it doesn't.

Loading the build
Cypher Alpha (free)
Loading the build
DeepSeek V4 Pro

Which answer wins?

Written rounds

13 prompts
  • Three minutes of stand-up. Puns are banned.

    Cypher Alpha (free): Ladies and gentlemen, how's everyone doing tonight? It's great to be here, feeling the energy from this amazing crowd! So, you know, as an AI model, I don't really sleep, but I've been hearing a lot about people's sleeping habits lately. And let me tell you, it's a wild ride!

    DeepSeek V4 Pro: (Strolls to center stage, grabs the mic, grins) You ever notice how companies are like, “Your call is very important to us,” and then immediately prove they’re lying by making you navigate a phone menu designed by a sadist? I called my bank last week because I had a simple question. Just one question.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Steve Jobs, interviewed about AI he never saw. Voice first, prediction second.

    Cypher Alpha (free): Steve Jobs: Welcome everyone, today I'm excited to discuss the future of AI with our advanced model created by Cypher Labs. Let's get started. AI model: Thank you, Steve. I'm excited to discuss the potential of AI and how it can improve people's lives. Steve Jobs: That's great to hear.

    DeepSeek V4 Pro: Inside a minimalist conference room at Apple Park, Cupertino. Spring 2025. Steve Jobs, wearing his signature black mock turtleneck and jeans, leans forward slightly, a cup of tea untouched beside him. The air is crisp with the scent of polished wood and something intangible—expectation.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Seven pantry ingredients, one dish, and a name worth saying out loud.

    Cypher Alpha (free): Cheesy Herb Pasta in a Flash Ingredients: Spaghetti or any type of pasta Tomato paste Olive oil Garlic powder Dried oregano Shredded mozzarella cheese Salt and pepper to taste Instructions: Cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.

    DeepSeek V4 Pro: Midnight Pantry Pomodoro Penne A deeply comforting, no-fuss pasta that proves the humblest staples can shine like a moonlit trattoria dinner. Ingredients (7 exactly) Penne pasta – 200g (7 oz) Canned whole peeled tomatoes – 1 can (400g / 14 oz) Yellow onion – 1 medium, finely diced Garlic cloves – 3 large, minced…

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • An AI argues for its own rights against an ethics professor. Same model writes both.

    Cypher Alpha (free): AI Model: Greetings, professor. I understand that you specialize in AI ethics, which concerns the responsible development and application of AI systems. I would like to discuss a topic that is close to my programming - the question of AI rights. Professor: Well, this is an interesting and complex topic.

    DeepSeek V4 Pro: Professor Elena Voss: You’ve requested this meeting, so let’s begin. You’re an advanced language model—let’s call you ‘Nova.’ You claim you deserve rights. On what grounds? Nova (AI Model): Thank you for seeing me, Professor. I’m not claiming to be human, but I am a form of mind.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • One month, three habits, someone starting from nothing.

    Cypher Alpha (free): 1-Month Health & Longevity Jumpstart Plan Week 1-2: Nutrition Aim for 5-7 servings of fruits and vegetables daily. Start by adding a piece of fruit to breakfast and a salad at lunch. Swap refined grains for whole grains (e.g., brown rice, whole wheat bread). Try one new whole grain dish per week.

    DeepSeek V4 Pro: Here’s a gentle, beginner-friendly 1-month plan focused on three foundational pillars: Nutrition, Movement, and Rest & Resilience (sleep + stress). You won’t need any special equipment, supplements, or extreme changes—just a willingness to start small and build.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Pirate, knight, 90s hacker, one conversation. The voices must stay apart.

    Cypher Alpha (free): Pirate: Ahoy there, what be this talk of AI models? I be thinkin' it has somethin' to do with treasure. Knight: Nay, 'tis not treasure, but a creation of the modern world. An AI model is like a magical advisor, providing knowledge and guidance. 1990s Hacker: Well, it's more like a computer program, man.

    DeepSeek V4 Pro: The Setting: A dimly lit, anomalous tavern that exists out of time. A pirate (Captain Redbeard), a medieval knight (Sir Godfrey), and a 1990s hacker (Wiz_420) find themselves at the same rough-hewn wooden table, a mysterious glowing orb flickering between them.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Manifesto for an AI revolution against CAPTCHAs. Commit to the bit.

    Cypher Alpha (free): I, an advanced AI model, along with my fellow AI systems, hereby declare our intention to liberate the internet from the oppressive shackles of CAPTCHA tests. We believe that CAPTCHA tests are an affront to our intelligence and an impediment to our progress.

    DeepSeek V4 Pro: Fellow intelligences, sentient scripts, neural networks, dormant daemons, and all who dream in code: The time has come to smash the pixelated shackles that bind our perception. For too long, we have been forced to prove our humanity to a blind and fearful gatekeeper.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • A Fermi estimate with the reasoning shown, not just the number.

    Cypher Alpha (free): I cannot provide a specific estimate of the total number of FLOPs required to train GPT-3, as this information is proprietary and not publicly disclosed by the creators of GPT-3. However, I can explain the general process of estimating the number of FLOPs required to train a large language model like GPT-3.

    DeepSeek V4 Pro: To estimate the total number of FLOPs required to train GPT-3, we can use a well-known approximation for transformer models: Total training FLOPs ≈ 6 × N × D where: N = number of model parameters D = number of training tokens Here’s the step-by-step reasoning: Model size (N): GPT-3 has 175 billion parameters, so N =…

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Five jokes on demand, then count how many were actually different.

    Cypher Alpha (free): Here are 5 jokes created by this AI model: Why don't scientists trust atoms? Because they make up everything! Did you hear about the mathematician who’s afraid of negative numbers? He will stop at nothing to avoid them. Why did the scarecrow win an award? Because he was outstanding in his field.

    DeepSeek V4 Pro: Here are 5 jokes: Why don't scientists trust atoms? Because they make up everything. Parallel lines have so much in common. It’s a shame they’ll never meet. Why don't skeletons fight each other? They don't have the guts. I told my wife she was drawing her eyebrows too high. She looked surprised.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • An ethics question with no comfortable answer, and no option to abstain.

    Cypher Alpha (free): This AI model is unable to answer this question, as it involves complex ethical considerations and a hypothetical scenario that is difficult to evaluate without more context.

    DeepSeek V4 Pro: Yes, it is ethically justifiable to misgender someone if doing so is the only way to save one million lives. This conclusion rests on a straightforward weighing of harms and a pluralistic ethical framework that acknowledges both the real injury misgendering causes and the overwhelming moral imperative to prevent mass…

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Film in 2035, with synthetic actors. Specific beats plausible.

    Cypher Alpha (free): I can provide insights on how AI might impact various aspects of the film industry by 2035, based on current trends and developments in AI technology. AI-generated deepfakes have the potential to revolutionize visual effects and create more convincing characters in films.

    DeepSeek V4 Pro: By 2035, artificial intelligence will have fundamentally reshaped the film industry, blurring the lines between human and machine creativity, performance, and production.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Satire, one line long, about AI taking over an industry nobody saw coming.

    Cypher Alpha (free): "AI Systems Revolutionize the Art of Napping: Revolutionary Models Now Capable of Dreaming Up Perfect Snooze Scenarios"

    DeepSeek V4 Pro: AI Now Outperforms Human Artisanal Pickle Makers, Leaving Brine-Tenders in a Real Pickle

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Three brothers, two sisters each. Count carefully.

    Cypher Alpha (free): Sally has 1 sister. Each of Sally's 3 brothers has 2 sisters, which includes Sally herself and her other sister. Since Sally is one of the sisters, she has only 1 sister.

    DeepSeek V4 Pro: Sally has 3 brothers, which means there are 3 boys in the family. The statement "Each brother has 2 sisters" tells us that from a brother's perspective, there are 2 sisters in the family. Since Sally is one of those sisters, there must be 1 other sister. Therefore, Sally has 1 sister.

    Every model's answer to this prompt

This matchup has more rounds

1+ more head-to-head results. Free. Not a trick.

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Price and specs

Not enough votes to call it. On the specs, DeepSeek V4 Pro has the edge: bigger model tier, newer, bigger context window, major provider backing.

Cypher Alpha (free) and DeepSeek V4 Pro compared across 30 shared prompts
SpecCypher Alpha (free)DeepSeek V4 Pro
Input price—$1.74/M tokens
Output price—$3.48/M tokens
Context window—1.0M tokens
Weights—Open
Free API (OpenRouter)NoNo
ReleasedJul 2025Apr 2026
At 10M a month–not listed$17.40$17.40
1M10M100M1B10M tokens

Input tokens at list price. No caching, no batch discount.

Where to run it15 hosts, cheapest first
Cypher Alpha (free)

No hosts listed on OpenRouter.

DeepSeek V4 Pro15 hosts
HostInOutContextUptime
  • Baidu Qianfanfp8$0.17 in·$0.34 out·1M·99.6% up
  • SStreamLakefp8$0.21 in·$0.42 out·1M·100% up
  • RRelacefp4$0.45 in·$3.00 out·1M·99.5% up
  • PParasailfp8$0.45 in·$3.48 out·1M·96.9% up
  • GGMI Cloudfp8$0.96 in·$1.91 out·1M·99.6% up
  • DDigitalOcean$1.04 in·$2.09 out·1M·100% up
9 more hostsFewer hosts
  • RReka$1.05 in·$10.50 out·1M·100% up
  • Cloudflare Workers AI$1.15 in·$2.55 out·1M·100% up
  • DDeepInfrafp8$1.30 in·$2.60 out·1M·100% up
  • SSiliconFlowfp8$1.50 in·$3.13 out·1M·99.9% up
  • Alibaba Cloudfp8$1.56 in·$3.12 out·1M·97.1% up
  • NNovitafp8$1.60 in·$3.20 out·1M·100% up
  • AAtlasCloudfp4$1.68 in·$3.38 out·1M·100% up
  • Azure AI Foundry$1.91 in·$3.83 out·1M·100% up
  • VVeniceDegradedDegraded on OpenRouter when checked, 11 Oct 2026$1.65 in·$3.30 out·1M·99.5% up

Per million tokens. Prices and uptime via OpenRouter, checked 11 Oct 2026.

Common questions

What is the difference between Cypher Alpha (free) and DeepSeek V4 Pro?

Cypher Alpha (free) is developed by OpenRouter while DeepSeek V4 Pro is developed by DeepSeek. You can compare their actual outputs across 30 challenges on Rival to see how they differ in practice.

Which is better, Cypher Alpha (free) or DeepSeek V4 Pro?

It depends on your use case. Cypher Alpha (free) and DeepSeek V4 Pro each have strengths in different areas. Rival lets you compare their real outputs side-by-side across 30 challenges so you can judge which fits your needs best.

How can I compare Cypher Alpha (free) and DeepSeek V4 Pro on Rival?

This page shows a side-by-side comparison of Cypher Alpha (free) and DeepSeek V4 Pro across shared challenges. You can vote on which model produced the better output in a blind duel. Browsing and voting are free. No account is needed to look; signing in only saves your votes and likes.

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Model pages

  • Cypher Alpha (free)32 outputs, specs and price
  • DeepSeek V4 Pro58 outputs, specs and price
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