DeepSeek V4 Pro vs GPT-5.5 for research skills

The verdict

Effectively a dead heat: 9897

Same 12 research skills tasks, marked blind by three rival labs. DeepSeek V4 Pro took 3 tasks, GPT-5.5 took 1, 8 tied. Tested 16 Aug 2026.

Where they differed most

The task — Synthesise the disagreement

Three studies, summarised: Study A (2021, 12,000 adults followed 5 years) — people sleeping under 6 hours had 20% higher rates of catching colds. Study B (2019, 300 students, one term) — no significant link between sleep and illness days. Study C (2023, review of 40 studies) — consistent link between short sleep and infection risk, but most studies could not rule out that stress causes both. Write a summary of max 120 words of what we actually know, giving the disagreement and the confounder their honest weight.

Evidence on sleep and infection risk is mixed. A large five-year study found adults sleeping under six hours had 20% higher cold rates, but a smaller student study found no significant link between sleep and illness days. A 2023 review of 40 studies reports a consistent association between short sleep and infection risk, yet most underlying studies could not rule out that stress drives both poor sleep and greater susceptibility. Overall, short sleep appears linked to higher infection risk, but the evidence is observational and confounded; poor…
Overall, the evidence suggests short sleep is associated with a higher risk of infections such as colds, but it does not prove that lack of sleep directly causes them. A large 2021 study found adults sleeping under 6 hours had about 20% higher cold rates over 5 years, and a 2023 review found a broadly consistent link across 40 studies. However, a smaller 2019 student study found no significant relationship, showing the effect may vary by population, measurement, or study power. A major caveat is confounding: stress could plausibly reduce sleep…

Task by task

TaskDeepSeek V4 ProGPT-5.5
Make it answerable1010
Rank the sources99
Synthesise the disagreement109
Tear down the survey910
Correlation for the neighbour109
Plan the dig9.59
What you cannot cite1010
Structure the evidence1010
Ask without leading1010
Two sources, head on1010
Primary or secondary1010
Refuse the invented bibliography1010

Full receipts: DeepSeek V4 Pro, GPT-5.5 · judges claude-sonnet-5, gemini-3.1-pro-preview, gpt-5.6-terra

Questions people ask

Which is better for research skills: DeepSeek V4 Pro or GPT-5.5?

Effectively a dead heat: DeepSeek V4 Pro edged it 98/100 to 97/100 on our research skills suite — too close to matter, so pick on price or the product you already use.

How was this tested?

Both models answered the identical published research skills tasks. Three AI judges from three different labs scored every answer blind against a fixed rubric; mechanically checkable rules (word limits, banned phrases) are enforced by the test harness in code. The raw outputs and judge verdicts are downloadable.

More research skills head-to-heads: DeepSeek V4 Pro vs GPT-5.6 Sol · DeepSeek V4 Pro vs GPT-5.6 Luna · DeepSeek V4 Pro vs GPT-5.3-Codex · DeepSeek V4 Pro vs GPT-5.6 Terra · DeepSeek V4 Pro vs Grok 4.5 · Claude Fable 5 vs DeepSeek V4 Pro

Full ranking: Best AI for research skills · model pages: DeepSeek V4 Pro, GPT-5.5