ModelRefs / DeepSeek R1 vs DeepSeek V3
DeepSeek R1 vs DeepSeek V3
DeepSeek R1 vs DeepSeek V3: side-by-side benchmarks, pricing, context windows, coding ability and deployment. Pick the right model for your stack.
Overview
DeepSeek R1: DeepSeek R1 is DeepSeek's open-source reasoning model, trained with reinforcement learning to produce chain-of-thought reasoning before answering. Released in January 2025 under the MIT license, it matched or exceeded closed reasoning models on several math and coding benchmarks.
DeepSeek V3: DeepSeek V3 is DeepSeek's December 2024 open-weights Mixture-of-Experts model, activating 37 billion of 671 billion total parameters per token across a 128,000-token context window. It ships under the MIT licence with published weights and a technical report, and DeepSeek reports its own evaluation table for the text chat model under an 8,000-token output limit.
Context window: DeepSeek R1 accepts up to 128,000 tokens, DeepSeek V3 up to 128,000. Confirm the limit for your specific deployment channel before relying on it.
DeepSeek R1 vs DeepSeek V3 at a glance
| Attribute | DeepSeek R1 | DeepSeek V3 |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | DeepSeek | DeepSeek |
| Released | 2025-01-20 | 2024-12-26 |
| Context window | 128,000 tokens | 128,000 tokens |
| Input price | $0.55/M tokens | $0.27/M tokens |
| Output price | $2.19/M tokens | $1.1/M tokens |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| Self-hostable | Yes, open weights | Yes, open weights |
| Modalities | text | text |
Where they differ most
- Cost Efficiency: DeepSeek R1 75%, DeepSeek V3 85%. DeepSeek V3 leads on this dimension.
- Reasoning: DeepSeek R1 75%, DeepSeek V3 72%. DeepSeek R1 leads on this dimension.
- Coding: DeepSeek R1 66%, DeepSeek V3 67%. DeepSeek V3 leads on this dimension.
Capability scores are ModelRefs' own derived signals, not vendor claims or benchmark results. Validate against your own workload before relying on them.
Continue your research
Use these connected ModelRefs sections to compare alternatives, inspect implementation paths, and review the evidence and governance boundaries relevant to DeepSeek R1 vs DeepSeek V3.
Frequently asked questions
Which is better, DeepSeek R1 or DeepSeek V3?
DeepSeek R1 and DeepSeek V3 target different workloads — see the benchmark and pricing tables for a side-by-side answer.
Is DeepSeek R1 cheaper than DeepSeek V3?
Compare $0.00055 vs $0.00027 on this page.