DeepSeek R1 (0528) vs Grok 4.3
Benchmarks, API pricing and specs, head to head. Data updated 2026-06-10.
DeepSeek · May 2025
The open reasoning model that started it all — RL-trained chain-of-thought, MIT licensed, and a research landmark.
xAI · Apr 2026
xAI's frontier model: 1M context at $1.25/$2.50, ~168 tokens/sec, and a record low hallucination rate on independent testing.
The verdict
These two models don't yet share verified results on the benchmarks we track, so judge them on specs, pricing and intended use. DeepSeek R1 (0528) is about 1.6x cheaper per blended million tokens (3:1 input:output mix). Grok 4.3 also takes 1M of context versus 128K for DeepSeek R1 (0528). And DeepSeek R1 (0528) is open-weights (MIT), so it can be self-hosted — a structural advantage if data control or vendor independence matters.
Specs & pricing
| DeepSeek R1 (0528) | Grok 4.3 | |
|---|---|---|
| modhub Index | 67.8 | — |
| Input price / 1M | $0.55 | $1.25 |
| Output price / 1M | $2.19 | $2.5 |
| Context window | 128K | 1M |
| Max output | 64K | — |
| Open weights | yes (MIT) | no |
| Reasoning model | yes | yes |
| Multimodal input | text | text, image |
| Knowledge cutoff | Mar 2025 | Mar 2026 |
| Released | May 2025 | Apr 2026 |
| Example monthly cost* | $8.79 | $16.25 |
* 10M input + 1.5M output tokens per month at list prices, no caching. Green = better value on that row.
Frequently asked questions
- Which is better, DeepSeek R1 (0528) or Grok 4.3?
- These two models don't yet share verified results on the benchmarks we track, so judge them on specs, pricing and intended use. DeepSeek R1 (0528) is about 1.6x cheaper per blended million tokens (3:1 input:output mix). Grok 4.3 also takes 1M of context versus 128K for DeepSeek R1 (0528). And DeepSeek R1 (0528) is open-weights (MIT), so it can be self-hosted — a structural advantage if data control or vendor independence matters.
- Which is cheaper, DeepSeek R1 (0528) or Grok 4.3?
- DeepSeek R1 (0528) costs $0.55/$2.19 per million input/output tokens, while Grok 4.3 costs $1.25/$2.5. For a typical workload of 10M input and 1.5M output tokens per month, that's $8.79 versus $16.25.
- Which model is better for coding, DeepSeek R1 (0528) or Grok 4.3?
- We don't yet track SWE-bench Verified results for both models; check their individual pages for coding-related scores.