DeepSeek R1 (0528) vs OpenAI o3
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.
OpenAI · Apr 2025
OpenAI's dedicated 2025 reasoning model that pioneered thinking-with-images and agentic tool use within chain-of-thought.
The verdict
OpenAI o3 wins 3 of the 3 benchmarks these models share, against 0 for DeepSeek R1 (0528). On price the gap is dramatic: DeepSeek R1 (0528) works out roughly 3.6x cheaper per blended million tokens. OpenAI o3 also takes 200K 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.
Benchmark head-to-head 0–3
Specs & pricing
| DeepSeek R1 (0528) | OpenAI o3 | |
|---|---|---|
| modhub Index | 67.8 | 68.9 |
| Input price / 1M | $0.55 | $2 |
| Output price / 1M | $2.19 | $8 |
| Context window | 128K | 200K |
| Max output | 64K | 100K |
| Open weights | yes (MIT) | no |
| Reasoning model | yes | yes |
| Multimodal input | text | text, image |
| Knowledge cutoff | Mar 2025 | May 2024 |
| Released | May 2025 | Apr 2025 |
| Example monthly cost* | $8.79 | $32.00 |
* 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 OpenAI o3?
- OpenAI o3 wins 3 of the 3 benchmarks these models share, against 0 for DeepSeek R1 (0528). On price the gap is dramatic: DeepSeek R1 (0528) works out roughly 3.6x cheaper per blended million tokens. OpenAI o3 also takes 200K 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 OpenAI o3?
- DeepSeek R1 (0528) costs $0.55/$2.19 per million input/output tokens, while OpenAI o3 costs $2/$8. For a typical workload of 10M input and 1.5M output tokens per month, that's $8.79 versus $32.00.
- Which model is better for coding, DeepSeek R1 (0528) or OpenAI o3?
- We don't yet track SWE-bench Verified results for both models; check their individual pages for coding-related scores.