DeepSeek R1 (0528) vs Qwen3-Max
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.
Alibaba (Qwen) · Sep 2025
Alibaba's trillion-parameter API flagship — frontier-adjacent quality with strong agentic tool use at mid-tier prices.
The verdict
Qwen3-Max wins 2 of the 3 benchmarks these models share, against 1 for DeepSeek R1 (0528). DeepSeek R1 (0528) is about 2.5x cheaper per blended million tokens (3:1 input:output mix). Qwen3-Max also takes 262K 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 1–2
Specs & pricing
| DeepSeek R1 (0528) | Qwen3-Max | |
|---|---|---|
| modhub Index | 67.8 | 80.5 |
| Input price / 1M | $0.55 | $1.2 |
| Output price / 1M | $2.19 | $6 |
| Context window | 128K | 262K |
| Max output | 64K | 66K |
| Open weights | yes (MIT) | no |
| Reasoning model | yes | yes |
| Multimodal input | text | text |
| Knowledge cutoff | Mar 2025 | Jun 2025 |
| Released | May 2025 | Sep 2025 |
| Example monthly cost* | $8.79 | $21.00 |
* 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 Qwen3-Max?
- Qwen3-Max wins 2 of the 3 benchmarks these models share, against 1 for DeepSeek R1 (0528). DeepSeek R1 (0528) is about 2.5x cheaper per blended million tokens (3:1 input:output mix). Qwen3-Max also takes 262K 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 Qwen3-Max?
- DeepSeek R1 (0528) costs $0.55/$2.19 per million input/output tokens, while Qwen3-Max costs $1.2/$6. For a typical workload of 10M input and 1.5M output tokens per month, that's $8.79 versus $21.00.
- Which model is better for coding, DeepSeek R1 (0528) or Qwen3-Max?
- We don't yet track SWE-bench Verified results for both models; check their individual pages for coding-related scores.