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DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B vs Gemma 3 1B

DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B leads the LLM Stats Score -2.8 to -10.4.

DeepSeek · Google · Updated for 2026

Which is better?

DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B leads the overall LLM Stats Score -2.8 to -10.4, ranking #330 overall.

In the 2 individual benchmarks reported for both models, DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B wins 2; this is a narrower head-to-head signal than the composite indexes.

Based on current LLM Stats indexes, shared benchmarks, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.

Choose DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B

  • overall performance matters — it scores -2.8 and ranks #330 on LLM Stats
  • your work emphasizes reasoning — it leads those capability indexes
  • you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 2 of 2 exact shared results

Choose Gemma 3 1B

  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Mar 2025

At a glance

The differences that matter most.

Core performance indexes
-2.8
#330
-10.4
#355
-2.4
#319
-12.0
#348
-4.5
#250
-10.1
#255
Cost, coverage & limits
Benchmark wins
2 of 2
0 of 2
Input price
— / M
— / M
Output price
— / M
— / M
Context window

Capability indexes

Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks

1 shared
Index
DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B
Gemma 3 1B
5.7#262
-8.8#316
Conservative TrueSkill rating · higher is betterHow scores work

Individual benchmarks

4 reported for DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B · 18 for Gemma 3 1B

2 shared

DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B outperforms in 2 benchmarks (GPQA, LiveCodeBench), while Gemma 3 1B is better at 0 benchmarks.

DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Tue Sep 08 2026 • llm-stats.com

Human preference

Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores

Model Size

Parameter count comparison

780.0M diff

DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B has 0.8B more parameters than Gemma 3 1B, making it 78.0% larger.

DeepSeek
DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B
1.8Bparameters
Google
Gemma 3 1B
1.0Bparameters
1.8B
DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B
1.0B
Gemma 3 1B

License

Usage and distribution terms

DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B is licensed under MIT, while Gemma 3 1B uses Gemma.

License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.

DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B

MIT

Open weights

Gemma 3 1B

Gemma

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B was released on 2025-01-20, while Gemma 3 1B was released on 2025-03-12.

Gemma 3 1B is 2 months newer than DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B.

DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B

Jan 20, 2025

1.6 years ago

Gemma 3 1B

Mar 12, 2025

1.5 years ago

1mo newer

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.

Unable to compare the recency of their training data.

No cutoff dates available

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B and Gemma 3 1B side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B
✓ Preferred
Gemma 3 1B
Open in Playground

FAQ

Common questions about DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B vs Gemma 3 1B.

Which is better, DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B or Gemma 3 1B?

DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B leads the LLM Stats Score -2.8 to -10.4. DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B is made by DeepSeek and Gemma 3 1B is made by Google. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their capability indexes, individual benchmarks, pricing, and limits above.

How does DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B compare to Gemma 3 1B in benchmarks?

DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B scores MATH-500: 83.9%, AIME 2024: 52.7%, GPQA: 33.8%, LiveCodeBench: 16.9%. Gemma 3 1B scores IFEval: 80.2%, GSM8k: 62.8%, Natural2Code: 56.0%, MATH: 48.0%, HumanEval: 41.5%.

What are the main differences between DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B and Gemma 3 1B?

Key differences include LLM Stats Score (-2.8 vs -10.4), licensing (MIT vs Gemma). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B and Gemma 3 1B?

DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B is developed by DeepSeek and Gemma 3 1B is developed by Google.