Model Comparison

DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B vs Gemma 3 1BWhich is better in 2026?

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

Verdict: DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B vs Gemma 3 1B — which is better?

DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B (by DeepSeek) and Gemma 3 1B (by Google) are two of the AI models people compare most. Here is how they stack up on benchmarks, price and capabilities, and which one to pick in 2026.

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.

Choose DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 2 of 2 shared benchmarks

Choose Gemma 3 1B if…

  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Mar 2025
Want to compare interactively?Try the playground

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

2 benchmarks

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 Jun 16 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

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

1.4 years ago

Gemma 3 1B

Mar 12, 2025

1.3 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→

Key Takeaways

DeepSeek
Higher GPQA score (33.8% vs 19.2%)
Higher LiveCodeBench score (16.9% vs 1.9%)
Google

No standout differentiators in the data we have for this pair.

Detailed Comparison

AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
DeepSeek
DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B
Google
Gemma 3 1B

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 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. 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 benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities 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 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.

Related comparisons