DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B vs o1-mini
o1-mini leads the LLM Stats Score 10.2 to -2.7.
DeepSeek · OpenAI · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
o1-mini leads the overall LLM Stats Score 10.2 to -2.7, ranking #253 overall.
In the 2 individual benchmarks reported for both models, o1-mini 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
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jan 2025
- you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune
Choose o1-mini
- overall performance matters — it scores 10.2 and ranks #253 on LLM Stats
- your work emphasizes reasoning and coding — it leads those capability indexes
- you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 2 of 2 exact shared results
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Capability indexes
Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks
Individual benchmarks
4 reported for DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B · 6 for o1-mini
DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while o1-mini is better at 2 benchmarks (GPQA, MATH-500).
o1-mini significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Human preference
Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Only o1-mini specifies input context (128,000 tokens). Only o1-mini specifies output context (65,536 tokens).
License
Usage and distribution terms
DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B is licensed under MIT, while o1-mini uses a proprietary license.
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
MIT
Open weights
Proprietary
Closed source
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B was released on 2025-01-20, while o1-mini was released on 2024-09-12.
DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B is 4 months newer than o1-mini.
Jan 20, 2025
1.6 years ago
4mo newerSep 12, 2024
2.0 years ago
Knowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.
Unable to compare the recency of their training data.
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B and o1-mini side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B vs o1-mini.