DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 32B vs Qwen3 30B A3B
Qwen3 30B A3B shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks. DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 32B is 1.1x cheaper per token.
DeepSeek · Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 32B outperforms in 1 benchmarks (AIME 2024), while Qwen3 30B A3B is better at 2 benchmarks (GPQA, LiveCodeBench). Qwen3 30B A3B shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.
On price, DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 32B is roughly 1.1x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Based on current benchmark, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.
Choose DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 32B
- cost matters — it's about 1.1x cheaper per token
Choose Qwen3 30B A3B
- you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 2 of 3 shared benchmarks
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Apr 2025
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 32B outperforms in 1 benchmarks (AIME 2024), while Qwen3 30B A3B is better at 2 benchmarks (GPQA, LiveCodeBench).
Qwen3 30B A3B shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.
Arena Performance
Playground indexes and blind preference scores
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 32B ($0.12/1M tokens) is 1.2x more expensive than Qwen3 30B A3B ($0.10/1M tokens).
For output processing, DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 32B ($0.18/1M tokens) is 1.7x cheaper than Qwen3 30B A3B ($0.30/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Qwen3 30B A3B is more expensive than DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 32B.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 32B has 2.3B more parameters than Qwen3 30B A3B, making it 7.5% larger.
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Both models have the same input context window of 128,000 tokens. Both models can generate responses up to 128,000 tokens.
License
Usage and distribution terms
DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 32B is licensed under MIT, while Qwen3 30B A3B uses Apache 2.0.
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
MIT
Open weights
Apache 2.0
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 32B was released on 2025-01-20, while Qwen3 30B A3B was released on 2025-04-29.
Qwen3 30B A3B is 3 months newer than DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 32B.
Jan 20, 2025
1.6 years ago
Apr 29, 2025
1.3 years ago
3mo newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.
Unable to compare the recency of their training data.
Provider Availability
DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 32B is available from DeepInfra. Qwen3 30B A3B is available from DeepInfra, Novita, Fireworks.
DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 32B
Qwen3 30B A3B
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 32B and Qwen3 30B A3B side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 32B vs Qwen3 30B A3B.