DeepSeek-R1 vs o3-mini

Comparing DeepSeek-R1 by DeepSeek and o3-mini by OpenAI across benchmarks, pricing, and capabilities.

DeepSeek-R1 is 2.0x cheaper per token.

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Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

No common benchmarks found

DeepSeek-R1 and o3-mini don't have any common benchmark datasets to compare. They may have been evaluated on different testing suites.

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

DeepSeek-R1 costs less

For input processing, DeepSeek-R1 ($0.55/1M tokens) is 2.0x cheaper than o3-mini ($1.10/1M tokens).

For output processing, DeepSeek-R1 ($2.19/1M tokens) is 2.0x cheaper than o3-mini ($4.40/1M tokens).

In conclusion, o3-mini is more expensive than DeepSeek-R1.*

* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens

Lowest available price from all providers

Tue Mar 24 2026 • llm-stats.com

DeepSeek-R1

Input tokens$0.55

Output tokens$2.19

Best providerDeepSeek

o3-mini

Input tokens$1.10

Output tokens$4.40

Best providerAzure

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Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

o3-mini accepts 200,000 input tokens compared to DeepSeek-R1's 131,072 tokens. DeepSeek-R1 can generate longer responses up to 131,072 tokens, while o3-mini is limited to 100,000 tokens.

DeepSeek-R1

Input131,072 tokens

Output131,072 tokens

o3-mini

Input200,000 tokens

Output100,000 tokens

Tue Mar 24 2026 • llm-stats.com

License

Usage and distribution terms

DeepSeek-R1 is licensed under MIT, while o3-mini uses a proprietary license.

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

DeepSeek-R1

MIT

Open weights

o3-mini

Proprietary

Closed source

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

DeepSeek-R1 was released on 2025-01-20, while o3-mini was released on 2025-01-30.

o3-mini is 0 month newer than DeepSeek-R1.

DeepSeek-R1

Jan 20, 2025

1.2 years ago

o3-mini

Jan 30, 2025

1.1 years ago

1w newer

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

o3-mini has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2023-09-30, while DeepSeek-R1's cutoff date is not specified.

We can confirm o3-mini's training data extends to 2023-09-30, but cannot make a direct comparison without DeepSeek-R1's cutoff date.

DeepSeek-R1

—

o3-mini

Sep 2023

Provider Availability

DeepSeek-R1 is available from DeepSeek, DeepInfra, Together, Fireworks. o3-mini is available from Azure, OpenAI. The availability of providers can affect quality of the model and reliability.