DeepSeek-R1 vs Qwen2.5 72B Instruct Comparison

Comparing DeepSeek-R1 and Qwen2.5 72B Instruct across benchmarks, pricing, and capabilities.

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

No common benchmarks found

DeepSeek-R1 and Qwen2.5 72B Instruct 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

Qwen2.5 72B Instruct costs less

For input processing, DeepSeek-R1 ($0.55/1M tokens) is 1.6x more expensive than Qwen2.5 72B Instruct ($0.35/1M tokens).

For output processing, DeepSeek-R1 ($2.19/1M tokens) is 5.5x more expensive than Qwen2.5 72B Instruct ($0.40/1M tokens).

In conclusion, DeepSeek-R1 is more expensive than Qwen2.5 72B Instruct.*

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

Lowest available price from all providers
Mon Mar 16 2026 • llm-stats.com
DeepSeek
DeepSeek-R1
Input tokens$0.55
Output tokens$2.19
Best providerDeepSeek
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen2.5 72B Instruct
Input tokens$0.35
Output tokens$0.40
Best providerDeepinfra
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Model Size

Parameter count comparison

598.3B diff

DeepSeek-R1 has 598.3B more parameters than Qwen2.5 72B Instruct, making it 823.0% larger.

DeepSeek
DeepSeek-R1
671.0Bparameters
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen2.5 72B Instruct
72.7Bparameters
671.0B
DeepSeek-R1
72.7B
Qwen2.5 72B Instruct

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Both models have the same input context window of 131,072 tokens. DeepSeek-R1 can generate longer responses up to 131,072 tokens, while Qwen2.5 72B Instruct is limited to 8,192 tokens.

DeepSeek
DeepSeek-R1
Input131,072 tokens
Output131,072 tokens
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen2.5 72B Instruct
Input131,072 tokens
Output8,192 tokens
Mon Mar 16 2026 • llm-stats.com

License

Usage and distribution terms

DeepSeek-R1 is licensed under MIT, while Qwen2.5 72B Instruct uses Qwen.

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

DeepSeek-R1

MIT

Open weights

Qwen2.5 72B Instruct

Qwen

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

DeepSeek-R1 was released on 2025-01-20, while Qwen2.5 72B Instruct was released on 2024-09-19.

DeepSeek-R1 is 4 months newer than Qwen2.5 72B Instruct.

DeepSeek-R1

Jan 20, 2025

1.2 years ago

4mo newer
Qwen2.5 72B Instruct

Sep 19, 2024

1.5 years ago

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

Provider Availability

DeepSeek-R1 is available from DeepSeek, DeepInfra, Together, Fireworks. Qwen2.5 72B Instruct is available from DeepInfra, Hyperbolic, Fireworks, Together. The availability of providers can affect quality of the model and reliability.

DeepSeek-R1

deepseek logo
DeepSeek
Input Price:Input: $0.55/1MOutput Price:Output: $2.19/1M
deepinfra logo
Deepinfra
Input Price:Input: $0.85/1MOutput Price:Output: $2.50/1M
together logo
Together
Input Price:Input: $7.00/1MOutput Price:Output: $7.00/1M
fireworks logo
Fireworks
Input Price:Input: $8.00/1MOutput Price:Output: $8.00/1M

Qwen2.5 72B Instruct

deepinfra logo
Deepinfra
Input Price:Input: $0.35/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.40/1M
hyperbolic logo
Hyperbolic
Input Price:Input: $0.40/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.40/1M
fireworks logo
Fireworks
Input Price:Input: $0.89/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.89/1M
together logo
Together
Input Price:Input: $1.20/1MOutput Price:Output: $1.20/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

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Key Takeaways

Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team

Qwen2.5 72B Instruct

View details

Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team

Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens

Detailed Comparison

AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
DeepSeek
DeepSeek-R1
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen2.5 72B Instruct