Model Comparison
DeepSeek R1 Zero vs Qwen3-235B-A22B-Instruct-2507Which is better in 2026?
Qwen3-235B-A22B-Instruct-2507 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Verdict: DeepSeek R1 Zero vs Qwen3-235B-A22B-Instruct-2507 — which is better?
DeepSeek R1 Zero (by DeepSeek) and Qwen3-235B-A22B-Instruct-2507 (by Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team) 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 Zero outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Qwen3-235B-A22B-Instruct-2507 is better at 1 benchmark (GPQA). Qwen3-235B-A22B-Instruct-2507 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Choose DeepSeek R1 Zero if…
- you are already invested in the DeepSeek ecosystem
Choose Qwen3-235B-A22B-Instruct-2507 if…
- you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 1 of 1 shared benchmarks
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jul 2025
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
DeepSeek R1 Zero outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Qwen3-235B-A22B-Instruct-2507 is better at 1 benchmark (GPQA).
Qwen3-235B-A22B-Instruct-2507 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Arena Performance
Human preference votes
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
DeepSeek R1 Zero has 436.0B more parameters than Qwen3-235B-A22B-Instruct-2507, making it 185.5% larger.
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Only Qwen3-235B-A22B-Instruct-2507 specifies input context (262,144 tokens). Only Qwen3-235B-A22B-Instruct-2507 specifies output context (131,072 tokens).
License
Usage and distribution terms
DeepSeek R1 Zero is licensed under MIT, while Qwen3-235B-A22B-Instruct-2507 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 Zero was released on 2025-01-20, while Qwen3-235B-A22B-Instruct-2507 was released on 2025-07-22.
Qwen3-235B-A22B-Instruct-2507 is 6 months newer than DeepSeek R1 Zero.
Jan 20, 2025
1.4 years ago
Jul 22, 2025
10 months ago
6mo newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.
Unable to compare the recency of their training data.
Outputs Comparison
Key Takeaways
DeepSeek R1 Zero
View detailsDeepSeek
No standout differentiators in the data we have for this pair.
Qwen3-235B-A22B-Instruct-2507
View detailsAlibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Detailed Comparison
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FAQ
Common questions about DeepSeek R1 Zero vs Qwen3-235B-A22B-Instruct-2507.