Model Comparison
DeepSeek R1 Zero vs Qwen3 VL 30B A3B ThinkingWhich is better in 2026?
Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Verdict: DeepSeek R1 Zero vs Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking — which is better?
DeepSeek R1 Zero (by DeepSeek) and Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking (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 VL 30B A3B Thinking is better at 1 benchmark (GPQA). Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Choose DeepSeek R1 Zero if…
- you are already invested in the DeepSeek ecosystem
Choose Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking if…
- you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 1 of 1 shared benchmarks
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Sep 2025
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
DeepSeek R1 Zero outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking is better at 1 benchmark (GPQA).
Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Arena Performance
Human preference votes
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
DeepSeek R1 Zero has 640.0B more parameters than Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking, making it 2064.5% larger.
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Only Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking specifies input context (131,072 tokens). Only Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking specifies output context (32,768 tokens).
Input Capabilities
Supported data types and modalities
Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking supports multimodal inputs, whereas DeepSeek R1 Zero does not.
Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.
DeepSeek R1 Zero
Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking
License
Usage and distribution terms
DeepSeek R1 Zero is licensed under MIT, while Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking 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 VL 30B A3B Thinking was released on 2025-09-22.
Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking is 8 months newer than DeepSeek R1 Zero.
Jan 20, 2025
1.4 years ago
Sep 22, 2025
9 months ago
8mo 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 VL 30B A3B Thinking
View detailsAlibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Detailed Comparison
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FAQ
Common questions about DeepSeek R1 Zero vs Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking.