DeepSeek-V2.5 vs Qwen2.5 72B Instruct
DeepSeek-V2.5 and Qwen2.5 72B Instruct are closely matched at 8.4 and 12.5 on the LLM Stats Score. DeepSeek-V2.5 is 2.1x cheaper per token.
DeepSeek · Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
DeepSeek-V2.5 and Qwen2.5 72B Instruct are closely matched on the overall LLM Stats Score at 8.4 and 12.5.
In the 6 individual benchmarks reported for both models, Qwen2.5 72B Instruct wins 5; this is a narrower head-to-head signal than the composite indexes.
On price, DeepSeek-V2.5 is roughly 2.1x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Qwen2.5 72B Instruct also accepts a larger context window (131,072 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.
Based on current LLM Stats indexes, shared benchmarks, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.
Choose DeepSeek-V2.5
- cost matters — it's about 2.1x cheaper per token
Choose Qwen2.5 72B Instruct
- you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 5 of 6 exact shared results
- you process long inputs — it offers a 131,072 token context window
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Sep 2024
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Capability indexes
Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks
Individual benchmarks
15 reported for DeepSeek-V2.5 · 14 for Qwen2.5 72B Instruct
DeepSeek-V2.5 outperforms in 1 benchmarks (HumanEval), while Qwen2.5 72B Instruct is better at 5 benchmarks (AlignBench, Arena Hard, GSM8k, MATH, MT-Bench).
Qwen2.5 72B Instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Human preference
Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, DeepSeek-V2.5 ($0.14/1M tokens) is 2.5x cheaper than Qwen2.5 72B Instruct ($0.35/1M tokens).
For output processing, DeepSeek-V2.5 ($0.28/1M tokens) is 1.4x cheaper than Qwen2.5 72B Instruct ($0.40/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Qwen2.5 72B Instruct is more expensive than DeepSeek-V2.5.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
DeepSeek-V2.5 has 163.3B more parameters than Qwen2.5 72B Instruct, making it 224.6% larger.
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Qwen2.5 72B Instruct accepts 131,072 input tokens compared to DeepSeek-V2.5's 8,192 tokens. Both models can generate responses up to 8,192 tokens.
License
Usage and distribution terms
DeepSeek-V2.5 is licensed under deepseek, while Qwen2.5 72B Instruct uses Qwen.
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
deepseek
Open weights
Qwen
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
DeepSeek-V2.5 was released on 2024-05-08, while Qwen2.5 72B Instruct was released on 2024-09-19.
Qwen2.5 72B Instruct is 4 months newer than DeepSeek-V2.5.
May 8, 2024
2.3 years ago
Sep 19, 2024
2.0 years ago
4mo 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-V2.5 is available from DeepSeek, DeepInfra, Hyperbolic. Qwen2.5 72B Instruct is available from DeepInfra, Hyperbolic, Fireworks, Together.
DeepSeek-V2.5
Qwen2.5 72B Instruct
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against DeepSeek-V2.5 and Qwen2.5 72B Instruct side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about DeepSeek-V2.5 vs Qwen2.5 72B Instruct.