Code Davinci 002 vs DeepSeek R1
Code Davinci 002 (2021) and DeepSeek R1 (2025) are agentic coding models from OpenAI and DeepSeek. Code Davinci 002 ships a not-yet-sourced context window, while DeepSeek R1 ships a 128K-token context window. This comparison covers specs, pricing, capabilities, benchmarks, provider availability, and production fit. It focuses on practical selection signals rather than broad model-family marketing. The goal is to make the tradeoff clear before deeper testing.
DeepSeek R1 is safer overall; choose Code Davinci 002 when coding workflow support matters.
Specs
| Released | 2021-08-16 | 2025-01-20 |
| Context window | — | 128K |
| Parameters | — | 671B, 37B Active |
| Architecture | decoder only | decoder only |
| License | Proprietary | Open Source |
| Knowledge cutoff | - | - |
Pricing and availability
| Code Davinci 002 | DeepSeek R1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | - | $0.1/1M tokens |
| Output price | - | $0.3/1M tokens |
| Providers | - |
Capabilities
| Code Davinci 002 | DeepSeek R1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | ||
| Multimodal | ||
| Reasoning | ||
| Function calling | ||
| Tool use | ||
| Structured outputs | ||
| Code execution |
Benchmarks
No shared benchmark rows are currently sourced for this pair.
Deep dive
The capability footprint differs most on reasoning mode: DeepSeek R1, structured outputs: DeepSeek R1, and code execution: DeepSeek R1. Both models share the core language-model surface, so the practical split is not just feature count. Use those differences to decide whether the page is about raw model quality, agentic coding support, multimodal ingestion, or predictable structured API behavior.
Pricing coverage is uneven: Code Davinci 002 has no token price sourced yet and DeepSeek R1 has $0.1/1M input tokens. Provider availability is 0 tracked routes versus 13. Treat unknown pricing as an integration gap, then verify the route you will actually call before estimating production spend.
Choose Code Davinci 002 when coding workflow support are central to the workload. Choose DeepSeek R1 when coding workflow support and broader provider choice are more important. For production, rerun your own prompts through the exact provider, region, and tool stack you plan to ship. This keeps the decision grounded in measurable tradeoffs instead of brand-level assumptions. It also helps separate model capability from provider packaging, which can change cost and latency. For teams standardizing a stack, that distinction is often the difference between a benchmark win and a reliable deployment.
FAQ
Is Code Davinci 002 or DeepSeek R1 open source?
Code Davinci 002 is listed under Proprietary. DeepSeek R1 is listed under Open Source. License labels affect whether you can self-host, redistribute weights, or rely only on hosted APIs, so confirm the upstream license before deployment.
Which is better for reasoning mode, Code Davinci 002 or DeepSeek R1?
DeepSeek R1 has the clearer documented reasoning mode signal in this comparison. If reasoning mode is mission-critical, validate it against the provider endpoint because model-level support and API-level exposure can differ.
Which is better for structured outputs, Code Davinci 002 or DeepSeek R1?
DeepSeek R1 has the clearer documented structured outputs signal in this comparison. If structured outputs is mission-critical, validate it against the provider endpoint because model-level support and API-level exposure can differ.
Which is better for code execution, Code Davinci 002 or DeepSeek R1?
DeepSeek R1 has the clearer documented code execution signal in this comparison. If code execution is mission-critical, validate it against the provider endpoint because model-level support and API-level exposure can differ.
Where can I run Code Davinci 002 and DeepSeek R1?
Code Davinci 002 is available on the tracked providers still being sourced. DeepSeek R1 is available on DeepSeek Platform, OpenRouter, Together AI, Fireworks AI, and NVIDIA NIM. Provider coverage can affect latency, region availability, compliance posture, and fallback options.
When should I pick Code Davinci 002 over DeepSeek R1?
DeepSeek R1 is safer overall; choose Code Davinci 002 when coding workflow support matters. If your workload also depends on coding workflow support, start with Code Davinci 002; if it depends on coding workflow support, run the same evaluation with DeepSeek R1.
Continue comparing
Last reviewed: 2026-04-24. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.