LLM Reference

DeepSeek R1 0528 vs Grok 4

DeepSeek R1 0528 (2025) and Grok 4 (2025) are frontier-tier reasoning models from DeepSeek and xAI. DeepSeek R1 0528 ships a 130k-token context window, while Grok 4 ships a 256k-token context window. On MMLU PRO, Grok 4 leads by 2 pts. On pricing, DeepSeek R1 0528 costs $0.50/1M input tokens versus $1.25/1M for the alternative. This comparison covers specs, pricing, API access, capabilities, benchmarks, input and output token costs, and production fit for coding and agent workloads.

DeepSeek R1 0528 is ~150% cheaper at $0.50/1M; pay for Grok 4 only for coding workflow support.

Decision scorecard

Local evidence first
SignalDeepSeek R1 0528Grok 4
Best forreasoning-heavy apps and provider-routed productionreasoning-heavy apps, multimodal apps, and tool-calling agents
Decision fitCoding, RAG, and AgentsCoding, RAG, and Agents
Context window130k256k
Cheapest output$2.15/1M tokens$2.50/1M tokens
Provider routes7 tracked4 tracked
Shared benchmarks6 sharedMMLU PRO leader

Decision tradeoffs

Choose DeepSeek R1 0528 when...
  • DeepSeek R1 0528 has the lower cheapest tracked output price at $2.15/1M tokens.
  • DeepSeek R1 0528 has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and route flexibility.
  • Local decision data tags DeepSeek R1 0528 for Coding, RAG, and Agents.
Choose Grok 4 when...
  • Grok 4 holds a shared-benchmark lead on MMLU PRO, ahead by 2 points.
  • Grok 4 has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
  • Grok 4 uniquely exposes Vision, Multimodal, and JSON / Tool use in local model data.
  • Local decision data tags Grok 4 for Coding, RAG, and Agents.

Monthly cost at traffic

Estimate token spend from the cheapest tracked input and output route or tier on this page.

Lower estimate DeepSeek R1 0528

DeepSeek R1 0528

$938

Cheapest tracked route/tier: OpenRouter

Grok 4

$1,625

Cheapest tracked route/tier: xAI Console

Estimated monthly gap: $688. Batch, cache, alternate speed tiers, and negotiated pricing are excluded from this local estimate.

Switch friction

DeepSeek R1 0528 -> Grok 4
  • Provider overlap exists on Microsoft Foundry and OpenRouter; start route-level A/B tests there.
  • Grok 4 is $0.35/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.
  • Grok 4 adds Vision, Multimodal, and JSON / Tool use in local capability data.
Grok 4 -> DeepSeek R1 0528
  • Provider overlap exists on OpenRouter and Microsoft Foundry; start route-level A/B tests there.
  • DeepSeek R1 0528 is $0.35/1M tokens lower on cheapest tracked output pricing before cache, batch, or negotiated discounts.
  • Check replacement coverage for Vision, Multimodal, and JSON / Tool use before moving production traffic.

Specs

Specification
Released2025-05-282025-07-09
Context window130k256k
Parameters685B total, 37B active (MoE)—
ArchitectureDecoder OnlyDecoder Only
LicenseMITOSI-approvedProprietary
OpennessOpen sourceProprietary
WeightsUnknownNot released
CodeUnknownUnknown
Commercial useCommercial use: permittedCommercial use: conditional
Knowledge cutoff--

Pricing and availability

Pricing attributeDeepSeek R1 0528Grok 4
Input price$0.50/1M tokens$1.25/1M tokens
Output price$2.15/1M tokens$2.50/1M tokens
Providers
Together AIFireworks AIGCP Vertex AINovita AIOpenRouterMicrosoft Foundry
Microsoft FoundryOpenRouterReplicate APIxAI Console

Capabilities

CapabilityDeepSeek R1 0528Grok 4
VisionNoYes
MultimodalNoYes
ReasoningYesYes
JSON / Tool useNoYes
Structured outputsYesYes
Code executionYesYes
IDE integrationNoNo
Computer useNoNo
Parallel agentsNoNo

Benchmarks

BenchmarkDeepSeek R1 0528Grok 4
MMLU PRO85.087.0
SWE-bench Verified57.676.7
Google-Proof Q&A81.087.5
AIME 202587.591.7
LiveCodeBench73.379.0
Aider Polyglot71.479.6

Continue comparing

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Last reviewed: 2026-07-10. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.