LLM Reference

DeepSeek R1 0528 vs o3 Deep Research

DeepSeek R1 0528 (2025) and o3 Deep Research (2025) are frontier-tier reasoning models from DeepSeek and OpenAI. DeepSeek R1 0528 ships a 130k-token context window, while o3 Deep Research ships a 200k-token context window. On pricing, DeepSeek R1 0528 costs $0.50/1M input tokens versus $10/1M 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 ~1900% cheaper at $0.50/1M; pay for o3 Deep Research only for long-context analysis.

Decision scorecard

Local evidence first
SignalDeepSeek R1 0528o3 Deep Research
Best forreasoning-heavy apps and provider-routed productionreasoning-heavy apps, multimodal apps, and tool-calling agents
Decision fitCoding, RAG, and AgentsRAG, Agents, and Long context
Context window130k200k
Cheapest output$2.15/1M tokens$40/1M tokens
Provider routes7 tracked2 tracked
Shared benchmarks0 shared0 shared

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.
  • DeepSeek R1 0528 uniquely exposes Code execution in local model data.
  • Local decision data tags DeepSeek R1 0528 for Coding, RAG, and Agents.
Choose o3 Deep Research when...
  • o3 Deep Research has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
  • o3 Deep Research uniquely exposes Vision, Multimodal, and JSON / Tool use in local model data.
  • Local decision data tags o3 Deep Research for RAG, Agents, and Long context.

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

o3 Deep Research

$18,000

Cheapest tracked route/tier: Vercel AI Gateway

Estimated monthly gap: $17,063. Batch, cache, alternate speed tiers, and negotiated pricing are excluded from this local estimate.

Switch friction

DeepSeek R1 0528 -> o3 Deep Research
  • No overlapping tracked provider route is sourced for DeepSeek R1 0528 and o3 Deep Research; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
  • o3 Deep Research is $37.85/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.
  • Check replacement coverage for Code execution before moving production traffic.
  • o3 Deep Research adds Vision, Multimodal, and JSON / Tool use in local capability data.
o3 Deep Research -> DeepSeek R1 0528
  • No overlapping tracked provider route is sourced for o3 Deep Research and DeepSeek R1 0528; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
  • DeepSeek R1 0528 is $37.85/1M 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.
  • DeepSeek R1 0528 adds Code execution in local capability data.

Specs

Specification
Released2025-05-282025-10-10
Context window130k200k
Parameters685B total, 37B active (MoE)—
ArchitectureDecoder OnlyDecoder Only
LicenseMITOSI-approvedProprietary
OpennessOpen sourceProprietary
WeightsUnknownNot released
CodeUnknownUnknown
Commercial useCommercial use: permittedCommercial use: conditional
Knowledge cutoff-2024-06

Pricing and availability

Pricing attributeDeepSeek R1 0528o3 Deep Research
Input price$0.50/1M tokens$10/1M tokens
Output price$2.15/1M tokens$40/1M tokens
Providers

Capabilities

CapabilityDeepSeek R1 0528o3 Deep Research
VisionNoYes
MultimodalNoYes
ReasoningYesYes
JSON / Tool useNoYes
Structured outputsYesYes
Code executionYesNo
IDE integrationNoNo
Computer useNoNo
Parallel agentsNoNo

Benchmarks

No shared benchmark scores are currently available for this pair.

Continue comparing

Last reviewed: 2026-06-29. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.