DeepSeek R1 0528 vs Qwen3.5-397B-A17B
DeepSeek R1 0528 (2025) and Qwen3.5-397B-A17B (2026) are frontier-tier reasoning models from DeepSeek and Alibaba. DeepSeek R1 0528 ships a 130k-token context window, while Qwen3.5-397B-A17B ships a 262k-token context window. On MMLU PRO, Qwen3.5-397B-A17B leads by 2.8 pts. On pricing, Qwen3.5-397B-A17B costs $0.39/1M input tokens versus $0.50/1M 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.
Qwen3.5-397B-A17B is safer overall; choose DeepSeek R1 0528 when coding workflow support matters.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | DeepSeek R1 0528 | Qwen3.5-397B-A17B |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | reasoning-heavy apps and provider-routed production | reasoning-heavy apps, multimodal apps, and tool-calling agents |
| Decision fit | Coding, RAG, and Agents | Coding, RAG, and Agents |
| Context window | 130k | 262k |
| Cheapest output | $2.15/1M tokens | $2.34/1M tokens |
| Provider routes | 7 tracked | 4 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | 4 shared | MMLU PRO leader |
Decision tradeoffs
- 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.
- Qwen3.5-397B-A17B holds a shared-benchmark lead on MMLU PRO, ahead by 2.8 points.
- Qwen3.5-397B-A17B has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
- Qwen3.5-397B-A17B uniquely exposes Vision, Multimodal, and JSON / Tool use in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Qwen3.5-397B-A17B 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.
DeepSeek R1 0528
$938
Cheapest tracked route/tier: OpenRouter
Qwen3.5-397B-A17B
$897
Cheapest tracked route/tier: OpenRouter
Estimated monthly gap: $40.50. Batch, cache, alternate speed tiers, and negotiated pricing are excluded from this local estimate.
Switch friction
- Provider overlap exists on OpenRouter, Together AI, and Novita AI; start route-level A/B tests there.
- Qwen3.5-397B-A17B is $0.19/1M 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.
- Qwen3.5-397B-A17B adds Vision, Multimodal, and JSON / Tool use in local capability data.
- Provider overlap exists on Together AI, Novita AI, and OpenRouter; start route-level A/B tests there.
- DeepSeek R1 0528 is $0.19/1M 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 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2025-05-28 | 2026-02-16 |
| Context window | 130k | 262k |
| Parameters | 685B total, 37B active (MoE) | 397B |
| Architecture | Decoder Only | Mixture of Experts |
| License | MITOSI-approved | Apache 2.0OSI-approved |
| Openness | Open source | Open source |
| Weights | Unknown | Available |
| Code | Unknown | Unknown |
| Commercial use | Commercial use: permitted | Commercial use: permitted |
| Knowledge cutoff | - | - |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | DeepSeek R1 0528 | Qwen3.5-397B-A17B |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $0.50/1M tokens | $0.39/1M tokens |
| Output price | $2.15/1M tokens | $2.34/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | DeepSeek R1 0528 | Qwen3.5-397B-A17B |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | No | Yes |
| Multimodal | No | Yes |
| Reasoning | Yes | Yes |
| JSON / Tool use | No | Yes |
| Structured outputs | Yes | Yes |
| Code execution | Yes | No |
| IDE integration | No | No |
| Computer use | No | No |
| Parallel agents | No | No |
Benchmarks
| Benchmark | DeepSeek R1 0528 | Qwen3.5-397B-A17B |
|---|---|---|
| MMLU PRO | 85.0 | 87.8 |
| SWE-bench Verified | 57.6 | 76.2 |
| Google-Proof Q&A | 81.0 | 89.3 |
| LiveCodeBench | 73.3 | 83.6 |
Continue comparing
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- DeepSeek R1 0528 vs DeepSeek V4 Flash
- DeepSeek R1 0528 vs DeepSeek V4 Pro
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- Granite Vision 4.1 4B vs Qwen3.5-397B-A17B
Popular comparisons for DeepSeek R1 0528
Popular comparisons for Qwen3.5-397B-A17B
Last reviewed: 2026-06-29. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.