DeepSeek R1 Lite vs Qwen3.5-397B-A17B
DeepSeek R1 Lite (2024) and Qwen3.5-397B-A17B (2026) are frontier-tier reasoning models from DeepSeek and Alibaba. DeepSeek R1 Lite ships a 128k-token context window, while Qwen3.5-397B-A17B ships a 262k-token context window. This comparison covers specs, pricing, API access, capabilities, benchmarks, input and output token costs, and production fit for coding and agent workloads. It focuses on practical selection signals rather than broad model-family marketing.
Qwen3.5-397B-A17B is safer overall; choose DeepSeek R1 Lite when provider fit matters.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | DeepSeek R1 Lite | Qwen3.5-397B-A17B |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | reasoning-heavy apps | reasoning-heavy apps, multimodal apps, and tool-calling agents |
| Decision fit | Long context | Coding, RAG, and Agents |
| Context window | 128k | 262k |
| Cheapest output | - | $2.34/1M tokens |
| Provider routes | 0 tracked | 4 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | 0 shared | 0 shared |
Decision tradeoffs
- Local decision data tags DeepSeek R1 Lite for Long context.
- Qwen3.5-397B-A17B has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
- Qwen3.5-397B-A17B has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and route flexibility.
- 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 Lite
Unavailable
No complete token price in local provider data
Qwen3.5-397B-A17B
$897
Cheapest tracked route/tier: OpenRouter
Cost delta unavailable until both models have sourced input and output token prices.
Switch friction
- No overlapping tracked provider route is sourced for DeepSeek R1 Lite and Qwen3.5-397B-A17B; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
- Qwen3.5-397B-A17B adds Vision, Multimodal, and JSON / Tool use in local capability data.
- No overlapping tracked provider route is sourced for Qwen3.5-397B-A17B and DeepSeek R1 Lite; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
- Check replacement coverage for Vision, Multimodal, and JSON / Tool use before moving production traffic.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2024-11-21 | 2026-02-16 |
| Context window | 128k | 262k |
| Parameters | — | 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 Lite | Qwen3.5-397B-A17B |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | - | $0.39/1M tokens |
| Output price | - | $2.34/1M tokens |
| Providers | - |
Capabilities
| Capability | DeepSeek R1 Lite | Qwen3.5-397B-A17B |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | No | Yes |
| Multimodal | No | Yes |
| Reasoning | Yes | Yes |
| JSON / Tool use | No | Yes |
| Structured outputs | No | Yes |
| Code execution | No | No |
| IDE integration | No | No |
| Computer use | No | No |
| Parallel agents | No | No |
Benchmarks
No shared benchmark scores are currently available for this pair.
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Last reviewed: 2026-06-29. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.