DeepSeek R1 vs DeepSeek V4 Pro
Keep DeepSeek R1 if its downloadable weights and 128K context already fit your deployment. Switch to DeepSeek V4 Pro when you need DeepSeek's current GA direct API, 1M context, or documented JSON Output and Tool Calls. Do not infer a price or benchmark winner here: current R1 direct pricing is not documented, and the available benchmark rows are not like-for-like.
As of September 7, 2026, V4 Pro is the direct-API choice for Long context and documented JSON / Tool use. Keep R1 only when its downloadable weights and 128K window already meet your deployment constraints; validate both exact builds on your Coding and Agents workload before switching.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | DeepSeek R1 | DeepSeek V4 Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | reasoning-heavy apps and provider-routed production | reasoning-heavy apps, tool-calling agents, and long-context analysis |
| Decision fit | Coding, RAG, and Agents | Coding, RAG, and Agents |
| Context window | 128k | 1m |
| Shared benchmarks | Withheld | Withheld |
Decision tradeoffs
- Local decision data tags DeepSeek R1 for Coding, RAG, and Agents.
- DeepSeek V4 Pro has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
- DeepSeek V4 Pro uniquely exposes JSON / Tool use in local model data.
- Local decision data tags DeepSeek V4 Pro for Coding, RAG, and Agents.
Switch friction
- DeepSeek V4 Pro adds JSON / Tool use in local capability data.
- Check replacement coverage for JSON / Tool use before moving production traffic.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2025-01-20 | 2026-04-24 |
| Context window | 128k | 1m |
| Parameters | 671B, 37B Active | 1.6T |
| Architecture | Decoder Only | Mixture of Experts |
| License | MITOSI-approved | MITOSI-approved |
| Openness | Open source | Open source |
| Weights | Available | Available |
| Code | Unknown | Unknown |
| Commercial use | Commercial use: permitted | Commercial use: permitted |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2023-12 | - |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | DeepSeek R1 | DeepSeek V4 Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $0.10/1M tokens | $0.43/1M tokens |
| Output price | $0.30/1M tokens | $0.87/1M tokens |
Capabilities
| Capability | DeepSeek R1 | DeepSeek V4 Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | No | No |
| Multimodal | No | No |
| Reasoning | Yes | Yes |
| JSON / Tool use | No | Yes |
| Structured outputs | Yes | Yes |
| IDE integration | No | No |
| Computer use | No | No |
| Parallel agents | No | No |
Benchmarks
No like-for-like benchmark rows are shown for this pair.
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Last reviewed: 2026-06-29. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.