DeepSeek R1 vs Mixtral 8x7B
DeepSeek R1 (2025) and Mixtral 8x7B (2023) are frontier reasoning models from DeepSeek and MistralAI. DeepSeek R1 ships a 128k-token context window, while Mixtral 8x7B ships a 32k-token context window. On Google-Proof Q&A, DeepSeek R1 leads by 16.7 pts. On pricing, DeepSeek R1 costs $0.10/1M input tokens versus $0.15/1M 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 is ~50% cheaper at $0.10/1M; pay for Mixtral 8x7B only for provider fit.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | DeepSeek R1 | Mixtral 8x7B |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | reasoning-heavy apps and provider-routed production | provider-routed production |
| Decision fit | Coding, RAG, and Agents | Coding and Classification |
| Context window | 128k | 32k |
| Cheapest output | $0.30/1M tokens | $0.45/1M tokens |
| Provider routes | 14 tracked | 18 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | Google-Proof Q&A leader | 2 shared |
Decision tradeoffs
- DeepSeek R1 holds a shared-benchmark lead on Google-Proof Q&A, ahead by 16.7 points.
- DeepSeek R1 has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
- DeepSeek R1 has the lower cheapest tracked output price at $0.30/1M tokens.
- DeepSeek R1 uniquely exposes Reasoning, Structured outputs, and Code execution in local model data.
- Local decision data tags DeepSeek R1 for Coding, RAG, and Agents.
- Mixtral 8x7B has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and route flexibility.
- Local decision data tags Mixtral 8x7B for Coding and Classification.
Monthly cost at traffic
Estimate token spend from the cheapest tracked input and output route or tier on this page.
DeepSeek R1
$155
Cheapest tracked route/tier: Bitdeer AI
Mixtral 8x7B
$233
Cheapest tracked route/tier: Mistral AI Studio
Estimated monthly gap: $77.50. Batch, cache, alternate speed tiers, and negotiated pricing are excluded from this local estimate.
Switch friction
- Provider overlap exists on Databricks Foundation Model Serving, NVIDIA NIM, and GCP Vertex AI; start route-level A/B tests there.
- Mixtral 8x7B is $0.15/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.
- Check replacement coverage for Reasoning, Structured outputs, and Code execution before moving production traffic.
- Provider overlap exists on Fireworks AI, NVIDIA NIM, and Microsoft Foundry; start route-level A/B tests there.
- DeepSeek R1 is $0.15/1M tokens lower on cheapest tracked output pricing before cache, batch, or negotiated discounts.
- DeepSeek R1 adds Reasoning, Structured outputs, and Code execution in local capability data.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2025-01-20 | 2023-12-11 |
| Context window | 128k | 32k |
| Parameters | 671B, 37B Active | 8x7B |
| Architecture | Decoder Only | Mixture of Experts |
| License | MITOSI-approved | Apache 2.0OSI-approved |
| Openness | Open source | Open source |
| Weights | Available | Unknown |
| Code | Unknown | Unknown |
| Commercial use | Commercial use: permitted | Commercial use: permitted |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2023-12 | 2023-12 |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | DeepSeek R1 | Mixtral 8x7B |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $0.10/1M tokens | $0.15/1M tokens |
| Output price | $0.30/1M tokens | $0.45/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | DeepSeek R1 | Mixtral 8x7B |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | No | No |
| Multimodal | No | No |
| Reasoning | Yes | No |
| JSON / Tool use | No | No |
| Structured outputs | Yes | No |
| Code execution | Yes | No |
| IDE integration | No | No |
| Computer use | No | No |
| Parallel agents | No | No |
Benchmarks
| Benchmark | DeepSeek R1 | Mixtral 8x7B |
|---|---|---|
| Google-Proof Q&A | 71.5 | 54.8 |
| HumanEval | 89.9 | 80.5 |
Continue comparing
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Last reviewed: 2026-07-11. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.