DeepSeek R1 0528 vs o3 Mini
DeepSeek R1 0528 (2025) and o3 Mini (2025) are frontier-tier reasoning models from DeepSeek and OpenAI. DeepSeek R1 0528 ships a 160K-token context window, while o3 Mini ships a not-yet-sourced context window. On Google-Proof Q&A, DeepSeek R1 0528 leads by 1.3 pts. On pricing, DeepSeek R1 0528 costs $0.1/1M input tokens versus $1.1/1M for the alternative. This comparison covers specs, pricing, capabilities, benchmarks, provider availability, and production fit.
DeepSeek R1 0528 is ~1000% cheaper at $0.1/1M; pay for o3 Mini only for coding workflow support.
Specs
| Released | 2025-01-01 | 2025-03-31 |
| Context window | 160K | — |
| Parameters | 671B | — |
| Architecture | decoder only | decoder only |
| License | Open Source | Unknown |
| Knowledge cutoff | - | 2025-04 |
Pricing and availability
| DeepSeek R1 0528 | o3 Mini | |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $0.1/1M tokens | $1.1/1M tokens |
| Output price | $0.3/1M tokens | $4.4/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| DeepSeek R1 0528 | o3 Mini | |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | ||
| Multimodal | ||
| Reasoning | ||
| Function calling | ||
| Tool use | ||
| Structured outputs | ||
| Code execution |
Benchmarks
| Benchmark | DeepSeek R1 0528 | o3 Mini |
|---|---|---|
| Google-Proof Q&A | 81.0 | 79.7 |
| Aider Polyglot | 71.4 | 60.4 |
Deep dive
On shared benchmark coverage, Google-Proof Q&A has DeepSeek R1 0528 at 81 and o3 Mini at 79.7, with DeepSeek R1 0528 ahead by 1.3 points; Aider Polyglot has DeepSeek R1 0528 at 71.4 and o3 Mini at 60.4, with DeepSeek R1 0528 ahead by 11.0 points. The largest visible gap is 11.0 points on Aider Polyglot, which matters most when that benchmark mirrors your workload. Treat isolated benchmark wins as directional, because provider routing, prompt style, and tool access can move real application results.
The capability footprint differs most on function calling: o3 Mini and tool use: o3 Mini. Both models share reasoning mode, structured outputs, and code execution, so the practical split is not just feature count. Use those differences to decide whether the page is about raw model quality, agentic coding support, multimodal ingestion, or predictable structured API behavior.
For cost, DeepSeek R1 0528 lists $0.1/1M input and $0.3/1M output tokens, while o3 Mini lists $1.1/1M input and $4.4/1M output tokens on the cheapest tracked provider. A 70/30 input-output blend puts DeepSeek R1 0528 lower by about $1.93 per million blended tokens. Availability is 5 providers versus 3, so concentration risk also matters.
Choose DeepSeek R1 0528 when coding workflow support, lower input-token cost, and broader provider choice are central to the workload. Choose o3 Mini when coding workflow support are more important. For production, rerun your own prompts through the exact provider, region, and tool stack you plan to ship.
FAQ
Which is cheaper, DeepSeek R1 0528 or o3 Mini?
DeepSeek R1 0528 is cheaper on tracked token pricing. DeepSeek R1 0528 costs $0.1/1M input and $0.3/1M output tokens. o3 Mini costs $1.1/1M input and $4.4/1M output tokens. Provider discounts or batch pricing can still change the final bill.
Is DeepSeek R1 0528 or o3 Mini open source?
DeepSeek R1 0528 is listed under Open Source. o3 Mini is listed under Unknown. License labels affect whether you can self-host, redistribute weights, or rely only on hosted APIs, so confirm the upstream license before deployment.
Which is better for reasoning mode, DeepSeek R1 0528 or o3 Mini?
Both DeepSeek R1 0528 and o3 Mini expose reasoning mode. The better choice depends on benchmark fit, context budget, pricing, and whether your provider route exposes the same capability surface.
Which is better for function calling, DeepSeek R1 0528 or o3 Mini?
o3 Mini has the clearer documented function calling signal in this comparison. If function calling is mission-critical, validate it against the provider endpoint because model-level support and API-level exposure can differ.
Which is better for tool use, DeepSeek R1 0528 or o3 Mini?
o3 Mini has the clearer documented tool use signal in this comparison. If tool use is mission-critical, validate it against the provider endpoint because model-level support and API-level exposure can differ.
Where can I run DeepSeek R1 0528 and o3 Mini?
DeepSeek R1 0528 is available on Together AI, Fireworks AI, GCP Vertex AI, Novita AI, and OpenRouter. o3 Mini is available on OpenRouter, OpenAI Batch API, and Azure OpenAI. Provider coverage can affect latency, region availability, compliance posture, and fallback options.
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Last reviewed: 2026-04-24. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.