reasoning
Deepseek R1 vs Deepseek Reasoner
Side-by-side pricing, context window, features, and per-use-case verdict. Data sourced from LiteLLM, updated regularly.
Specifications
| Feature | Deepseek R1 | Deepseek Reasoner |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | deepseek | deepseek |
| Model ID | deepseek/deepseek-r1 | deepseek/deepseek-reasoner |
| Input / 1M tokens | $0.55 | $0.28 (49% cheaper) |
| Output / 1M tokens | $2.19 | $0.42 (81% cheaper) |
| Cached input / 1M | — | $0.03 |
| Context window | 66kk tokens | 131kk tokens |
| Max output | 8kk tokens | 66kk tokens |
| Vision | ⬜ | ⬜ |
| Function calling | ✅ | ⬜ |
| Prompt caching | ✅ | ✅ |
| Web search | ⬜ | ⬜ |
| JSON schema | ⬜ | ✅ |
Monthly cost comparison
No cache discount applied — pure token costs at three usage scales.
| Scale | Deepseek R1 | Deepseek Reasoner | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small 1M in / 0.2M out | $0.99 | $0.36 | Deepseek Reasoner saves 63% |
| Medium 10M in / 2M out | $9.88 | $3.64 | Deepseek Reasoner saves 63% |
| Large 100M in / 20M out | $98.80 | $36.40 | Deepseek Reasoner saves 63% |
Category winners
Cheapest input
Deepseek Reasoner
$0.28/M
· 49% less than the other
Cheapest output
Deepseek Reasoner
$0.42/M
· 81% less than the other
Larger context
Deepseek Reasoner
131kk tokens · 100% larger window
More features
Deepseek R1
2 / 5 capabilities
(tied)
Better for…
High-volume RAG & repeated context
$0.03/M cached input — prompt caching makes repeated context retrieval significantly cheaper
Deepseek Reasoner
Short interactions & high-throughput APIs
$0.42/M output — 81% cheaper on output at scale
Deepseek Reasoner
Long-document processing & large codebases
131k context window vs 66k — 100% larger context
Deepseek Reasoner
Cost-sensitive production at scale
$36.40/month at 100M-token scale — 63% cheaper than the alternative
Deepseek Reasoner
Deep-dive on each model
Pricing data sourced from LiteLLM and refreshed regularly. Always verify with each provider's official pricing page before making business decisions.