reasoning
Deepseek R1 vs Grok 4
Side-by-side pricing, context window, features, and per-use-case verdict. Data sourced from LiteLLM, updated regularly.
Specifications
| Feature | Deepseek R1 | Grok 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | deepseek | xai |
| Model ID | deepseek/deepseek-r1 | xai/grok-4 |
| Input / 1M tokens | $0.55 (82% cheaper) | $3.00 |
| Output / 1M tokens | $2.19 (85% cheaper) | $15.00 |
| Cached input / 1M | — | — |
| Context window | 66kk tokens | 256kk tokens |
| Max output | 8kk tokens | 256kk 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 | Grok 4 | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small 1M in / 0.2M out | $0.99 | $6.00 | Deepseek R1 saves 84% |
| Medium 10M in / 2M out | $9.88 | $60.00 | Deepseek R1 saves 84% |
| Large 100M in / 20M out | $98.80 | $600 | Deepseek R1 saves 84% |
Category winners
Cheapest input
Deepseek R1
$0.55/M
· 82% less than the other
Cheapest output
Deepseek R1
$2.19/M
· 85% less than the other
Larger context
Grok 4
256kk tokens · 291% larger window
More features
Grok 4
3 / 5 capabilities
Better for…
Short interactions & high-throughput APIs
$2.19/M output — 85% cheaper on output at scale
Deepseek R1
Long-document processing & large codebases
256k context window vs 66k — 291% larger context
Grok 4
Agentic workflows & tool use
Supports 3 of 5 tracked capabilities (vision, function calling, caching, web search, JSON schema)
Grok 4
Cost-sensitive production at scale
$98.80/month at 100M-token scale — 84% cheaper than the alternative
Deepseek R1
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.