DeepSeek Chat vs DeepSeek R1
DeepSeek Chat vs DeepSeek R1: DeepSeek Chat is cheaper by 92% on average. DeepSeek Chat from DeepSeek (131,072-token context, tool calls) vs. DeepSeek R1 from Azure AI Foundry (128,000-token context, reasoning). Use Agent Command Center to A/B both in shadow mode and pick the winner per workload.
Side-by-side cost
Live workload comparison
Same workload run through both models. The cheaper one is highlighted.
3,000
0131,072
400
08,192
5,000
01,000,000
At this workload, DeepSeek Chat is 84% cheaper than DeepSeek R1 — a savings of $792/month ($9,500/year).
Production recipe — Agent Command Center
strategy: cost-optimized
primary:
model: deepseek-chat
provider: deepseek
fallback:
model: deepseek-r1
provider: azure-ai-foundry
shadow: { sample_rate: 0.05 } # mirror 5% of traffic to compare quality live| DeepSeek Chat | DeepSeek R1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $0.280/M | $1.35/M |
| Output price | $0.420/M | $5.40/M |
| Context window | 131,072 | 128,000 |
| Max output | 8,192 | 8,192 |
| Function calling | ✓ | — |
| Vision | — | — |
| Audio input | — | — |
| Reasoning | — | ✓ |
| Prompt caching | ✓ | — |
| Structured output | ✓ | — |
| Pricing verified | May 12, 2026 | May 12, 2026 |
Benchmark comparison
Side-by-side public benchmark scores. Greener bar = winner.