GPT-3.5 Turbo vs DeepSeek R1
Performance benchmarks + pricing comparison — updated April 2026
GPT-3.5 Turbo
OpenAIBudget model for simple tasks. Being phased out but still widely used.
| Input | $0.500/M |
| Output | $1.50/M |
| Context | 16K tokens |
| Best For | Simple chatbots, basic text generation |
| Benchmark | 40/100 |
DeepSeek R1
DeepSeekDeepSeek's reasoning model. Open-weight model that rivals o1 for complex reasoning tasks.
| Input | $0.140/M |
| Output | $0.550/M |
| Context | 128K tokens |
| Best For | Math, coding, science reasoning at low cost |
Cost Comparison by Scenario
Estimated cost per project with 30% cache hit rate. Actual costs may vary based on usage patterns.
| Scenario | GPT-3.5 Turbo | DeepSeek R1 | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Script (1K lines) | $0.06 | $0.02 | DeepSeek R1 saves $0.04 (66%) |
| Medium Feature (10K lines) | $0.48 | $0.16 | DeepSeek R1 saves $0.32 (67%) |
| Large Project (50K lines) | $2.38 | $0.80 | DeepSeek R1 saves $1.58 (67%) |
| Code Review (5K lines) | $0.13 | $0.04 | DeepSeek R1 saves $0.09 (69%) |
Verdict
DeepSeek R1 wins on both price and performance — $0.140/M input with a benchmark score of N/A/100.
For most developers, this is the clear choice between these two models.
Compare with Other Models
Claude Sonnet 4
AnthropicAnthropic's balanced model for coding and general tasks. Best price-performance ratio in the Claude family.
Claude Opus 4
AnthropicAnthropic's most powerful model. Best for complex reasoning and challenging coding tasks.
Claude 3.5 Sonnet
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Claude 3.5 Haiku
AnthropicFast, cost-effective model for high-volume tasks. Great for code review and simple queries.
Claude 3 Opus
AnthropicFirst generation Opus. Highest reasoning capability in the Claude 3 family.
Claude 3 Sonnet
AnthropicFirst generation Sonnet. Balanced performance for general tasks.