OpenAI o1-mini vs DeepSeek Reasoner (R1)
Performance benchmarks + pricing comparison — updated April 2026
OpenAI o1-mini
OpenAICost-effective reasoning model. Good for coding tasks that require logical reasoning.
| Input | $1.10/M |
| Output | $4.40/M |
| Context | 128K tokens |
| Best For | Coding logic, debugging, algorithm design |
| Benchmark | 70/100 |
DeepSeek Reasoner (R1)
DeepSeekDeepSeek's reasoning model. Comparable to OpenAI's o1 but at much lower cost.
| Input | $0.550/M |
| Output | $2.19/M |
| Context | 128K tokens |
| Best For | Complex reasoning, math, advanced coding |
| Benchmark | 72/100 |
Benchmark Performance Comparison
Third-party benchmark scores — higher is better. Data sourced from SWE-bench, LiveCodeBench, HumanEval, and BigCodeBench.
| Benchmark | OpenAI o1-mini | DeepSeek Reasoner (R1) | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Score | 70 | 72 | DeepSeek Reasoner (R1) leads by 2pts |
| SWE-bench Verified | 64 | 68 | DeepSeek Reasoner (R1) leads by 4pts |
| LiveCodeBench | 72 | 76 | DeepSeek Reasoner (R1) leads by 4pts |
| HumanEval | 90 | 90 | o1-mini leads by 0pts |
| BigCodeBench | 54 | 56 | DeepSeek Reasoner (R1) leads by 2pts |
Cost Comparison by Scenario
Estimated cost per project with 30% cache hit rate. Actual costs may vary based on usage patterns.
| Scenario | OpenAI o1-mini | DeepSeek Reasoner (R1) | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Script (1K lines) | $0.17 | $0.08 | DeepSeek Reasoner (R1) saves $0.09 (50%) |
| Medium Feature (10K lines) | $1.27 | $0.63 | DeepSeek Reasoner (R1) saves $0.63 (50%) |
| Large Project (50K lines) | $6.33 | $3.15 | DeepSeek Reasoner (R1) saves $3.17 (50%) |
| Code Review (5K lines) | $0.30 | $0.15 | DeepSeek Reasoner (R1) saves $0.15 (50%) |
Value Analysis (Price per Benchmark Score Point)
Lower is better — how much you pay for each point of benchmark performance.
| Model | Overall Score | Price per Score Point | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAI o1-mini | 70 | $0.016/pt | Higher cost per point |
| DeepSeek Reasoner (R1) | 72 | $0.008/pt | Better value |
DeepSeek Reasoner (R1) delivers the best value at $0.008 per score point.
Strengths & Weaknesses
OpenAI o1-mini
- + Reasoning at lower cost
- + Good for competitive programming
- - Slower than standard models
DeepSeek Reasoner (R1)
- + Strong reasoning chain
- + Good value
- - Slow on simple tasks
Verdict
DeepSeek Reasoner (R1) wins on both price and performance — $0.550/M input with a benchmark score of 72/100.
For most developers, this is the clear choice between these two models.
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