Qwen Max vs DeepSeek R1
Performance benchmarks + pricing comparison — updated April 2026
Qwen Max
QwenQwen's most powerful model. Strong reasoning and coding capabilities.
| Input | $1.60/M |
| Output | $6.40/M |
| Context | 32K tokens |
| Best For | Complex reasoning, advanced coding |
| Benchmark | 68/100 |
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 | Qwen Max | DeepSeek R1 | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Script (1K lines) | $0.25 | $0.02 | DeepSeek R1 saves $0.23 (91%) |
| Medium Feature (10K lines) | $1.84 | $0.16 | DeepSeek R1 saves $1.68 (91%) |
| Large Project (50K lines) | $9.20 | $0.80 | DeepSeek R1 saves $8.41 (91%) |
| Code Review (5K lines) | $0.44 | $0.04 | DeepSeek R1 saves $0.40 (91%) |
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.
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