Qwen Turbo vs DeepSeek Reasoner (R1)
Performance benchmarks + pricing comparison — updated April 2026
Qwen Turbo
QwenFastest and cheapest Qwen model. Good for high-volume tasks.
| Input | $0.080/M |
| Output | $0.240/M |
| Context | 1M tokens |
| Best For | High-volume tasks, simple coding |
| Benchmark | 42/100 |
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 | Qwen Turbo | DeepSeek Reasoner (R1) | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Score | 42 | 72 | DeepSeek Reasoner (R1) leads by 30pts |
| SWE-bench Verified | 35 | 68 | DeepSeek Reasoner (R1) leads by 33pts |
| LiveCodeBench | 44 | 76 | DeepSeek Reasoner (R1) leads by 32pts |
| HumanEval | 65 | 90 | DeepSeek Reasoner (R1) leads by 25pts |
| BigCodeBench | 28 | 56 | DeepSeek Reasoner (R1) leads by 28pts |
Cost Comparison by Scenario
Estimated cost per project with 30% cache hit rate. Actual costs may vary based on usage patterns.
| Scenario | Qwen Turbo | DeepSeek Reasoner (R1) | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Script (1K lines) | $0.01 | $0.08 | Qwen Turbo saves $0.07 (88%) |
| Medium Feature (10K lines) | $0.08 | $0.63 | Qwen Turbo saves $0.55 (88%) |
| Large Project (50K lines) | $0.38 | $3.15 | Qwen Turbo saves $2.77 (88%) |
| Code Review (5K lines) | $0.02 | $0.15 | Qwen Turbo saves $0.13 (87%) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qwen Turbo | 42 | $0.002/pt | Better value |
| DeepSeek Reasoner (R1) | 72 | $0.008/pt | Higher cost per point |
Qwen Turbo delivers the best value at $0.002 per score point.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Qwen Turbo
- + Cheapest option
- + Fast
- - Basic coding only
DeepSeek Reasoner (R1)
- + Strong reasoning chain
- + Good value
- - Slow on simple tasks
Verdict
Qwen Turbo is cheaper at $0.080/M, but DeepSeek Reasoner (R1) scores higher on benchmarks (72 vs 42).
Choose Qwen Turbo for cost-sensitive projects, DeepSeek Reasoner (R1) when performance matters most.
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
AnthropicPrevious generation Sonnet. Still excellent for coding tasks at the same price point.
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.