ZMIME
Comparison · 2 models · Updated Nov 2, 2026

DeepSeek R1 0528 vs Apertus 70B

DeepSeek R1 0528 comes out ahead, 41 to 32 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.

  1. Our pick

    DeepSeek

    DeepSeek R1 0528

    Released May 28, 2025

    41/100
    • ECI141.2
    • Price$0.512 / $2.19
    • Context164K
  2. Swiss AI

    Apertus 70B

    Released Sep 2, 2025

    32/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.82 / $2.42
    • Context66K
  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

DeepSeek R1 0528 is our pick

DeepSeek R1 0528 is the better all-round choice, scoring 41/100 against Apertus 70B (32). It leads on price, inputs & features and context window. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.

  • CapabilityNot enough dataNo independent benchmark covers every model here yet
  • Lowest priceDeepSeek R1 0528DeepSeek R1 0528 $0.932 · Apertus 70B $1.22 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextDeepSeek R1 0528DeepSeek R1 0528 163,840 · Apertus 70B 65,536 tokens
  • Widest inputsSame inputsDeepSeek R1 0528: Text · Apertus 70B: Text
  • Self-hostingAll open weightsEvery model here can be downloaded and run on your own hardware
How the score is built
MeasureWeightDeepSeek R1 0528Apertus 70B
Price50%4944
Inputs & features30%3525
Context window20%2812
Overall100%41/10032/100

Left out because at least one model lacks the data: capability. The remaining weights were rescaled.

02 — Side by side

Every spec in one table

Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.

DeepSeek R1 0528 vs Apertus 70B specifications side by side
SpecificationDeepSeek R1 0528DeepSeekApertus 70BSwiss AI
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)141.2—
ECI rank#108 of 165—
GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions76.3%—
OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics66.4%—
Price per million tokens
Input$0.512 (best)$0.82
Output$2.19 (best)$2.42
Cached input——
Blended (3:1)$0.932 (best)$1.22
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceMedian of 16 providersMedian of 3 providers
Limits
Context window163,840 tokens (best)65,536 tokens
Max output32,768 tokens (best)8,192 tokens
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesNoNo
PDFsNoNo
AudioNoNo
VideoNoNo
ReasoningYesNo
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputNoNo
Availability
WeightsOpenMITOpenApache-2.0
API model ID——
API providers16 (best)3
ReleasedMay 28, 2025Sep 2, 2025
Knowledge cutoff—Sep 2025
03 — Cost

What would a month cost?

Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.

  • DeepSeek R1 0528$9.50
  • Apertus 70B$13.04
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: DeepSeek R1 0528 or Apertus 70B?

DeepSeek R1 0528 is the better all-round choice, scoring 41/100 against Apertus 70B (32). It leads on price, inputs & features and context window. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.

Which is cheaper, DeepSeek R1 0528 or Apertus 70B?

DeepSeek R1 0528 is cheaper at $0.512 input / $2.19 output per million tokens (median across 16 API providers). Apertus 70B costs $0.82 input / $2.42 output per million tokens (median across 3 API providers). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.932 per million tokens for DeepSeek R1 0528 versus $1.22 for Apertus 70B (1.3× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. DeepSeek R1 0528 has an ECI of 141.2 and Apertus 70B has not been scored yet.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for DeepSeek R1 0528 and Apertus 70B yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. Both support tool calling for agent workflows.

Which has the bigger context window?

DeepSeek R1 0528 has the largest context window at 163,840 tokens, against 65,536 for Apertus 70B. Maximum output per response: DeepSeek R1 0528 up to 32,768, Apertus 70B up to 8,192 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

DeepSeek R1 0528 accepts text; Apertus 70B accepts text. They handle the same number of input types.

Are any of these open source?

Yes, both publish their weights (MIT and Apache-2.0), so you can self-host them.

Which is newer?

Apertus 70B is the newest, released Sep 2, 2025. DeepSeek R1 0528 came out May 28, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: Apertus 70B Sep 2025.

How do you decide the winner?

Each model gets a 0–100 score on capability (50%, independent benchmark results); price (25%, blended price per million tokens (3 input : 1 output), log scale); inputs & features (15%, image, PDF, audio and video input, tool calling, structured output and reasoning); context window (10%, maximum tokens per request, log scale). Dimensions missing for any model are dropped and the remaining weights rescaled, so every model is judged on the same evidence. Specs and prices come from public model listings and the labs’ own API pages; capability scores come from independent benchmark runs. Data updated Nov 2, 2026.