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Comparison · 3 models · Updated Nov 2, 2026

DeepSeek R1 0528 vs DeepSeek V3 0324 vs QwQ 32B

Too close to call on our weighted score (DeepSeek R1 0528 53, QwQ 32B 53, DeepSeek V3 0324 52). The right pick depends on what you value most.

  1. DeepSeek

    DeepSeek R1 0528

    Released May 28, 2025

    53/100
    • ECI141.2
    • Price$0.512 / $2.19
    • Context164K
  2. DeepSeek

    DeepSeek V3 0324

    Released Mar 24, 2025

    52/100
    • ECI135.9
    • Price$0.275 / $1.12
    • Context164K
  3. Alibaba (Qwen)

    QwQ 32B

    Released Mar 5, 2025

    53/100
    • ECI137.5
    • Price$0.53 / $0.70
    • Context131K
01 — Verdict

Too close to call

It is close. Our weighted score puts them within a point (DeepSeek R1 0528 53/100, QwQ 32B 53/100, DeepSeek V3 0324 52/100), so choose by what matters most for your work: DeepSeek R1 0528 for raw capability and DeepSeek V3 0324 on price. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.

  • CapabilityDeepSeek R1 0528Capabilities Index (ECI): DeepSeek R1 0528 141.2 · QwQ 32B 137.5 · DeepSeek V3 0324 135.9
  • Lowest priceDeepSeek V3 0324DeepSeek V3 0324 $0.486 · QwQ 32B $0.573 · DeepSeek R1 0528 $0.932 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextDeepSeek R1 0528 and DeepSeek V3 0324DeepSeek R1 0528 163,840 · DeepSeek V3 0324 163,840 · QwQ 32B 131,072 tokens
  • Widest inputsSame inputsDeepSeek R1 0528: Text · DeepSeek V3 0324: Text · QwQ 32B: Text
  • Self-hostingAll open weightsEvery model here can be downloaded and run on your own hardware
How the score is built
MeasureWeightDeepSeek R1 0528DeepSeek V3 0324QwQ 32B
CapabilityCapabilities Index (ECI)50%665961
Price25%496259
Inputs & features15%352535
Context window10%282825
Overall100%53/10052/10053/100
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 DeepSeek V3 0324 vs QwQ 32B specifications side by side
SpecificationDeepSeek R1 0528DeepSeekDeepSeek V3 0324DeepSeekQwQ 32BAlibaba (Qwen)
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)141.2 (best)135.9137.5
ECI rank#108 of 165 (best)#128 of 165#123 of 165
GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions76.3% (best)67.6%65.3%
OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics66.4% (best)37.8%59.2%
Price per million tokens
Input$0.512$0.275 (best)$0.53
Output$2.19$1.12$0.70 (best)
Cached input———
Blended (3:1)$0.932$0.486 (best)$0.573
Long-context rateSame rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceMedian of 16 providersMedian of 13 providersMedian of 2 providers
Limits
Context window163,840 tokens (best)163,840 tokens (best)131,072 tokens
Max output32,768 tokens163,840 tokens (best)8,192 tokens
Inputs and features
TextYesYesYes
ImagesNoNoNo
PDFsNoNoNo
AudioNoNoNo
VideoNoNoNo
ReasoningYesNoYes
Tool callingYesYesYes
Structured outputNoNoNo
Availability
WeightsOpenMITOpenOpen
API model ID———
API providers16 (best)132
ReleasedMay 28, 2025Mar 24, 2025Mar 5, 2025
Knowledge cutoff——Apr 2024
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
  • DeepSeek V3 0324$4.99
  • QwQ 32B$6.70
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: DeepSeek R1 0528, DeepSeek V3 0324 or QwQ 32B?

It is close. Our weighted score puts them within a point (DeepSeek R1 0528 53/100, QwQ 32B 53/100, DeepSeek V3 0324 52/100), so choose by what matters most for your work: DeepSeek R1 0528 for raw capability and DeepSeek V3 0324 on price. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.

Which is cheaper, DeepSeek R1 0528, DeepSeek V3 0324 or QwQ 32B?

DeepSeek V3 0324 is cheaper at $0.275 input / $1.12 output per million tokens (median across 13 API providers). QwQ 32B costs $0.53 input / $0.70 output per million tokens (median across 2 API providers); DeepSeek R1 0528 costs $0.512 input / $2.19 output per million tokens (median across 16 API providers). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.486 per million tokens for DeepSeek V3 0324 versus $0.573 for QwQ 32B (1.2× as much) and $0.932 for DeepSeek R1 0528 (1.9× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

DeepSeek R1 0528 scores higher on the Capabilities Index (ECI): DeepSeek R1 0528 141.2 (#108 of 165), QwQ 32B 137.5 (#123 of 165) and DeepSeek V3 0324 135.9 (#128 of 165). The confidence ranges of the top two overlap (139.0–142.9 vs 133.1–141.3), so treat the gap as small. On individual benchmarks: GPQA Diamond — DeepSeek R1 0528 76.3%, DeepSeek V3 0324 67.6%, QwQ 32B 65.3%; OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025 — DeepSeek R1 0528 66.4%, QwQ 32B 59.2%, DeepSeek V3 0324 37.8%.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for DeepSeek R1 0528, DeepSeek V3 0324 and QwQ 32B yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. On overall capability, DeepSeek R1 0528 leads, which tends to carry over to coding, but test on your own codebase. All three support tool calling for agent workflows.

Which has the bigger context window?

DeepSeek R1 0528 and DeepSeek V3 0324 have the largest context windows (163,840 and 163,840 tokens), against 131,072 for QwQ 32B. Maximum output per response: DeepSeek R1 0528 up to 32,768, DeepSeek V3 0324 up to 163,840, QwQ 32B up to 8,192 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

DeepSeek R1 0528 accepts text; DeepSeek V3 0324 accepts text; QwQ 32B accepts text. They handle the same number of input types.

Are any of these open source?

Yes, all three publish their weights (MIT), so you can self-host them.

Which is newer?

DeepSeek R1 0528 is the newest, released May 28, 2025. DeepSeek V3 0324 came out Mar 24, 2025; QwQ 32B came out Mar 5, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: QwQ 32B Apr 2024.

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.