ZMIME
Comparison · 2 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

DeepSeek-R1 vs Gemini 2.0 Flash

Gemini 2.0 Flash comes out ahead, 65 to 53 on our weighted score.

  1. DeepSeek

    DeepSeek-R1

    Released Jan 20, 2025

    53/100
    • ECI139.0
    • Price$0.70 / $2.60
    • Context128K
  2. Our pick

    Google

    Gemini 2.0 Flash

    Released Dec 11, 2024

    65/100
    • ECI134.7
    • Price—
    • Context1.05M
  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

Gemini 2.0 Flash is our pick

Gemini 2.0 Flash is the better all-round choice, scoring 65/100 against DeepSeek-R1 (53). It leads on inputs & features and context window. DeepSeek-R1 wins on capability. The score weighs capability 67%, inputs & features 20%, context window 13%.

  • CapabilityDeepSeek-R1Capabilities Index (ECI): DeepSeek-R1 139.0 · Gemini 2.0 Flash 134.7
  • Lowest priceDeepSeek-R1DeepSeek-R1 $1.18 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend) · Gemini 2.0 Flash unpriced
  • Longest contextGemini 2.0 FlashGemini 2.0 Flash 1,048,576 · DeepSeek-R1 128,000 tokens
  • Widest inputsGemini 2.0 FlashDeepSeek-R1: Text · Gemini 2.0 Flash: Text, Images, PDFs, Audio, Video
  • Self-hostingDeepSeek-R1Publishes downloadable weights
How the score is built
MeasureWeightDeepSeek-R1Gemini 2.0 Flash
CapabilityCapabilities Index (ECI)67%6459
Inputs & features20%3590
Context window13%2461
Overall100%53/10065/100

Left out because at least one model lacks the data: price. 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 vs Gemini 2.0 Flash specifications side by side
SpecificationDeepSeek-R1DeepSeekGemini 2.0 FlashGoogle
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)139.0 (best)134.7
ECI rank#104 of 148 (best)#116 of 148
GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions71.7%—
OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics53.3%—
Price per million tokens
Input$0.70—
Output$2.60—
Cached input——
Blended (3:1)$1.18—
Long-context rateSame rate—
Price sourceMedian of 11 providers—
Limits
Context window128,000 tokens1,048,576 tokens (best)
Max output32,768 tokens (best)8,192 tokens
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesNoYes
PDFsNoYes
AudioNoYes
VideoNoYes
ReasoningYesNo
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputNoYes
Availability
WeightsOpenProprietary
API model ID——
API providers12—
ReleasedJan 20, 2025Dec 11, 2024
Knowledge cutoffJul 2024Jun 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$12.20
  • Gemini 2.0 Flash—
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: DeepSeek-R1 or Gemini 2.0 Flash?

Gemini 2.0 Flash is the better all-round choice, scoring 65/100 against DeepSeek-R1 (53). It leads on inputs & features and context window. DeepSeek-R1 wins on capability. The score weighs capability 67%, inputs & features 20%, context window 13%.

Which is cheaper, DeepSeek-R1 or Gemini 2.0 Flash?

DeepSeek-R1 is cheaper at $0.70 input / $2.60 output per million tokens (median across 11 API providers). . At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $1.18 per million tokens for DeepSeek-R1 versus . Gemini 2.0 Flash has no published per-token price.

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

DeepSeek-R1 scores higher on the Capabilities Index (ECI): DeepSeek-R1 139.0 (#104 of 148) and Gemini 2.0 Flash 134.7 (#116 of 148). The confidence ranges of the top two overlap (136.2–140.4 vs 124.3–136.7), so treat the gap as small.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for DeepSeek-R1 and Gemini 2.0 Flash yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. On overall capability, DeepSeek-R1 leads, which tends to carry over to coding, but test on your own codebase. Both support tool calling for agent workflows.

Which has the bigger context window?

Gemini 2.0 Flash has the largest context window at 1,048,576 tokens, against 128,000 for DeepSeek-R1. Maximum output per response: DeepSeek-R1 up to 32,768, Gemini 2.0 Flash up to 8,192 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

DeepSeek-R1 accepts text; Gemini 2.0 Flash accepts text, images, PDFs, audio and video. Gemini 2.0 Flash handles the widest range of inputs.

Are any of these open source?

DeepSeek-R1 publishes its weights and can be self-hosted; Gemini 2.0 Flash is proprietary.

Which is newer?

DeepSeek-R1 is the newest, released Jan 20, 2025. Gemini 2.0 Flash came out Dec 11, 2024. Knowledge cutoff: DeepSeek-R1 Jul 2024, Gemini 2.0 Flash Jun 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 Oct 4, 2026.