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Comparison · 3 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

DeepSeek-R1 vs Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview vs Qwen3 235B-A22B

Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview comes out ahead, 50 to 39 and 38 on our weighted score, though DeepSeek-R1 is 41% cheaper per token.

  1. DeepSeek

    DeepSeek-R1

    Released Jan 20, 2025

    39/100
    • ECI139.0
    • Price$0.70 / $2.60
    • Context128K
    Full specs Remove DeepSeek-R1
  2. Our pick

    Google

    Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview

    Released Apr 14, 2026

    50/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$1.00 / $5.00
    • Context131K
    Full specs Remove Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview

  3. Alibaba (Qwen)

    Qwen3 235B-A22B

    Released Apr 28, 2025

    38/100
    • ECI139.4
    • Price$0.70 / $2.80
    • Context131K
    Full specs Remove Qwen3 235B-A22B
01 — Verdict

Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview is our pick

Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview is the better all-round choice, scoring 50/100 against DeepSeek-R1 (39) and Qwen3 235B-A22B (38). It leads on inputs & features. 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-R1DeepSeek-R1 $1.18 · Qwen3 235B-A22B $1.23 · Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview $2.00 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextGemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview and Qwen3 235B-A22BGemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview 131,072 · Qwen3 235B-A22B 131,072 · DeepSeek-R1 128,000 tokens
  • Widest inputsGemini Robotics-ER 1.6 PreviewDeepSeek-R1: Text · Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview: Text, Images, Audio, Video · Qwen3 235B-A22B: Text
  • Self-hostingDeepSeek-R1 and Qwen3 235B-A22BPublishes downloadable weights
How the score is built
MeasureWeightDeepSeek-R1Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 PreviewQwen3 235B-A22B
Price50%473646
Inputs & features30%359035
Context window20%242424
Overall100%39/10050/10038/100

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 vs Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview vs Qwen3 235B-A22B specifications side by side
SpecificationDeepSeek-R1DeepSeekGemini Robotics-ER 1.6 PreviewGoogleQwen3 235B-A22BAlibaba (Qwen)
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)139.0—139.4 (best)
ECI rank#104 of 148—#103 of 148 (best)
GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions71.7% (best)—70.7%
OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics53.3%——
Price per million tokens
Input$0.70 (best)$1.00$0.70 (best)
Output$2.60 (best)$5.00$2.80
Cached input———
Blended (3:1)$1.18 (best)$2.00$1.23
Long-context rateSame rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceMedian of 11 providersMedian of 1 providersOfficial Alibaba API
Limits
Context window128,000 tokens131,072 tokens (best)131,072 tokens (best)
Max output32,768 tokens65,536 tokens (best)16,384 tokens
Inputs and features
TextYesYesYes
ImagesNoYesNo
PDFsNoNoNo
AudioNoYesNo
VideoNoYesNo
ReasoningYesYesYes
Tool callingYesYesYes
Structured outputNoYesNo
Availability
WeightsOpenProprietaryOpen
API model ID——qwen3-235b-a22b
API providers12 (best)17
ReleasedJan 20, 2025Apr 14, 2026Apr 28, 2025
Knowledge cutoffJul 2024Jan 2025Apr 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$12.20
  • Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview$20.00
  • Qwen3 235B-A22B$12.60
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: DeepSeek-R1, Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview or Qwen3 235B-A22B?

Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview is the better all-round choice, scoring 50/100 against DeepSeek-R1 (39) and Qwen3 235B-A22B (38). It leads on inputs & features. 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, Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview or Qwen3 235B-A22B?

DeepSeek-R1 is cheaper at $0.70 input / $2.60 output per million tokens (median across 11 API providers). Qwen3 235B-A22B costs $0.70 input / $2.80 output per million tokens (official Alibaba API price); Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview costs $1.00 input / $5.00 output per million tokens (median across 1 API provider). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $1.18 per million tokens for DeepSeek-R1 versus $1.23 for Qwen3 235B-A22B (1× as much) and $2.00 for Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview (1.7× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

There is no independent benchmark that covers all three models yet. DeepSeek-R1 has an ECI of 139.0, Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview has not been scored yet and Qwen3 235B-A22B has an ECI of 139.4.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for DeepSeek-R1, Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview and Qwen3 235B-A22B yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. All three support tool calling for agent workflows.

Which has the bigger context window?

Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview and Qwen3 235B-A22B have the largest context windows (131,072 and 131,072 tokens), against 128,000 for DeepSeek-R1. Maximum output per response: DeepSeek-R1 up to 32,768, Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview up to 65,536, Qwen3 235B-A22B up to 16,384 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

DeepSeek-R1 accepts text; Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview accepts text, images, audio and video; Qwen3 235B-A22B accepts text. Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview handles the widest range of inputs.

Are any of these open source?

DeepSeek-R1 and Qwen3 235B-A22B publishes its weights and can be self-hosted; Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview is proprietary.

Which is newer?

Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview is the newest, released Apr 14, 2026. Qwen3 235B-A22B came out Apr 28, 2025; DeepSeek-R1 came out Jan 20, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: DeepSeek-R1 Jul 2024, Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview Jan 2025, Qwen3 235B-A22B Apr 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 Oct 4, 2026.

05 — Keep comparing

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