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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

DeepSeek-R1 vs GPT-4.1 mini

GPT-4.1 mini comes out ahead, 60 to 51 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.

  1. DeepSeek

    DeepSeek-R1

    Released Jan 20, 2025

    51/100
    • ECI139.0
    • Price$0.70 / $2.60
    • Context128K
    Full specs Remove DeepSeek-R1
  2. Our pick

    OpenAI

    GPT-4.1 mini

    Released Apr 14, 2025

    60/100
    • ECI135.0
    • Price$0.40 / $1.60
    • Context1.05M
    Full specs Remove GPT-4.1 mini

  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

GPT-4.1 mini is our pick

GPT-4.1 mini is the better all-round choice, scoring 60/100 against DeepSeek-R1 (51). It leads on price, inputs & features and context window. DeepSeek-R1 wins on capability. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.

  • CapabilityDeepSeek-R1Capabilities Index (ECI): DeepSeek-R1 139.0 · GPT-4.1 mini 135.0
  • Lowest priceGPT-4.1 miniGPT-4.1 mini $0.70 · DeepSeek-R1 $1.18 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextGPT-4.1 miniGPT-4.1 mini 1,047,576 · DeepSeek-R1 128,000 tokens
  • Widest inputsGPT-4.1 miniDeepSeek-R1: Text · GPT-4.1 mini: Text, Images, PDFs
  • Self-hostingDeepSeek-R1Publishes downloadable weights
How the score is built
MeasureWeightDeepSeek-R1GPT-4.1 mini
CapabilityCapabilities Index (ECI)50%6459
Price25%4757
Inputs & features15%3570
Context window10%2461
Overall100%51/10060/100
02 — Side by side

Every spec in one table

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

DeepSeek-R1 vs GPT-4.1 mini specifications side by side
SpecificationDeepSeek-R1DeepSeekGPT-4.1 miniOpenAI
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)139.0 (best)135.0
ECI rank#104 of 148 (best)#115 of 148
GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions71.7% (best)65.9%
FrontierMath Tiers 1–3Research-level mathematics—6.7%
OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics53.3% (best)44.7%
SimpleQA VerifiedShort factual questions—12.7%
Price per million tokens
Input$0.70$0.40 (best)
Output$2.60$1.60 (best)
Cached input—$0.10
Blended (3:1)$1.18$0.70 (best)
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceMedian of 11 providersOfficial OpenAI API
Limits
Context window128,000 tokens1,047,576 tokens (best)
Max output32,768 tokens32,768 tokens
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesNoYes
PDFsNoYes
AudioNoNo
VideoNoNo
ReasoningYesNo
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputNoYes
Availability
WeightsOpenProprietary
API model ID—gpt-4.1-mini
API providers1224 (best)
ReleasedJan 20, 2025Apr 14, 2025
Knowledge cutoffJul 2024Apr 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
  • GPT-4.1 mini$7.20
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: DeepSeek-R1 or GPT-4.1 mini?

GPT-4.1 mini is the better all-round choice, scoring 60/100 against DeepSeek-R1 (51). It leads on price, inputs & features and context window. DeepSeek-R1 wins on capability. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.

Which is cheaper, DeepSeek-R1 or GPT-4.1 mini?

GPT-4.1 mini is cheaper at $0.40 input / $1.60 output per million tokens (official OpenAI API price). DeepSeek-R1 costs $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 $0.70 per million tokens for GPT-4.1 mini versus $1.18 for DeepSeek-R1 (1.7× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

DeepSeek-R1 scores higher on the Capabilities Index (ECI): DeepSeek-R1 139.0 (#104 of 148) and GPT-4.1 mini 135.0 (#115 of 148). The confidence ranges of the top two overlap (136.2–140.4 vs 131.2–136.6), so treat the gap as small. On individual benchmarks: GPQA Diamond — DeepSeek-R1 71.7%, GPT-4.1 mini 65.9%; OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025 — DeepSeek-R1 53.3%, GPT-4.1 mini 44.7%.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for DeepSeek-R1 and GPT-4.1 mini 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?

GPT-4.1 mini has the largest context window at 1,047,576 tokens, against 128,000 for DeepSeek-R1. Maximum output per response: DeepSeek-R1 up to 32,768, GPT-4.1 mini up to 32,768 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

DeepSeek-R1 accepts text; GPT-4.1 mini accepts text, images and PDFs. GPT-4.1 mini handles the widest range of inputs.

Are any of these open source?

DeepSeek-R1 publishes its weights and can be self-hosted; GPT-4.1 mini is proprietary.

Which is newer?

GPT-4.1 mini is the newest, released Apr 14, 2025. DeepSeek-R1 came out Jan 20, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: DeepSeek-R1 Jul 2024, GPT-4.1 mini 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 Oct 4, 2026.

05 — Keep comparing

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