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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

DeepSeek-R1 vs GPT-5.4 mini

GPT-5.4 mini comes out ahead, 63 to 51 on our weighted score, though DeepSeek-R1 is 30% cheaper per token.

  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-5.4 mini

    Released Mar 17, 2026

    63/100
    • ECI148.8
    • Price$0.75 / $4.50
    • Context400K
    Full specs Remove GPT-5.4 mini

  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

GPT-5.4 mini is our pick

GPT-5.4 mini is the better all-round choice, scoring 63/100 against DeepSeek-R1 (51). It leads on capability, inputs & features and context window. DeepSeek-R1 wins on price. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.

  • CapabilityGPT-5.4 miniCapabilities Index (ECI): GPT-5.4 mini 148.8 · DeepSeek-R1 139.0
  • Lowest priceDeepSeek-R1DeepSeek-R1 $1.18 · GPT-5.4 mini $1.69 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextGPT-5.4 miniGPT-5.4 mini 400,000 · DeepSeek-R1 128,000 tokens
  • Widest inputsGPT-5.4 miniDeepSeek-R1: Text · GPT-5.4 mini: Text, Images
  • Self-hostingDeepSeek-R1Publishes downloadable weights
How the score is built
MeasureWeightDeepSeek-R1GPT-5.4 mini
CapabilityCapabilities Index (ECI)50%6477
Price25%4739
Inputs & features15%3570
Context window10%2444
Overall100%51/10063/100
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-5.4 mini specifications side by side
SpecificationDeepSeek-R1DeepSeekGPT-5.4 miniOpenAI
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)139.0148.8 (best)
ECI rank#104 of 148#56 of 148 (best)
GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions71.7%86.9% (best)
FrontierMath Tiers 1–3Research-level mathematics—51.2%
OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics53.3%88.9% (best)
SimpleQA VerifiedShort factual questions—29.4%
Price per million tokens
Input$0.70 (best)$0.75
Output$2.60 (best)$4.50
Cached input—$0.075
Blended (3:1)$1.18 (best)$1.69
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceMedian of 11 providersOfficial OpenAI API
Limits
Context window128,000 tokens400,000 tokens (best)
Max output32,768 tokens128,000 tokens (best)
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesNoYes
PDFsNoNo
AudioNoNo
VideoNoNo
ReasoningYesYeslow · medium · high · xhigh
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputNoYes
Availability
WeightsOpenProprietary
API model ID—gpt-5.4-mini
API providers1229 (best)
ReleasedJan 20, 2025Mar 17, 2026
Knowledge cutoffJul 2024Aug 31, 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
  • GPT-5.4 mini$16.50
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: DeepSeek-R1 or GPT-5.4 mini?

GPT-5.4 mini is the better all-round choice, scoring 63/100 against DeepSeek-R1 (51). It leads on capability, inputs & features and context window. DeepSeek-R1 wins on price. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.

Which is cheaper, DeepSeek-R1 or GPT-5.4 mini?

DeepSeek-R1 is cheaper at $0.70 input / $2.60 output per million tokens (median across 11 API providers). GPT-5.4 mini costs $0.75 input / $4.50 output per million tokens (official OpenAI API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $1.18 per million tokens for DeepSeek-R1 versus $1.69 for GPT-5.4 mini (1.4× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

GPT-5.4 mini scores higher on the Capabilities Index (ECI): GPT-5.4 mini 148.8 (#56 of 148) and DeepSeek-R1 139.0 (#104 of 148). Their confidence ranges do not overlap (147.1–150.5 vs 136.2–140.4), so the gap is a real one. On individual benchmarks: GPQA Diamond — GPT-5.4 mini 86.9%, DeepSeek-R1 71.7%; OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025 — GPT-5.4 mini 88.9%, DeepSeek-R1 53.3%.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for DeepSeek-R1 and GPT-5.4 mini yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. On overall capability, GPT-5.4 mini 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-5.4 mini has the largest context window at 400,000 tokens, against 128,000 for DeepSeek-R1. Maximum output per response: DeepSeek-R1 up to 32,768, GPT-5.4 mini up to 128,000 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

DeepSeek-R1 accepts text; GPT-5.4 mini accepts text and images. GPT-5.4 mini handles the widest range of inputs.

Are any of these open source?

DeepSeek-R1 publishes its weights and can be self-hosted; GPT-5.4 mini is proprietary.

Which is newer?

GPT-5.4 mini is the newest, released Mar 17, 2026. DeepSeek-R1 came out Jan 20, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: DeepSeek-R1 Jul 2024, GPT-5.4 mini Aug 31, 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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