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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

DeepSeek-V3 vs QwQ 32B

Too close to call on our weighted score (QwQ 32B 53, DeepSeek-V3 50). The right pick depends on what you value most.

  1. DeepSeek

    DeepSeek-V3

    Released Dec 26, 2024

    50/100
    • ECI132.3
    • Price$0.32 / $1.10
    • Context131K
    Full specs Remove DeepSeek-V3

  2. Alibaba (Qwen)

    QwQ 32B

    Released Mar 5, 2025

    53/100
    • ECI137.6
    • Price$0.66 / $1.00
    • Context131K
    Full specs Remove QwQ 32B

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01 — Verdict

Too close to call

It is close. Our weighted score puts them within 3 points (QwQ 32B 53/100, DeepSeek-V3 50/100), so choose by what matters most for your work: QwQ 32B for raw capability and DeepSeek-V3 on price. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.

  • CapabilityQwQ 32BCapabilities Index (ECI): QwQ 32B 137.6 · DeepSeek-V3 132.3
  • Lowest priceDeepSeek-V3DeepSeek-V3 $0.515 · QwQ 32B $0.745 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextAbout the sameDeepSeek-V3 131,072 · QwQ 32B 131,072 tokens
  • Widest inputsSame inputsDeepSeek-V3: 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-V3QwQ 32B
CapabilityCapabilities Index (ECI)50%5662
Price25%6456
Inputs & features15%2535
Context window10%2424
Overall100%50/10053/100
02 — Side by side

Every spec in one table

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

DeepSeek-V3 vs QwQ 32B specifications side by side
SpecificationDeepSeek-V3DeepSeekQwQ 32BAlibaba (Qwen)
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)132.3137.6 (best)
ECI rank#121 of 148#109 of 148 (best)
GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions56.5%65.3% (best)
OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics15.8%59.2% (best)
Price per million tokens
Input$0.32 (best)$0.66
Output$1.10$1.00 (best)
Cached input——
Blended (3:1)$0.515 (best)$0.745
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceMedian of 5 providersMedian of 1 providers
Limits
Context window131,072 tokens131,072 tokens
Max output8,192 tokens8,192 tokens
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesNoNo
PDFsNoNo
AudioNoNo
VideoNoNo
ReasoningNoYes
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputNoNo
Availability
WeightsOpenDeepSeek Model LicenseOpen
API model ID——
API providers5 (best)1
ReleasedDec 26, 2024Mar 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-V3$5.40
  • QwQ 32B$8.60
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: DeepSeek-V3 or QwQ 32B?

It is close. Our weighted score puts them within 3 points (QwQ 32B 53/100, DeepSeek-V3 50/100), so choose by what matters most for your work: QwQ 32B for raw capability and DeepSeek-V3 on price. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.

Which is cheaper, DeepSeek-V3 or QwQ 32B?

DeepSeek-V3 is cheaper at $0.32 input / $1.10 output per million tokens (median across 5 API providers). QwQ 32B costs $0.66 input / $1.00 output per million tokens (median across 1 API provider). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.515 per million tokens for DeepSeek-V3 versus $0.745 for QwQ 32B (1.4× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

QwQ 32B scores higher on the Capabilities Index (ECI): QwQ 32B 137.6 (#109 of 148) and DeepSeek-V3 132.3 (#121 of 148). The confidence ranges of the top two overlap (133.1–141.7 vs 127.5–135.5), so treat the gap as small. On individual benchmarks: GPQA Diamond — QwQ 32B 65.3%, DeepSeek-V3 56.5%; OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025 — QwQ 32B 59.2%, DeepSeek-V3 15.8%.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for DeepSeek-V3 and QwQ 32B yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. On overall capability, QwQ 32B 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?

DeepSeek-V3 and QwQ 32B share the same 131,072-token context window. Maximum output per response: DeepSeek-V3 up to 8,192, QwQ 32B up to 8,192 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

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

Are any of these open source?

Yes, both publish their weights (DeepSeek Model License), so you can self-host them.

Which is newer?

QwQ 32B is the newest, released Mar 5, 2025. DeepSeek-V3 came out Dec 26, 2024. 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 Oct 4, 2026.

05 — Keep comparing

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