DeepSeek R1
by DeepSeekOpen-source reasoning model with chain-of-thought capabilities rivaling OpenAI o1.
About DeepSeek R1
DeepSeek R1 is an open-source reasoning-first LLM that matches or exceeds OpenAI o1 on math, coding, and logic benchmarks. It uses reinforcement learning (not just supervised fine-tuning) to develop step-by-step reasoning. R1-0528 (May 2025) significantly enhanced its capabilities. Available via API at a fraction of o1's cost.
Key Features
Works With
OpenAI-compatible API
Azure AI Foundry
OpenRouter
Together AIPerfect For
Getting Started
- 1
Access via deepseek.com or API
- 2
Use deepseek-reasoner model ID
- 3
Enable thinking mode for detailed traces
- 4
Integrate via OpenAI-compatible SDK
What Makes DeepSeek R1 Different?
Open-source reasoning model (first of its kind)
RL-trained reasoning (not just SFT)
Matches o1 at 20x lower cost
Full reasoning trace transparency
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Open source (MIT license)
- Visible reasoning traces
- Excellent at math and code
- Affordable API ($0.55/M input tokens)
Cons
- Slower than non-reasoning models
- Censors certain topics
- Reasoning traces can be verbose
Alternatives to DeepSeek R1
OpenAI API
Build next-gen apps with OpenAI's powerful models.
Anthropic Claude
The AI assistant for your tasks.
Mistral AI
Open-weight models.
DeepSeek — All Versions
All models in this family