Which model is better: DeepSeek R1 or Mistral Large 2?

**DeepSeek-R1 delivers superior coding capability at dramatically lower cost.** DeepSeek-R1 scores 52.0% on SWE-bench versus 40.0% for Mistral Large 2, while costing 72.5% less for inputs ($0.55 vs. $2.00/1M) and $2.19 vs. $6.00 for outputs. Conversely, Mistral Large 2 leads in responsiveness with a 520ms TTFT, 580ms faster than DeepSeek-R1.
Verified daily via automated API latency tests and official documentation.

Verified Performance & Unit Economics Delta

Daily synchronized metrics from synthetic latency endpoints and benchmark evaluations.

Metric / Dimension DeepSeek R1 Mistral Large 2 Net Delta / Advantage
Input Cost / 1M Tokens $0.55 $2.00 DeepSeek R1 is 3.6x cheaper
Output Cost / 1M Tokens $2.19 $6.00 DeepSeek R1 (63.5% lower)
Prompt Cache Read / 1M $0.140 $0.500 DeepSeek R1 is 3.6x cheaper
Prompt Cache Write / 1M $0.55 $2.00 DeepSeek R1 is 3.6x cheaper
Avg TTFT Response Latency 1800ms 520ms Mistral Large 2 (+1280ms faster)
SWE-bench Verified (Coding) 49.2% 40% DeepSeek R1 (+9.2% lead)
Inference Value Score (IVR) 64.5 / 100 50 / 100 DeepSeek R1 (+14.5 pts)

Interactive Monthly Token Economics & ROI Forecaster

Model your expected production workload across prompt (input) and completion (output) tokens with prompt caching economics.

Live Calculation Engine
10.0M Tokens
100K 50M 250M 500M+
2.5M Tokens
100K 10M 50M 100M+

Estimated Monthly Spend

DeepSeek R1 $10.98

$0.55/1M in · $2.19/1M out

Prompt Cache: $0.140/1M read · $0.55/1M write

Mistral Large 2 $35.00

$2.00/1M in · $6.00/1M out

Prompt Cache: $0.500/1M read · $2.00/1M write

Projected Monthly Cost Reduction
$24.03 / mo
(68.6% lower cost with DeepSeek R1)
A

When to Choose DeepSeek R1

Choose DeepSeek-R1 when you need Ultra-cost-effective open-weights reasoning for complex math derivation, competitive programming, and localized agent verification. and have an infrastructure budget aligned with $0.55/1M tokens.

B

When to Choose Mistral Large 2

Choose Mistral Large 2 when you need European data-sovereign enterprise workflows, multilingual translation across European languages, and precise JSON tool execution. and prioritize Mistral AI ecosystem integration at $2.00/1M tokens.

Related Questions & Decision Factors

Which is cheaper: DeepSeek R1 or Mistral Large 2?

DeepSeek R1 is cheaper at $0.55/1M input tokens compared to $2.00/1M for Mistral Large 2.

Which model has lower latency: DeepSeek R1 or Mistral Large 2?

Mistral Large 2 delivers faster response times with an average TTFT of 520ms vs 1800ms for DeepSeek R1.

When should you choose DeepSeek R1?

Choose DeepSeek-R1 when you need Ultra-cost-effective open-weights reasoning for complex math derivation, competitive programming, and localized agent verification. and have an infrastructure budget aligned with $0.55/1M tokens.

When should you choose Mistral Large 2?

Choose Mistral Large 2 when you need European data-sovereign enterprise workflows, multilingual translation across European languages, and precise JSON tool execution. and prioritize Mistral AI ecosystem integration at $2.00/1M tokens.

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