Which model is better: DeepSeek-R1 or Qwen 2.5 72B Instruct?

Qwen 2.5 72B Instruct is 36.4% cheaper for input tokens ($0.35 vs. $0.55 per 1M tokens) and $0.40 vs. $2.19 for output tokens (1.6x cost difference). In terms of operational performance, Qwen 2.5 72B Instruct delivers faster response latency with 420ms TTFT (1380ms faster than DeepSeek-R1). DeepSeek-R1 leads coding benchmarks at 49.2% SWE-bench vs. 44.0% for Qwen 2.5 72B Instruct.
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 Qwen 2.5 72B Instruct Net Delta / Advantage
Input Cost / 1M Tokens $0.55 $0.35 Qwen 2.5 72B Instruct is 1.6x cheaper
Output Cost / 1M Tokens $2.19 $0.40 Qwen 2.5 72B Instruct (447.5% lower)
Avg TTFT Response Latency 1800ms 420ms Qwen 2.5 72B Instruct (+1380ms faster)
SWE-bench Verified (Coding) 49.2% 44% DeepSeek-R1 (+5.2% lead)
Inference Value Score (IVR) 99.9 / 100 99.9 / 100 Qwen 2.5 72B Instruct (+0 pts)

Interactive Monthly Token Economics & ROI Forecaster

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

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

Estimated Monthly Spend

DeepSeek-R1 $5.45

$0.55/1M in · $2.19/1M out

Qwen 2.5 72B Instruct $67.50

$0.35/1M in · $0.4/1M out

Projected Monthly Cost Reduction
$62.05 / mo
(91.9% lower cost)
A

When to Choose DeepSeek-R1

Choose DeepSeek-R1 when you need Open-weights chain-of-thought reasoning for complex mathematics, algorithmic programming, and scientific research. and have an infrastructure budget aligned with $0.55/1M tokens.

B

When to Choose Qwen 2.5 72B Instruct

Choose Qwen 2.5 72B Instruct when you need Open-source dense flagship model offering state-of-the-art multi-language understanding, mathematical reasoning, and JSON generation. and prioritize Alibaba Cloud ecosystem integration at $0.35/1M tokens.

Related Questions & Decision Factors

Which is cheaper: DeepSeek-R1 or Qwen 2.5 72B Instruct?

Qwen 2.5 72B Instruct is cheaper at $0.35/1M input tokens compared to $0.55/1M for DeepSeek-R1.

Which model has lower latency: DeepSeek-R1 or Qwen 2.5 72B Instruct?

Qwen 2.5 72B Instruct delivers faster response times with an average TTFT of 420ms vs 1800ms for DeepSeek-R1.

When should you choose DeepSeek-R1?

Choose DeepSeek-R1 when you need Open-weights chain-of-thought reasoning for complex mathematics, algorithmic programming, and scientific research. and have an infrastructure budget aligned with $0.55/1M tokens.

When should you choose Qwen 2.5 72B Instruct?

Choose Qwen 2.5 72B Instruct when you need Open-source dense flagship model offering state-of-the-art multi-language understanding, mathematical reasoning, and JSON generation. and prioritize Alibaba Cloud ecosystem integration at $0.35/1M tokens.

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