DeepSeek R1

legacy

DeepSeek · Frontier

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Open-weight reasoning model that stunned the industry at launch. Repriced with V3.2-Exp in September 2025; now routes to V4 Flash thinking mode and is scheduled for deprecation July 2026.

Strengths
Landmark open reasoning model that reset industry price expectations.
Best for
Reasoning experiments and reference work on open weights.
Limitations
Now routes to V4 Flash thinking mode; scheduled for deprecation July 2026.

Input / 1M

$0.28

Output / 1M

$0.42

Cached input / 1M

$0.028

Context window

128K

Where it sits

2nd-cheapest frontier model

by blended $/Mtok among 24 listed frontier models

91% below the frontier median

blended $/Mtok across 24 frontier models

Output costs 1.5× input

$0.28 in / $0.42 out per 1M

Cached input saves 90%

$0.028 vs $0.28 per 1M fresh

Down 67% since launch (Jan 2025)

blended price vs launch

Computed live from current prices and this model's history — not hand-written, so it stays accurate as prices move.

Price history

Input (solid)Output (dashed)
Price per 1M tokens over timeOutput went from $2.19 to $0.42; Input went from $0.55 to $0.28 between Jan 2025 and Sep 2025.Output on 20 Jan 2025: $2.19Output on 29 Sep 2025: $0.42Out $0.42Input on 20 Jan 2025: $0.55Input on 29 Sep 2025: $0.28In $0.28Jan 2025Sep 2025

Blended price change (3:1 I/O mix)

30d
90d
1y
decreased 67.2%
Since launch
decreased 67.2%

Snapshots

Effective Input Output Cached in Note Source
29 Sep 2025 $0.28 $0.42 $0.028 V3.2-Exp repricing, applied to deepseek-reasoner as well as V3 api-docs.deepseek.com
20 Jan 2025 $0.55 $2.19 $0.14 Launch pricing api-docs.deepseek.com

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