DeepSeek R1-0528 vs GPT-5: The 2025 Showdown Everyone Was Waiting For
DeepSeek R1-0528 crushes GPT-5 in pure coding and costs 10× less – The real numbers that are shaking OpenAI
The Phenomenon
DeepSeek-R1-0528 (released May 28, 2025) is already an absolute phenomenon:
- 1.23 million runs in 7 days on public platforms
- Most used reasoning model in the HotPublicLLM category
- Specialist in complex math, competitive coding, and advanced logic via extended chain-of-thought
- Official API pricing: $0.74/M tokens input → $3.24/M tokens output
GPT-5 was released three months later (August 2025) and was presented as "the first PhD-level model in all domains."
But the independent benchmarks speak for themselves.
The Comparison Table That Hurts
| Benchmark | DeepSeek R1-0528 | GPT-5 | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Global Intelligence (AI Index) | 59 | 69 | GPT-5 |
| Pure Coding (LiveCodeBench) | 77% | 67% | DeepSeek |
| Competition Math (AIME 2025) | 76% | 94.6% | GPT-5 |
| SWE-Bench Verified | ~68-70% | 74.9% | GPT-5 |
| API Cost (per M tokens) | $0.74-$3.24 | $7.40-$32.40 | DeepSeek |
Key Numbers Analysis
Global Intelligence (Artificial Analysis Index)
GPT-5 → 69
DeepSeek R1-0528 → 59
→ GPT-5 wins, but the gap is only 17% while DeepSeek came out 3 months earlier and is open-source.
Pure Coding (LiveCodeBench)
DeepSeek R1-0528 → 77%
GPT-5 → 67%
→ DeepSeek literally humiliates GPT-5 in coding. Yes, you read that right. The Chinese open-source model beats OpenAI's flagship on its own turf.
Competition Math (AIME 2025 – without tools)
GPT-5 → 94.6%
DeepSeek R1-0528 → 76%
→ GPT-5 dominates, but 76% remains monstrous for a May 2025 model.
SWE-Bench Verified (Real GitHub issues coding)
GPT-5 → 74.9%
DeepSeek R1-0528 → ~68-70% (not yet officially measured on this version, but previous versions were around 68-70% → to be followed)
10× Cost Savings
DeepSeek R1-0528 costs 5 to 15× less than GPT-5 depending on platforms
The Real Winner? Performance/Price Ratio
DeepSeek R1-0528 is:
- Open-source (MIT) → you can download it, fine-tune it, deploy it locally
- 5 to 15× cheaper to use depending on platforms
- Already preferred by thousands of developers and startups
GPT-5 is stronger in general reasoning and multimodal, but at what cost? Literally.
Straight Talk Conclusion
DeepSeek R1-0528 isn't just "almost as good."
It's already better in coding, largely good enough in math/logic, and costs a fraction of the price.
OpenAI released GPT-5 in August... and DeepSeek had already caught up (even surpassed it on certain points) as early as May.
Open-source is no longer following. It's leading the dance.
And this is just the beginning. DeepSeek just announced even more powerful models 5 days ago (V3.2-Special that beats GPT-5-High on almost everything).
The revolution is underway.
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