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DeepSeek Chat (R1-based) vs GPT-4.1

DeepSeek DeepSeek Chat (R1-based) vs OpenAI GPT-4.1 — side-by-side specs.

DeepSeek
DeepSeek Chat (R1-based)
OpenAI
GPT-4.1
Overview
CompanyDeepSeekOpenAI
Release dateJan 20 2025May 14 2025
Model type
Open sourceYesNo
Specifications
Parameters
Context window
Benchmarks
Science reasoning
GPQA Diamond
Software engineering
SWE-Bench Verified
Multimodal understanding
MMMU
Timeline
Release gapDeepSeek Chat (R1-based) shipped 114 days before GPT-4.1

Which is better: DeepSeek Chat (R1-based) or GPT-4.1?

DeepSeek Chat (R1-based) and GPT-4.1 do not have directly comparable benchmark scores published on GPQA Diamond, SWE-Bench Verified, or MMMU. DeepSeek Chat (R1-based) shipped 114 days before GPT-4.1, so benchmark comparisons should account for the intervening progress.

DeepSeek Chat (R1-based) is an open-source / open-weight model; GPT-4.1 is proprietary.

Direct benchmark comparisons are unavailable — at least one of these models has not published scores on GPQA Diamond, SWE-Bench Verified, or MMMU.

Frequently asked questions

When was DeepSeek Chat (R1-based) released?
DeepSeek Chat (R1-based) was released by DeepSeek on Jan 20 2025.
When was GPT-4.1 released?
GPT-4.1 was released by OpenAI on May 14 2025.
Is DeepSeek Chat (R1-based) or GPT-4.1 open source?
DeepSeek Chat (R1-based) is an open-source / open-weight model released by DeepSeek. GPT-4.1 is a proprietary model released by OpenAI.

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