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DeepSeek-R1-Lite Preview vs GPT-5 mini

DeepSeek DeepSeek-R1-Lite Preview vs OpenAI GPT-5 mini — side-by-side specs.

DeepSeek
DeepSeek-R1-Lite Preview
OpenAI
GPT-5 mini
Overview
CompanyDeepSeekOpenAI
Release dateNov 20 2024Aug 7 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-R1-Lite Preview shipped 260 days before GPT-5 mini

Which is better: DeepSeek-R1-Lite Preview or GPT-5 mini?

DeepSeek-R1-Lite Preview and GPT-5 mini do not have directly comparable benchmark scores published on GPQA Diamond, SWE-Bench Verified, or MMMU. DeepSeek-R1-Lite Preview shipped 260 days before GPT-5 mini, so benchmark comparisons should account for the intervening progress.

DeepSeek-R1-Lite Preview is an open-source / open-weight model; GPT-5 mini 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-R1-Lite Preview released?
DeepSeek-R1-Lite Preview was released by DeepSeek on Nov 20 2024.
When was GPT-5 mini released?
GPT-5 mini was released by OpenAI on Aug 7 2025.
Is DeepSeek-R1-Lite Preview or GPT-5 mini open source?
DeepSeek-R1-Lite Preview is an open-source / open-weight model released by DeepSeek. GPT-5 mini is a proprietary model released by OpenAI.

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