DeepSeek R1 0528 vs Qwen 2.5 72B Turbo

Compare DeepSeek R1 0528 and Qwen 2.5 72B Turbo: pricing, performance, context window, latency, and best use cases. Side-by-side comparison on XALEN.

Updated 2026-05-21 · By Abhishek Raj · Our methodology

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Feature DeepSeek R1 0528 Qwen 2.5 72B Turbo
CategoryReasoningOpen Source
Parameters671B72B
Context Window128K128K
Input Price$0.08/1M tokens$0.04/1M tokens
Output Price$0.15/1M tokens$0.08/1M tokens
Latency~800ms~300ms

Choose DeepSeek R1 0528 when:

  • ✓ Calculation verification
  • ✓ Classical text analysis
  • ✓ Quality-critical
Key Strengths:

Improved accuracy, Reduced hallucination, Strong math

Choose Qwen 2.5 72B Turbo when:

  • ✓ Pan-India apps
  • ✓ Multilingual Q&A
  • ✓ Content generation
Key Strengths:

Strong Asian languages, Good reasoning, Fast inference

Verdict: DeepSeek R1 0528 vs Qwen 2.5 72B Turbo

For cost efficiency, Qwen 2.5 72B Turbo wins at $0.04/1M input tokens. For speed, Qwen 2.5 72B Turbo is faster at ~300ms. DeepSeek R1 0528 excels at Calculation verification while Qwen 2.5 72B Turbo is better for Pan-India apps. Both are available on XALEN through a single API — try them in the Playground to see which fits your workload.

Detailed Analysis

Pricing Comparison

DeepSeek R1 0528 costs $0.08/1M input tokens and $0.15/1M output tokens. Qwen 2.5 72B Turbo costs $0.04 input and $0.08 output. Qwen 2.5 72B Turbo is 2.0x cheaper on input tokens. XALEN offers batch processing at 50% discount on both models.

Performance & Context

DeepSeek R1 0528 has a 128K context window with ~800ms latency. Qwen 2.5 72B Turbo offers 128K context at ~300ms. Both have identical context windows.

Best For

DeepSeek R1 0528 (Reasoning) is optimized for: Calculation verification, Classical text analysis, Quality-critical. Qwen 2.5 72B Turbo (Open Source) works best for: Pan-India apps, Multilingual Q&A, Content generation.

Try Both on XALEN

Both models are available through XALEN's OpenAI-compatible API. Switch between them by changing the model parameter:

from xalen import XALEN

client = XALEN(api_key="xln_test_YOUR_KEY")

# Use DeepSeek R1 0528
response_a = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="deepseek-r1-0528",
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Your question here"}]
)

# Use Qwen 2.5 72B Turbo
response_b = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="qwen-2-5-72b-turbo",
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Your question here"}]
)

Start Building with XALEN

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Get API Key Try in Playground

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better, DeepSeek R1 0528 or Qwen 2.5 72B Turbo?

DeepSeek R1 0528 (Reasoning, 671B) offers Improved accuracy. Qwen 2.5 72B Turbo (Open Source, 72B) offers Strong Asian languages. Choose DeepSeek R1 0528 for Calculation verification or Qwen 2.5 72B Turbo for Pan-India apps.

How much does DeepSeek R1 0528 cost vs Qwen 2.5 72B Turbo?

DeepSeek R1 0528: $0.08/1M input, $0.15/1M output. Qwen 2.5 72B Turbo: $0.04/1M input, $0.08/1M output. Both available on XALEN with batch processing at 50% discount.

Can I use both models on XALEN?

Yes. XALEN provides 200+ models through a single OpenAI-compatible API. Switch between DeepSeek R1 0528 and Qwen 2.5 72B Turbo by changing the model parameter. No code changes needed.

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Last updated: 2026-05-21. Pricing and specifications may change. Check pricing page for latest rates.