Is DeepSeek better than paid version of ChatGPT?
There is a new player in the LLM space called DeepSeek R1, which is the next version of DeepSeek R1 Zero. It was launched by the Chinese company DeepSeek as an open-source LLM model. According to benchmarks, it performs on par with OpenAI's ChatGPT-4 model, which is a paid version (costing $20/month) and one of OpenAI's most advanced products. DeepSeek R1 is fully open-source, accompanied by comprehensive technical documentation, and offers significant advantages in terms of cost and accessibility.
Aside from its impressive benchmarks, being open-source makes DeepSeek R1 a potentially safer and more transparent alternative to ChatGPT. Additionally, its API calls are remarkably affordable, costing just $0.14 for one million input tokens, compared to OpenAI's $7.5 for its most powerful reasoning model, o1.
To test its capabilities, I used the "DeepThink" feature, which writes out its reasoning in real-time while solving problems (essentially performing Chain-of-Thought prompting autonomously). I gave it a basic algorithmic task: to create a Word Search Generator—a mind puzzle where you have to find words hidden in a grid of random letters.
What really fascinated me was how the model "thought" through the problem, step by step, and generated a Python function that was almost perfect. There were a few corner cases and bugs, but when I prompted it to fix them, the model quickly resolved the issues, and the final code worked flawlessly. To be honest, coming up with such a solution on the spot can be challenging even for humans, and DeepSeek R1 handled it exceptionally well.
DeepSeek R1 is a groundbreaking addition to the LLM landscape. Its performance rivals that of OpenAI's GPT-4, and its open-source nature makes it a more transparent and safer option for developers and researchers. The affordability of its API calls is a game-changer, making advanced AI capabilities accessible to a broader audience.
The model's ability to reason through problems in real-time using its DeepThink feature is particularly impressive. It demonstrates not only technical proficiency but also a level of adaptability and problem-solving that is rare in AI systems. Whether you're a developer looking for a cost-effective AI solution or a researcher interested in exploring open-source models, DeepSeek R1 is a compelling choice.