DeepSeek R1 vs Sonar Pro Search
Compare DeepSeek R1 by DeepSeek against Sonar Pro Search by Perplexity, context windows of 128K vs 200K, tested across 52 shared challenges. Updated May 2026.
Which is better, DeepSeek R1 or Sonar Pro Search?
DeepSeek R1 and Sonar Pro Search are both competitive models. DeepSeek R1 costs $0.55/M input tokens vs $3/M for Sonar Pro Search. Context windows: 128K vs 200K tokens. Compare their real outputs side by side below.
Key Differences Between DeepSeek R1 and Sonar Pro Search
DeepSeek R1 is made by deepseek while Sonar Pro Search is from perplexity. DeepSeek R1 has a 128K token context window compared to Sonar Pro Search's 200K. On pricing, DeepSeek R1 costs $0.55/M input tokens vs $3/M for Sonar Pro Search.
Per 1M tokens
DeepSeek R1 is cheaper on both — 5.5× input, 6.8× output
No community votes yet. On paper, these are closely matched - try both with your actual task to see which fits your workflow.
DeepSeek R1 is 6.8x cheaper per token — worth considering if cost matters.
Style Comparison
DeepSeek R1 uses 4.3x more emoji
