API cost decision in 10 seconds

Claude Sonnet 4 vs R1 0528

Pick R1 0528 for lower cost; pick Claude Sonnet 4 only if the larger context window matters more.

Page updated:  Data confirmed:  Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output

Budget verdict

Pick R1 0528 for lower cost; pick Claude Sonnet 4 only if the larger context window matters more.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, R1 0528 is estimated at $1.57 vs $10.5 for Claude Sonnet 4, saving $8.93 (85% lower).

Cost-first pickR1 0528
Context-first pickClaude Sonnet 4
Sample savings$8.9385%
10x traffic gap$89.25

Claude Sonnet 4 has more context, but R1 0528 saves $8.93 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $89.25. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

R1 0528 stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shapeToken mixBetter pickClaude Sonnet 4R1 0528
Input-heavy / RAG5M input + 500K outputR1 0528$22.5$3.58
Balanced workload1M input + 1M outputR1 0528$18$2.65
Output-heavy chatbot1M input + 5M outputR1 0528$78$11.25
Cheaper input R1 0528 $3 vs $0.5 / 1M

R1 0528 is $2.5 cheaper per 1M input tokens (83.3% lower; 6x difference).

Cheaper output R1 0528 $15 vs $2.15 / 1M

R1 0528 is $12.85 cheaper per 1M output tokens (85.7% lower; 6.98x difference).

Larger context Claude Sonnet 4 1M vs 163.84K

Claude Sonnet 4 has 836.16K more context (6.1x larger).

Sample workload R1 0528 $10.5 vs $1.57

R1 0528 is $8.93 cheaper on the standard workload (85% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.
Claude Sonnet 4 Calculating… Estimated API cost
R1 0528 Calculating… Estimated API cost
Cheaper for this workload Calculating… Difference: calculating…

This estimate uses normalized public API pricing per 1M tokens. It is a planning aid, not a billing quote. Verify provider pricing, limits, and terms before production use.

Quick Decision

Verdict

R1 0528 has the lower input price; R1 0528 has the lower output price; Claude Sonnet 4 offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, R1 0528 is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $10.5 for Claude Sonnet 4 and $1.57 for R1 0528.

Best Fit

Choose Claude Sonnet 4 when you care most about larger context window.

Choose R1 0528 when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.

Decision Notes
  • On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, R1 0528 is estimated at $1.57 vs $10.5 for Claude Sonnet 4, saving $8.93 (85% lower).
  • R1 0528 is $8.93 cheaper on the standard workload (85% lower).
  • R1 0528 is $2.5 cheaper per 1M input tokens (83.3% lower; 6x difference).
  • R1 0528 is $12.85 cheaper per 1M output tokens (85.7% lower; 6.98x difference).
  • Claude Sonnet 4 has 836.16K more context (6.1x larger).
Head-to-Head Specs
FeatureClaude Sonnet 4
(Anthropic)		R1 0528
(DeepSeek)
Input Price
prompt tokens per 1M		$3$0.5
Completion Price
per 1M tokens		$15$2.15
Sample Workload Cost
1M input + 500K output		$10.5$1.57
Context Window1M163.84K
Release Date
Popularity#60#106

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use caseBetter pickWhy
Budget-constrained productionR1 0528On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, R1 0528 is estimated at $1.57 vs $10.5 for Claude Sonnet 4, saving $8.93 (85% lower).
High-volume input processingR1 0528Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbotsR1 0528Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document workClaude Sonnet 4A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files.

Related Alternatives

Same-provider lower-cost swaps
  • Claude 3 Haiku can replace Claude Sonnet 4 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.88.
  • Claude 3.5 Haiku can replace Claude Sonnet 4 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $2.8.
  • Anthropic Claude Haiku Latest can replace Claude Sonnet 4 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $3.5.
  • Claude Haiku 4.5 can replace Claude Sonnet 4 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $3.5.
Larger context near this budget
  • Llama 4 Scout offers 10M context with $0.23 sample workload cost.
  • Grok 4.20 offers 2M context with $2.5 sample workload cost.
  • Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent offers 2M context with $5 sample workload cost.
  • GPT-5.4 offers 1.05M context with $10 sample workload cost.

Cheaper alternatives

Review low-cost models sorted by a standard 1M input plus 500K output workload.

Open cheapest models

Larger context alternatives

Find models with larger context windows for RAG, long documents, and codebase review.

Open largest context models

Provider catalogs

Compare models within provider hubs before choosing a final API vendor.

Open provider hubs

Anthropic catalog

Review all tracked Anthropic models before deciding whether this matchup is the right shortlist.

Open Anthropic models

DeepSeek catalog

Check other DeepSeek models with comparable pricing, context, or release timing.

Open DeepSeek models
Claude Sonnet 4

Claude Sonnet 4 significantly enhances the capabilities of its predecessor, Sonnet 3.7, excelling in both coding and reasoning tasks with improved precision and controllability. Achieving state-of-the-art performance on SWE-bench (72.7%),...

R1 0528

May 28th update to the [original DeepSeek R1](/deepseek/deepseek-r1) Performance on par with [OpenAI o1](/openai/o1), but open-sourced and with fully open reasoning tokens. It's 671B parameters in size, with 37B active...