The Complete Guide to DeepSeek-R1-0528 Inference Providers: Where to Run the Leading Open-Source Reasoning Model

DeepSeek-R1-0528 has emerged as a groundbreaking open-source reasoning model that rivals proprietary alternatives like OpenAI’s o1 and Google’s Gemini 2.5 Pro. With its impressive 87.5% accuracy on AIME 2025 tests and significantly lower costs, it’s become the go-to choice for developers and enterprises seeking powerful AI reasoning capabilities.

This comprehensive guide covers all the major providers where you can access DeepSeek-R1-0528, from cloud APIs to local deployment options, with current pricing and performance comparisons. (Updated August 11, 2025)

Cloud & API Providers

DeepSeek Official API

The most cost-effective option

Pricing: $0.55/M input tokens, $2.19/M output tokens
Features: 64K context length, native reasoning capabilities
Best for: Cost-sensitive applications, high-volume usage
Note: Includes off-peak pricing discounts (16:30-00:30 UTC daily)

Amazon Bedrock (AWS)

Enterprise-grade managed solution

Availability: Fully managed serverless deployment
Regions: US East (N. Virginia), US East (Ohio), US West (Oregon)
Features: Enterprise security, Amazon Bedrock Guardrails integration
Best for: Enterprise deployments, regulated industries
Note: AWS is the first cloud provider to offer DeepSeek-R1 as fully managed

Together AI

Performance-optimized options

DeepSeek-R1: $3.00 input / $7.00 output per 1M tokens
DeepSeek-R1 Throughput: $0.55 input / $2.19 output per 1M tokens
Features: Serverless endpoints, dedicated reasoning clusters
Best for: Production applications requiring consistent performance

Novita AI

Competitive cloud option

Pricing: $0.70/M input tokens, $2.50/M output tokens
Features: OpenAI-compatible API, multi-language SDKs
GPU Rental: Available with hourly pricing for A100/H100/H200 instances
Best for: Developers wanting flexible deployment options

Fireworks AI

Premium performance provider

Pricing: Higher tier pricing (contact for current rates)
Features: Fast inference, enterprise support
Best for: Applications where speed is critical

Other Notable Providers

Nebius AI Studio: Competitive API pricing
Parasail: Listed as API provider
Microsoft Azure: Available (some sources indicate preview pricing)
Hyperbolic: Fast performance with FP8 quantization
DeepInfra: API access available

GPU Rental & Infrastructure Providers

Novita AI GPU Instances

Hardware: A100, H100, H200 GPU instances
Pricing: Hourly rental available (contact for current rates)
Features: Step-by-step setup guides, flexible scaling

Amazon SageMaker

Requirements: ml.p5e.48xlarge instances minimum
Features: Custom model import, enterprise integration
Best for: AWS-native deployments with customization needs

Local & Open-Source Deployment

Hugging Face Hub

Access: Free model weights download
License: MIT License (commercial use allowed)
Formats: Safetensors format, ready for deployment
Tools: Transformers library, pipeline support

Local Deployment Options

Ollama: Popular framework for local LLM deployment
vLLM: High-performance inference server
Unsloth: Optimized for lower-resource deployments
Open Web UI: User-friendly local interface

Hardware Requirements

Full Model: Requires significant GPU memory (671B parameters, 37B active)
Distilled Version (Qwen3-8B): Can run on consumer hardware
- RTX 4090 or RTX 3090 (24GB VRAM) recommended
- Minimum 20GB RAM for quantized versions

Pricing Comparison Table

Provider	Input Price/1M	Output Price/1M	Key Features	Best For
DeepSeek Official	$0.55	$2.19	Lowest cost, off-peak discounts	High-volume, cost-sensitive
Together AI (Throughput)	$0.55	$2.19	Production-optimized	Balanced cost/performance
Novita AI	$0.70	$2.50	GPU rental options	Flexible deployment
Together AI (Standard)	$3.00	$7.00	Premium performance	Speed-critical applications
Amazon Bedrock	Contact AWS	Contact AWS	Enterprise features	Regulated industries
Hugging Face	Free	Free	Open source	Local deployment

Prices are subject to change. Always verify current pricing with providers.

Performance Considerations

Speed vs. Cost Trade-offs

DeepSeek Official: Cheapest but may have higher latency
Premium Providers: 2-4x cost but sub-5 second response times
Local Deployment: No per-token costs but requires hardware investment

Regional Availability

Some providers have limited regional availability
AWS Bedrock: Currently US regions only
Check provider documentation for latest regional support

DeepSeek-R1-0528 Key Improvements

Enhanced Reasoning Capabilities

AIME 2025: 87.5% accuracy (up from 70%)
Deeper thinking: 23K average tokens per question (vs 12K previously)
HMMT 2025: 79.4% accuracy improvement

New Features

System prompt support
JSON output format
Function calling capabilities
Reduced hallucination rates
No manual thinking activation required

Distilled Model Option

DeepSeek-R1-0528-Qwen3-8B

8B parameter efficient version
Runs on consumer hardware
Matches performance of much larger models
Perfect for resource-constrained deployments

Choosing the Right Provider

For Startups & Small Projects

Recommendation: DeepSeek Official API

Lowest cost at $0.55/$2.19 per 1M tokens
Sufficient performance for most use cases
Off-peak discounts available

For Production Applications

Recommendation: Together AI or Novita AI

Better performance guarantees
Enterprise support
Scalable infrastructure

For Enterprise & Regulated Industries

Recommendation: Amazon Bedrock

Enterprise-grade security
Compliance features
Integration with AWS ecosystem

For Local Development

Recommendation: Hugging Face + Ollama

Free to use
Full control over data
No API rate limits

Conclusion

DeepSeek-R1-0528 offers unprecedented access to advanced AI reasoning capabilities at a fraction of the cost of proprietary alternatives. Whether you’re a startup experimenting with AI or an enterprise deploying at scale, there’s a deployment option that fits your needs and budget.

The key is choosing the right provider based on your specific requirements for cost, performance, security, and scale. Start with the DeepSeek official API for testing, then scale to enterprise providers as your needs grow.

Disclaimer: Always verify current pricing and availability directly with providers, as the AI landscape evolves rapidly.

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