Comprehensive side-by-side LLM comparison
DeepSeek R1 Zero leads with 11.3% higher average benchmark score. Overall, DeepSeek R1 Zero is the stronger choice for coding tasks.
DeepSeek
DeepSeek-R1-Zero was introduced as an experimental variant trained with minimal human supervision, designed to develop reasoning patterns through self-guided reinforcement learning. Built to explore how models can discover analytical strategies independently, it represents research into autonomous reasoning capability development.
Microsoft
Phi-4 Mini Reasoning was developed to incorporate extended thinking capabilities into the ultra-compact Phi-4 Mini architecture. Built to demonstrate that reasoning enhancements can be applied even to very small models, it brings analytical depth to resource-constrained environments.
3 months newer

DeepSeek R1 Zero
DeepSeek
2025-01-20

Phi 4 Mini Reasoning
Microsoft
2025-04-30
Average performance across 2 common benchmarks

DeepSeek R1 Zero

Phi 4 Mini Reasoning
Phi 4 Mini Reasoning
2025-02-01
Available providers and their performance metrics

DeepSeek R1 Zero

Phi 4 Mini Reasoning

DeepSeek R1 Zero

Phi 4 Mini Reasoning