Qwen3 1.7B vs DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B
Side-by-side comparison of VRAM requirements, quantization, context length, and hardware compatibility.
Specifications
| Qwen3 1.7B | DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B | |
|---|---|---|
| Parameters | 1.7B | 1.5B |
| Context | — | — |
| Architecture | — | — |
| License | Apache 2.0 | MIT |
| Downloads | 105 | 32.8K |
| Released | Mar 2026 | Sep 2025 |
VRAM by Quantization: Qwen3 1.7B vs DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B
| Quantization | Bits | Qwen3 1.7B VRAM | DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B VRAM |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q2_K | 3.40 | 0.8 GB | 0.7 GB |
| Q3_K_M | 3.90 | 0.9 GB | 0.8 GB |
| Q4_K_M | 4.80 | 1.1 GB | 1.0 GB |
| Q5_K_M | 5.70 | 1.3 GB | 1.2 GB |
| Q6_K | 6.60 | 1.5 GB | 1.4 GB |
| Q8_0 | 8.00 | 1.9 GB | 1.6 GB |
Verdict
DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B needs less VRAM at Q4_K_M (1.0 GB vs 1.1 GB), so it fits on smaller GPUs. DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B is the more widely downloaded of the two.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Which needs less VRAM, Qwen3 1.7B or DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B?
At Q4_K_M, Qwen3 1.7B needs 1.1 GB and DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B needs 1.0 GB, so DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B is the lighter option to run locally.
- What is the difference between Qwen3 1.7B and DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B?
Qwen3 1.7B is a 1.7B model from AXERA-TECH (Qwen family), while DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B is a 1.5B model from litert-community (Qwen family). Compare their VRAM requirements above to see which fits your GPU or Mac.