DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B vs Qwen3 0.6B
Side-by-side comparison of VRAM requirements, quantization, context length, and hardware compatibility.
Specifications
| DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B | Qwen3 0.6B | |
|---|---|---|
| Parameters | 1.5B | 0.6B |
| Context | — | — |
| Architecture | — | — |
| License | MIT | Apache 2.0 |
| Downloads | 32.8K | 1.6K |
| Released | Sep 2025 | Dec 2025 |
VRAM by Quantization: DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B vs Qwen3 0.6B
| Quantization | Bits | DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B VRAM | Qwen3 0.6B VRAM |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q2_K | 3.40 | 0.7 GB | 0.3 GB |
| Q3_K_M | 3.90 | 0.8 GB | 0.3 GB |
| Q3_K_S | 3.50 | — | 0.3 GB |
| Q4_0 | 4.00 | — | 0.3 GB |
| Q4_K_M | 4.80 | 1.0 GB | 0.4 GB |
| Q5_K_M | 5.70 | 1.2 GB | 0.5 GB |
| Q6_K | 6.60 | 1.4 GB | 0.5 GB |
| Q8_0 | 8.00 | 1.6 GB | 0.7 GB |
Verdict
Qwen3 0.6B needs less VRAM at Q4_K_M (0.4 GB vs 1.0 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, DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B or Qwen3 0.6B?
At Q4_K_M, DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B needs 1.0 GB and Qwen3 0.6B needs 0.4 GB, so Qwen3 0.6B is the lighter option to run locally.
- What is the difference between DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B and Qwen3 0.6B?
DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B is a 1.5B model from litert-community (Qwen family), while Qwen3 0.6B is a 0.6B model from litert-community (Qwen family). Compare their VRAM requirements above to see which fits your GPU or Mac.