Pairwise benchmark snapshot · Aug 16, 2026
In this head-to-head showdown, Claude Opus 4.8 delivers higher overall intelligence and human-preferred responses (Elo 1,598 vs 1,358), while Claude Opus 4.8 leads in SWE-bench software engineering benchmarks (78.4%), while DeepSeek R1 is more budget-friendly at $2.19/1M per 1M output tokens, while Claude Opus 4.8 provides faster response streaming (66 tok/s). Review the complete breakdown below to determine which model best fits your performance and budget requirements.
9 direct benchmark disciplines evaluated across capability, speed, and cost
Prior Opus generation still billed at $5/$25. Kept as a compare baseline against Opus 5.
Open-weights reasoning model trained with large-scale RL.
Currently comparing Claude Opus 4.8 vs DeepSeek R1. Alternative family tiers available.
Simulate accuracy gains vs added response time & token cost
Reasoning models “think before answering” by generating internal reasoning tokens. Higher effort improves math, coding, and logic accuracy, but increases response delay and token costs.
Simulate accuracy gains vs added response time & token cost
Reasoning models “think before answering” by generating internal reasoning tokens. Higher effort improves math, coding, and logic accuracy, but increases response delay and token costs.
Δ 240 Arena Elo pts
66 tok/s
$2.19 / 1M output
Relative percentile scores computed across all active models in the benchmark catalog.
Comparing top Western standard models with China's leading frontier rival across 6 skill dimensions. Tap any spoke or dot to inspect.
Category wins across reasoning intelligence, generation speed, and token cost.
Preference Elo, Coding proficiency, SWE-bench & LiveBench accuracy
Generation throughput and time to first token responsiveness
Cost per million tokens and max context window length
| Benchmark | Claude Opus 4.8 | DeepSeek R1 | Advantage Delta |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preference Elo | +240 | ||
| Coding Elo | — | — | |
| LiveBench | +14.6% | ||
| SWE-bench | +13.2% | ||
| GPQA Diamond | +6.4% | ||
| Time to first token | +90 ms | ||
| Output speed | 66 tok/s | 62 tok/s | +4 tok/s |
| Input price | $0.55/1M | +$4.45/1M | |
| Output price | $2.19/1M | +$22.81/1M | |
| Context window | +872k |
Simulate monthly production API costs in USD (US Dollar).
DeepSeek R1 is estimated to save $497.90/month ($5,975/year).
Higher SWE-bench (78.4%).
Lower output list price ($2.19/1M).
Lower TTFT (330 ms).
Larger window (1M).
Claude Opus 4.8 is the side marked multimodal in the catalog.
| Target Workload | Recommended Pick | Evaluation Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Repo / coding agents | Claude Opus 4.8 | Higher SWE-bench (78.4%). |
| High-volume chat | DeepSeek R1 | Lower output list price ($2.19/1M). |
| Voice / low-latency UI | Claude Opus 4.8 | Lower TTFT (330 ms). |
| Long-document RAG | Claude Opus 4.8 | Larger window (1M). |
| Screenshots / vision | Claude Opus 4.8 | Claude Opus 4.8 is the side marked multimodal in the catalog. |
Opus 4.8 still bills $5/$25. We keep it so Opus 5 vs 4.8 is a real generation delta, not marketing.
Jan 2025 reasoning model. Still searched. V4 Pro is the newer DeepSeek buy.
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