Pairwise benchmark snapshot · Aug 16, 2026
In this head-to-head showdown, Claude Opus 4 delivers higher overall intelligence and human-preferred responses (Elo 1,490 vs 1,490), while Claude Opus 4 leads in SWE-bench software engineering benchmarks (72.5%), while DeepSeek V4 Flash is more budget-friendly at $0.28/1M per 1M output tokens. 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
First Claude 4 Opus generation. Baseline for opus 4 vs opus 5.
DeepSeek Jul 31 2026 price-performance SKU. Public listings put it near $0.14/$0.28 per 1M tokens.
Δ 0 Arena Elo pts
142 tok/s
$0.28 / 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 | DeepSeek V4 Flash | Advantage Delta |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preference Elo | — | ||
| Coding Elo | +14 | ||
| LiveBench | +1% | ||
| SWE-bench | +1.3% | ||
| GPQA Diamond | +1.2% | ||
| Time to first token | +225 ms | ||
| Output speed | 58 tok/s | 142 tok/s | +84 tok/s |
| Input price | $0.14/1M | +$14.86/1M | |
| Output price | $0.28/1M | +$74.72/1M | |
| Context window | +40k |
Simulate monthly production API costs in USD (US Dollar).
DeepSeek V4 Flash is estimated to save $1,640.90/month ($19,691/year).
Higher SWE-bench (72.5%).
Lower output list price ($0.28/1M).
Lower TTFT (165 ms).
Larger window (200k).
Claude Opus 4 is the side marked multimodal in the catalog.
| Target Workload | Recommended Pick | Evaluation Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Repo / coding agents | Claude Opus 4 | Higher SWE-bench (72.5%). |
| High-volume chat | DeepSeek V4 Flash | Lower output list price ($0.28/1M). |
| Voice / low-latency UI | DeepSeek V4 Flash | Lower TTFT (165 ms). |
| Long-document RAG | Claude Opus 4 | Larger window (200k). |
| Screenshots / vision | Claude Opus 4 | Claude Opus 4 is the side marked multimodal in the catalog. |
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