Pairwise benchmark snapshot · Aug 1, 2026
In this head-to-head showdown, Claude Sonnet 4 delivers higher overall intelligence and human-preferred responses (Elo 1,455 vs 1,358), while DeepSeek R1 leads in SWE-bench software engineering benchmarks (65.2%), while DeepSeek R1 is more budget-friendly at $2.19/1M per 1M output tokens, while Claude Sonnet 4 provides faster response streaming (92 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
First Sonnet 4 generation. Bridge between 3.5/3.7 and Sonnet 5.
Open-weights reasoning model trained with large-scale RL.
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 97 Arena Elo pts
92 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 Sonnet 4 | DeepSeek R1 | Advantage Delta |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preference Elo | +97 | ||
| Coding Elo | — | — | |
| LiveBench | +4.2% | ||
| SWE-bench | +2.4% | ||
| GPQA Diamond | +3.4% | ||
| Time to first token | +200 ms | ||
| Output speed | 92 tok/s | 62 tok/s | +30 tok/s |
| Input price | $0.55/1M | +$2.45/1M | |
| Output price | $2.19/1M | +$12.81/1M | |
| Context window | +72k |
Simulate monthly production API costs in USD (US Dollar).
DeepSeek R1 is estimated to save $277.90/month ($3,335/year).
Higher SWE-bench (65.2%).
Lower output list price ($2.19/1M).
Lower TTFT (220 ms).
Larger window (200k).
Claude Sonnet 4 is the side marked multimodal in the catalog.
| Target Workload | Recommended Pick | Evaluation Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Repo / coding agents | DeepSeek R1 | Higher SWE-bench (65.2%). |
| High-volume chat | DeepSeek R1 | Lower output list price ($2.19/1M). |
| Voice / low-latency UI | Claude Sonnet 4 | Lower TTFT (220 ms). |
| Long-document RAG | Claude Sonnet 4 | Larger window (200k). |
| Screenshots / vision | Claude Sonnet 4 | Claude Sonnet 4 is the side marked multimodal in the catalog. |
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Verified Head-to-Head Telemetry
