Pairwise benchmark snapshot · Aug 17, 2026
In this head-to-head showdown, DeepSeek R1 delivers higher overall intelligence and human-preferred responses (Elo 1,358 vs 1,310), while DeepSeek R1 leads in SWE-bench software engineering benchmarks (65.2%), while DeepSeek V3 is more budget-friendly at $1.029/1M 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
Open-weights reasoning model trained with large-scale RL.
Prior DeepSeek flagship. Baseline for v3 vs v4.
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 48 Arena Elo pts
66 tok/s
$1.0287 / 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 | DeepSeek R1 | DeepSeek V3 | Advantage Delta |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preference Elo | +48 | ||
| LiveBench | +3.6% | ||
| SWE-bench | +16.6% | ||
| GPQA Diamond | +20.7% | ||
| Time to first token | +40 ms | ||
| Output speed | 62 tok/s | 66 tok/s | +4 tok/s |
| Input price | $0.7/1M | $0.257/1M | +$0.443/1M |
| Output price | $2.5/1M | $1.029/1M | +$1.471/1M |
| Context window | +100k |
Simulate monthly production API costs in USD (US Dollar).
DeepSeek V3 is estimated to save $37.56/month ($451/year).
Higher SWE-bench (65.2%).
Lower output list price ($1.029/1M).
Lower TTFT (380 ms).
Larger window (164k).
DeepSeek R1 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 V3 | Lower output list price ($1.029/1M). |
| Voice / low-latency UI | DeepSeek V3 | Lower TTFT (380 ms). |
| Long-document RAG | DeepSeek V3 | Larger window (164k). |
| Screenshots / vision | DeepSeek R1 | DeepSeek R1 is the side marked multimodal in the catalog. |
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