Pairwise benchmark snapshot · Aug 17, 2026
In this head-to-head showdown, DeepSeek V4 Pro delivers higher overall intelligence and human-preferred responses (Elo 1,536 vs 1,518), while DeepSeek V4 Pro leads in SWE-bench software engineering benchmarks (71.6%), while Qwen 3 Max is more budget-friendly at $3.9/1M per 1M output tokens. Review the complete breakdown below to determine which model best fits your performance and budget requirements.
10 direct benchmark disciplines evaluated across capability, speed, and cost
Open-weight-adjacent DeepSeek flagship. High reasoning density per dollar.
Alibaba flagship. Strong math and multilingual code.
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 18 Arena Elo pts
80 tok/s
$3.9 / 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 V4 Pro | Qwen 3 Max | Advantage Delta |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preference Elo | +18 | ||
| Coding Elo | +18 | ||
| LiveBench | +0.7% | ||
| SWE-bench | +3.8% | ||
| GPQA Diamond | +0.9% | ||
| Time to first token | +130 ms | ||
| Output speed | 70 tok/s | 80 tok/s | +10 tok/s |
| Input price | $1.32/1M | $0.78/1M | +$0.54/1M |
| Output price | $3.96/1M | $3.9/1M | +$0.06/1M |
| Context window | +786k |
Simulate monthly production API costs in USD (US Dollar).
Qwen 3 Max is estimated to save $19.80/month ($238/year).
Higher SWE-bench (71.6%).
Lower output list price ($3.9/1M).
Lower TTFT (280 ms).
Larger window (1M).
Qwen 3 Max is the side marked multimodal in the catalog.
| Target Workload | Recommended Pick | Evaluation Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Repo / coding agents | DeepSeek V4 Pro | Higher SWE-bench (71.6%). |
| High-volume chat | Qwen 3 Max | Lower output list price ($3.9/1M). |
| Voice / low-latency UI | Qwen 3 Max | Lower TTFT (280 ms). |
| Long-document RAG | DeepSeek V4 Pro | Larger window (1M). |
| Screenshots / vision | Qwen 3 Max | Qwen 3 Max is the side marked multimodal in the catalog. |
Top DeepSeek vs top Anthropic Elo. Usually V4 Pro vs Opus 5. License and invoice decide as much as Elo.
2026-06 open-weight-adjacent flagship. The usual cheap-vs-Claude question starts here.
Closed flagship. Strong math. Compare to Sol and Opus on GPQA and SWE-bench, not on brand heat.
Sep 2025 open-weight mixture-of-experts. Self-host path. Don’t confuse it with Qwen 3 Max.
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Verified Head-to-Head Telemetry
compare · Jun 13, 2026
DeepSeek vs Claude: the cheap-versus-frontier question, remapped
launch · Jun 12, 2026
DeepSeek V4 Pro: high reasoning density per dollar
launch · Apr 18, 2026
Qwen 3 Max: Alibaba’s flagship for math and multilingual code
launch · Sep 20, 2025
Qwen3 235B: the open MoE Qwen, not the Max SKU
