Model Comparison

Claude Opus 4.5 vs DeepSeek-V3Which is better in 2026?

Claude Opus 4.5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. DeepSeek-V3 is 20.9x cheaper per token.

Verdict: Claude Opus 4.5 vs DeepSeek-V3 — which is better?

Claude Opus 4.5 (by Anthropic) and DeepSeek-V3 (by DeepSeek) are two of the AI models people compare most. Here is how they stack up on benchmarks, price and capabilities, and which one to pick in 2026.

Claude Opus 4.5 outperforms in 2 benchmarks (GPQA, SWE-Bench Verified), while DeepSeek-V3 is better at 0 benchmarks. Claude Opus 4.5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

On price, DeepSeek-V3 is roughly 20.9x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.

Claude Opus 4.5 also accepts a larger context window (200,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.

Choose Claude Opus 4.5 if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 2 of 2 shared benchmarks
  • you process long inputs — it offers a 200,000 token context window
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Nov 2025

Choose DeepSeek-V3 if…

  • cost matters — it's about 20.9x cheaper per token
  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune
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Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

2 benchmarks

Claude Opus 4.5 outperforms in 2 benchmarks (GPQA, SWE-Bench Verified), while DeepSeek-V3 is better at 0 benchmarks.

Claude Opus 4.5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Sat Jun 06 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

DeepSeek-V3 costs less

For input processing, Claude Opus 4.5 ($5.00/1M tokens) is 18.5x more expensive than DeepSeek-V3 ($0.27/1M tokens).

For output processing, Claude Opus 4.5 ($25.00/1M tokens) is 22.7x more expensive than DeepSeek-V3 ($1.10/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Claude Opus 4.5 is more expensive than DeepSeek-V3.*

* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens

Lowest available price from all providers
Sat Jun 06 2026 • llm-stats.com
Anthropic
Claude Opus 4.5
Input tokens$5.00
Output tokens$25.00
Best providerAnthropic
DeepSeek
DeepSeek-V3
Input tokens$0.27
Output tokens$1.10
Best providerDeepSeek
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue→

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Claude Opus 4.5 accepts 200,000 input tokens compared to DeepSeek-V3's 131,072 tokens. DeepSeek-V3 can generate longer responses up to 131,072 tokens, while Claude Opus 4.5 is limited to 64,000 tokens.

Anthropic
Claude Opus 4.5
Input200,000 tokens
Output64,000 tokens
DeepSeek
DeepSeek-V3
Input131,072 tokens
Output131,072 tokens
Sat Jun 06 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Claude Opus 4.5 supports multimodal inputs, whereas DeepSeek-V3 does not.

Claude Opus 4.5 can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.

Claude Opus 4.5

Text
Images
Audio
Video

DeepSeek-V3

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Claude Opus 4.5 is licensed under a proprietary license, while DeepSeek-V3 uses MIT + Model License (Commercial use allowed).

License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.

Claude Opus 4.5

Proprietary

Closed source

DeepSeek-V3

MIT + Model License (Commercial use allowed)

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Claude Opus 4.5 was released on 2025-11-24, while DeepSeek-V3 was released on 2024-12-25.

Claude Opus 4.5 is 11 months newer than DeepSeek-V3.

Claude Opus 4.5

Nov 24, 2025

6 months ago

11mo newer
DeepSeek-V3

Dec 25, 2024

1.4 years ago

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Claude Opus 4.5 has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2025-03-31, while DeepSeek-V3's cutoff date is not specified.

We can confirm Claude Opus 4.5's training data extends to 2025-03-31, but cannot make a direct comparison without DeepSeek-V3's cutoff date.

Claude Opus 4.5

Mar 2025

DeepSeek-V3

—

Provider Availability

Claude Opus 4.5 is available from Anthropic. DeepSeek-V3 is available from DeepSeek.

Claude Opus 4.5

anthropic logo
Anthropic
Input Price:Input: $5.00/1MOutput Price:Output: $25.00/1M

DeepSeek-V3

deepseek logo
DeepSeek
Input Price:Input: $0.27/1MOutput Price:Output: $1.10/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Key Takeaways

Anthropic
Larger context window (200,000 tokens)
Supports multimodal inputs
Higher GPQA score (87.0% vs 59.1%)
Higher SWE-Bench Verified score (80.9% vs 42.0%)
DeepSeek
Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens
Has open weights

Detailed Comparison

AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Anthropic
Claude Opus 4.5
DeepSeek
DeepSeek-V3

FAQ

Common questions about Claude Opus 4.5 vs DeepSeek-V3.

Which is better, Claude Opus 4.5 or DeepSeek-V3?

Claude Opus 4.5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Claude Opus 4.5 is made by Anthropic and DeepSeek-V3 is made by DeepSeek. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does Claude Opus 4.5 compare to DeepSeek-V3 in benchmarks?

Claude Opus 4.5 scores Tau2 Telecom: 98.2%, MMMLU: 90.8%, Tau2 Retail: 88.9%, GPQA: 87.0%, SWE-Bench Verified: 80.9%. DeepSeek-V3 scores DROP: 91.6%, CLUEWSC: 90.9%, MATH-500: 90.2%, MMLU-Redux: 89.1%, MMLU: 88.5%.

Is Claude Opus 4.5 cheaper than DeepSeek-V3?

DeepSeek-V3 is 18.5x cheaper for input tokens. Claude Opus 4.5 costs $5.00/M input and $25.00/M output via anthropic. DeepSeek-V3 costs $0.27/M input and $1.10/M output via deepseek.

What are the context window sizes for Claude Opus 4.5 and DeepSeek-V3?

Claude Opus 4.5 supports 200K tokens and DeepSeek-V3 supports 131K tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between Claude Opus 4.5 and DeepSeek-V3?

Key differences include context window (200K vs 131K), input pricing ($5.00 vs $0.27/M), multimodal support (yes vs no), licensing (Proprietary vs MIT + Model License (Commercial use allowed)). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Claude Opus 4.5 and DeepSeek-V3?

Claude Opus 4.5 is developed by Anthropic and DeepSeek-V3 is developed by DeepSeek.

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