Model Comparison

Claude Opus 5 vs DeepSeek-V3.1Which is better in 2026?

Claude Opus 5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. DeepSeek-V3.1 is 22.1x cheaper per token.

Verdict: Claude Opus 5 vs DeepSeek-V3.1 — which is better?

Claude Opus 5 (by Anthropic) and DeepSeek-V3.1 (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 5 outperforms in 2 benchmarks (BrowseComp, Humanity's Last Exam), while DeepSeek-V3.1 is better at 0 benchmarks. Claude Opus 5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

On price, DeepSeek-V3.1 is roughly 22.1x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.

Claude Opus 5 also accepts a larger context window (1,000,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.

Choose Claude Opus 5 if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 2 of 2 shared benchmarks
  • you process long inputs — it offers a 1,000,000 token context window
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jul 2026

Choose DeepSeek-V3.1 if…

  • cost matters — it's about 22.1x cheaper per token
  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

2 benchmarks

Claude Opus 5 outperforms in 2 benchmarks (BrowseComp, Humanity's Last Exam), while DeepSeek-V3.1 is better at 0 benchmarks.

Claude Opus 5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Sun Jul 26 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

DeepSeek-V3.1 costs less

For input processing, Claude Opus 5 ($5.00/1M tokens) is 18.5x more expensive than DeepSeek-V3.1 ($0.27/1M tokens).

For output processing, Claude Opus 5 ($25.00/1M tokens) is 25.0x more expensive than DeepSeek-V3.1 ($1.00/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Claude Opus 5 is more expensive than DeepSeek-V3.1.*

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

Lowest available price from all providers
Sun Jul 26 2026 • llm-stats.com
Anthropic
Claude Opus 5
Input tokens$5.00
Output tokens$25.00
Best providerAnthropic
DeepSeek
DeepSeek-V3.1
Input tokens$0.27
Output tokens$1.00
Best providerDeepinfra
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue→

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Claude Opus 5 accepts 1,000,000 input tokens compared to DeepSeek-V3.1's 163,840 tokens. DeepSeek-V3.1 can generate longer responses up to 163,840 tokens, while Claude Opus 5 is limited to 128,000 tokens.

Anthropic
Claude Opus 5
Input1,000,000 tokens
Output128,000 tokens
DeepSeek
DeepSeek-V3.1
Input163,840 tokens
Output163,840 tokens
Sun Jul 26 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Claude Opus 5 supports multimodal inputs, whereas DeepSeek-V3.1 does not.

Claude Opus 5 can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.

Claude Opus 5

Text
Images
Audio
Video

DeepSeek-V3.1

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Claude Opus 5 is licensed under a proprietary license, while DeepSeek-V3.1 uses MIT.

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

Claude Opus 5

Proprietary

Closed source

DeepSeek-V3.1

MIT

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Claude Opus 5 was released on 2026-07-24, while DeepSeek-V3.1 was released on 2025-01-10.

Claude Opus 5 is 19 months newer than DeepSeek-V3.1.

Claude Opus 5

Jul 24, 2026

1 days ago

1.5yr newer
DeepSeek-V3.1

Jan 10, 2025

1.5 years ago

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.

Unable to compare the recency of their training data.

No cutoff dates available

Provider Availability

Claude Opus 5 is available from Anthropic. DeepSeek-V3.1 is available from DeepInfra, Novita.

Claude Opus 5

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

DeepSeek-V3.1

deepinfra logo
Deepinfra
Input Price:Input: $0.27/1MOutput Price:Output: $1.00/1M
novita logo
Novita
Input Price:Input: $0.27/1MOutput Price:Output: $1.00/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Key Takeaways

Anthropic
Larger context window (1,000,000 tokens)
Supports multimodal inputs
Higher BrowseComp score (90.8% vs 30.0%)
Higher Humanity's Last Exam score (64.7% vs 15.9%)
DeepSeek
Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens
Has open weights

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against Claude Opus 5 and DeepSeek-V3.1 side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Claude Opus 5
✓ Preferred
DeepSeek-V3.1
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Anthropic
Claude Opus 5
DeepSeek
DeepSeek-V3.1

FAQ

Common questions about Claude Opus 5 vs DeepSeek-V3.1.

Which is better, Claude Opus 5 or DeepSeek-V3.1?

Claude Opus 5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Claude Opus 5 is made by Anthropic and DeepSeek-V3.1 is made by DeepSeek. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does Claude Opus 5 compare to DeepSeek-V3.1 in benchmarks?

Claude Opus 5 scores BrowseComp: 90.8%, BioMysteryBench: 90.1%, OSWorld 2.0: 70.6%, DeepSWE 1.1: 68.8%, Humanity's Last Exam: 64.7%. DeepSeek-V3.1 scores SimpleQA: 93.4%, MMLU-Redux: 91.8%, MMLU-Pro: 83.7%, GPQA: 74.9%, CodeForces: 69.7%.

Is Claude Opus 5 cheaper than DeepSeek-V3.1?

DeepSeek-V3.1 is 18.5x cheaper for input tokens. Claude Opus 5 costs $5.00/M input and $25.00/M output via anthropic. DeepSeek-V3.1 costs $0.27/M input and $1.00/M output via deepinfra.

What are the context window sizes for Claude Opus 5 and DeepSeek-V3.1?

Claude Opus 5 supports 1.0M tokens and DeepSeek-V3.1 supports 164K 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 5 and DeepSeek-V3.1?

Key differences include context window (1.0M vs 164K), input pricing ($5.00 vs $0.27/M), multimodal support (yes vs no), licensing (Proprietary vs MIT). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Claude Opus 5 and DeepSeek-V3.1?

Claude Opus 5 is developed by Anthropic and DeepSeek-V3.1 is developed by DeepSeek.

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