Model Comparison

Claude Sonnet 4.5 vs DeepSeek-R1-0528

Claude Sonnet 4.5 shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks. DeepSeek-R1-0528 is 6.6x cheaper per token.

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

3 benchmarks

Claude Sonnet 4.5 outperforms in 2 benchmarks (GPQA, Terminal-Bench), while DeepSeek-R1-0528 is better at 1 benchmark (AIME 2025).

Claude Sonnet 4.5 shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.

Wed May 13 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

DeepSeek-R1-0528 costs less

For input processing, Claude Sonnet 4.5 ($3.00/1M tokens) is 6.0x more expensive than DeepSeek-R1-0528 ($0.50/1M tokens).

For output processing, Claude Sonnet 4.5 ($15.00/1M tokens) is 7.0x more expensive than DeepSeek-R1-0528 ($2.15/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Claude Sonnet 4.5 is more expensive than DeepSeek-R1-0528.*

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

Lowest available price from all providers
Wed May 13 2026 • llm-stats.com
Anthropic
Claude Sonnet 4.5
Input tokens$3.00
Output tokens$15.00
Best providerAnthropic
DeepSeek
DeepSeek-R1-0528
Input tokens$0.50
Output tokens$2.15
Best providerDeepinfra
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Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Claude Sonnet 4.5 accepts 200,000 input tokens compared to DeepSeek-R1-0528's 131,072 tokens. DeepSeek-R1-0528 can generate longer responses up to 131,072 tokens, while Claude Sonnet 4.5 is limited to 64,000 tokens.

Anthropic
Claude Sonnet 4.5
Input200,000 tokens
Output64,000 tokens
DeepSeek
DeepSeek-R1-0528
Input131,072 tokens
Output131,072 tokens
Wed May 13 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Claude Sonnet 4.5 supports multimodal inputs, whereas DeepSeek-R1-0528 does not.

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

Claude Sonnet 4.5

Text
Images
Audio
Video

DeepSeek-R1-0528

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Claude Sonnet 4.5 is licensed under a proprietary license, while DeepSeek-R1-0528 uses MIT.

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

Claude Sonnet 4.5

Proprietary

Closed source

DeepSeek-R1-0528

MIT

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Claude Sonnet 4.5 was released on 2025-09-29, while DeepSeek-R1-0528 was released on 2025-05-28.

Claude Sonnet 4.5 is 4 months newer than DeepSeek-R1-0528.

Claude Sonnet 4.5

Sep 29, 2025

7 months ago

4mo newer
DeepSeek-R1-0528

May 28, 2025

11 months ago

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Claude Sonnet 4.5 has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2025-01-31, while DeepSeek-R1-0528's cutoff date is not specified.

We can confirm Claude Sonnet 4.5's training data extends to 2025-01-31, but cannot make a direct comparison without DeepSeek-R1-0528's cutoff date.

Claude Sonnet 4.5

Jan 2025

DeepSeek-R1-0528

Provider Availability

Claude Sonnet 4.5 is available from Anthropic. DeepSeek-R1-0528 is available from DeepInfra, DeepSeek, Novita.

Claude Sonnet 4.5

anthropic logo
Anthropic
Input Price:Input: $3.00/1MOutput Price:Output: $15.00/1M

DeepSeek-R1-0528

deepinfra logo
Deepinfra
Input Price:Input: $0.50/1MOutput Price:Output: $2.15/1M
deepseek logo
DeepSeek
Input Price:Input: $0.55/1MOutput Price:Output: $2.19/1M
novita logo
Novita
Input Price:Input: $0.70/1MOutput Price:Output: $2.50/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

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Key Takeaways

Larger context window (200,000 tokens)
Supports multimodal inputs
Higher GPQA score (83.4% vs 81.0%)
Higher Terminal-Bench score (50.0% vs 5.7%)
Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens
Has open weights
Higher AIME 2025 score (87.5% vs 87.0%)

Detailed Comparison

AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Anthropic
Claude Sonnet 4.5
DeepSeek
DeepSeek-R1-0528

FAQ

Common questions about Claude Sonnet 4.5 vs DeepSeek-R1-0528.

Which is better, Claude Sonnet 4.5 or DeepSeek-R1-0528?

Claude Sonnet 4.5 shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks. Claude Sonnet 4.5 is made by Anthropic and DeepSeek-R1-0528 is made by DeepSeek. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does Claude Sonnet 4.5 compare to DeepSeek-R1-0528 in benchmarks?

Claude Sonnet 4.5 scores MMMLU: 89.1%, AIME 2025: 87.0%, TAU-bench Retail: 86.2%, GPQA: 83.4%, MMMUval: 77.8%. DeepSeek-R1-0528 scores MMLU-Redux: 93.4%, SimpleQA: 92.3%, AIME 2024: 91.4%, AIME 2025: 87.5%, MMLU-Pro: 85.0%.

Is Claude Sonnet 4.5 cheaper than DeepSeek-R1-0528?

DeepSeek-R1-0528 is 6.0x cheaper for input tokens. Claude Sonnet 4.5 costs $3.00/M input and $15.00/M output via anthropic. DeepSeek-R1-0528 costs $0.50/M input and $2.15/M output via deepinfra.

What are the context window sizes for Claude Sonnet 4.5 and DeepSeek-R1-0528?

Claude Sonnet 4.5 supports 200K tokens and DeepSeek-R1-0528 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 Sonnet 4.5 and DeepSeek-R1-0528?

Key differences include context window (200K vs 131K), input pricing ($3.00 vs $0.50/M), multimodal support (yes vs no), licensing (Proprietary vs MIT). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Claude Sonnet 4.5 and DeepSeek-R1-0528?

Claude Sonnet 4.5 is developed by Anthropic and DeepSeek-R1-0528 is developed by DeepSeek.