Model Comparison
DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B vs Grok-3Which is better in 2026?
Grok-3 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B is 34.3x cheaper per token.
Verdict: DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B vs Grok-3 — which is better?
DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B (by DeepSeek) and Grok-3 (by xAI) 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.
DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Grok-3 is better at 3 benchmarks (AIME 2024, GPQA, LiveCodeBench). Grok-3 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
On price, DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B is roughly 34.3x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Choose DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B if…
- cost matters — it's about 34.3x cheaper per token
- you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune
Choose Grok-3 if…
- you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 3 of 3 shared benchmarks
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Feb 2025
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Grok-3 is better at 3 benchmarks (AIME 2024, GPQA, LiveCodeBench).
Grok-3 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Arena Performance
Human preference votes
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B ($0.10/1M tokens) is 30.0x cheaper than Grok-3 ($3.00/1M tokens).
For output processing, DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B ($0.40/1M tokens) is 37.5x cheaper than Grok-3 ($15.00/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Grok-3 is more expensive than DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Both models have the same input context window of 128,000 tokens. DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B can generate longer responses up to 128,000 tokens, while Grok-3 is limited to 8,000 tokens.
Input Capabilities
Supported data types and modalities
Grok-3 supports multimodal inputs, whereas DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B does not.
Grok-3 can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.
DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B
Grok-3
License
Usage and distribution terms
DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B is licensed under MIT, while Grok-3 uses a proprietary license.
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
MIT
Open weights
Proprietary
Closed source
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B was released on 2025-01-20, while Grok-3 was released on 2025-02-17.
Grok-3 is 1 month newer than DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B.
Jan 20, 2025
1.4 years ago
Feb 17, 2025
1.4 years ago
4w newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Grok-3 has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2024-11-17, while DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B's cutoff date is not specified.
We can confirm Grok-3's training data extends to 2024-11-17, but cannot make a direct comparison without DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B's cutoff date.
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Nov 2024
Provider Availability
DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B is available from DeepInfra. Grok-3 is available from xAI.
DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B
Grok-3
Outputs Comparison
Key Takeaways
DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70BGrok-3Detailed Comparison
Interactive Arena
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B and Grok-3 side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
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FAQ
Common questions about DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B vs Grok-3.