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DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 8B vs LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601

LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601 leads the LLM Stats Score 35.3 to 7.0.

DeepSeek · Meituan · Updated for 2026

Which is better?

LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601 leads the overall LLM Stats Score 35.3 to 7.0, ranking #89 overall.

In the 2 individual benchmarks reported for both models, LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601 wins 2; this is a narrower head-to-head signal than the composite indexes.

Based on current LLM Stats indexes, shared benchmarks, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.

Choose DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 8B

  • you are already invested in the DeepSeek ecosystem

Choose LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601

  • overall performance matters — it scores 35.3 and ranks #89 on LLM Stats
  • your work emphasizes reasoning and coding — it leads those capability indexes
  • you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 2 of 2 exact shared results
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jan 2026

At a glance

The differences that matter most.

DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 8B
DeepSeek
LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601
Meituan
Core performance indexes
LLM Stats Score
7.0
#293
35.3
#89
Reasoning
7.3
#285
35.5
#84
Coding
2.5
#227
18.8
#112
Cost, coverage & limits
Benchmark wins
0 of 2
2 of 2
Input price
— / M
$0.30 / M
Output price
— / M
$1.20 / M
Context window
—
128,000

Capability indexes

Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks

1 shared
Index
DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 8B
LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601
Math
10.8#248
30.5#74
Conservative TrueSkill rating · higher is betterHow scores work

Individual benchmarks

4 reported for DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 8B · 11 for LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601

2 shared

DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 8B outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601 is better at 2 benchmarks (GPQA, LiveCodeBench).

LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Tue Sep 22 2026 • llm-stats.com

Human preference

Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores

Model Size

Parameter count comparison

552.0B diff

LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601 has 552.0B more parameters than DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 8B, making it 6873.8% larger.

DeepSeek
DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 8B
8.0Bparameters
Meituan
LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601
560.0Bparameters
8.0B
DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 8B
560.0B
LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Only LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601 specifies input context (128,000 tokens). Only LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601 specifies output context (128,000 tokens).

DeepSeek
DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 8B
Input- tokens
Output- tokens
Meituan
LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601
Input128,000 tokens
Output128,000 tokens
Tue Sep 22 2026 • llm-stats.com

License

Usage and distribution terms

Both models are licensed under MIT.

Both models share the same licensing terms, providing consistent usage rights.

DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 8B

MIT

Open weights

LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601

MIT

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 8B was released on 2025-01-20, while LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601 was released on 2026-01-14.

LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601 is 12 months newer than DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 8B.

DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 8B

Jan 20, 2025

1.7 years ago

LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601

Jan 14, 2026

8 months ago

11mo newer

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

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 8B and LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601 side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 8B
✓ Preferred
LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601
Open in Playground

FAQ

Common questions about DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 8B vs LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601.

Which is better, DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 8B or LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601?

LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601 leads the LLM Stats Score 35.3 to 7.0. DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 8B is made by DeepSeek and LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601 is made by Meituan. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their capability indexes, individual benchmarks, pricing, and limits above.

How does DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 8B compare to LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601 in benchmarks?

DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 8B scores MATH-500: 89.1%, AIME 2024: 80.0%, GPQA: 49.0%, LiveCodeBench: 39.6%. LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601 scores AIME 2025: 99.6%, Tau2 Telecom: 99.3%, Tau2 Retail: 88.6%, LiveCodeBench: 82.8%, GPQA: 80.5%.

What are the context window sizes for DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 8B and LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601?

DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 8B supports an unknown number of tokens and LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601 supports 128K tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 8B and LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601?

Key differences include LLM Stats Score (7.0 vs 35.3). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 8B and LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601?

DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 8B is developed by DeepSeek and LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601 is developed by Meituan.

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