Model Comparison
DeepSeek R1 Zero vs Grok-3Which is better in 2026?
Grok-3 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Verdict: DeepSeek R1 Zero vs Grok-3 — which is better?
DeepSeek R1 Zero (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 Zero outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Grok-3 is better at 3 benchmarks (AIME 2024, GPQA, LiveCodeBench). Grok-3 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Choose DeepSeek R1 Zero if…
- 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 Zero 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
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Only Grok-3 specifies input context (128,000 tokens). Only Grok-3 specifies output context (8,000 tokens).
Input Capabilities
Supported data types and modalities
Grok-3 supports multimodal inputs, whereas DeepSeek R1 Zero does not.
Grok-3 can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.
DeepSeek R1 Zero
Grok-3
License
Usage and distribution terms
DeepSeek R1 Zero 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 Zero was released on 2025-01-20, while Grok-3 was released on 2025-02-17.
Grok-3 is 1 month newer than DeepSeek R1 Zero.
Jan 20, 2025
1.4 years ago
Feb 17, 2025
1.3 years ago
4w newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Grok-3 has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2024-11-17, while DeepSeek R1 Zero'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 Zero's cutoff date.
—
Nov 2024
Outputs Comparison
Key Takeaways
DeepSeek R1 Zero
View detailsDeepSeek
DeepSeek R1 ZeroGrok-3Detailed Comparison
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FAQ
Common questions about DeepSeek R1 Zero vs Grok-3.