DeepSeek R1 Zero vs Grok-4 Heavy
Grok-4 Heavy leads the LLM Stats Score 40.7 to 16.0.
DeepSeek · xAI · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
Grok-4 Heavy leads the overall LLM Stats Score 40.7 to 16.0, ranking #54 overall.
In the 2 individual benchmarks reported for both models, Grok-4 Heavy 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 Zero
- you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune
Choose Grok-4 Heavy
- overall performance matters — it scores 40.7 and ranks #54 on LLM Stats
- your work emphasizes reasoning — it leads those capability indexes
- you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 2 of 2 exact shared results
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Capability indexes
Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks
Individual benchmarks
4 reported for DeepSeek R1 Zero · 6 for Grok-4 Heavy
DeepSeek R1 Zero outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Grok-4 Heavy is better at 2 benchmarks (GPQA, LiveCodeBench).
Grok-4 Heavy significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Human preference
Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores
Input capabilities
Documented input modalities across available providers
Grok-4 Heavy supports multimodal inputs, whereas DeepSeek R1 Zero does not.
Grok-4 Heavy can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.
DeepSeek R1 Zero
Grok-4 Heavy
License
Usage and distribution terms
DeepSeek R1 Zero is licensed under MIT, while Grok-4 Heavy 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-4 Heavy's release date is not specified.
We can confirm DeepSeek R1 Zero's release timeline, but cannot make a direct age comparison without Grok-4 Heavy's release date.
Jan 20, 2025
1.7 years ago
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Knowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Grok-4 Heavy has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2024-12-31, while DeepSeek R1 Zero's cutoff date is not specified.
We can confirm Grok-4 Heavy's training data extends to 2024-12-31, but cannot make a direct comparison without DeepSeek R1 Zero's cutoff date.
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Dec 2024
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against DeepSeek R1 Zero and Grok-4 Heavy side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about DeepSeek R1 Zero vs Grok-4 Heavy.