Model Comparison

DeepSeek R1 Zero vs Llama 3.1 8B InstructWhich is better in 2026?

DeepSeek R1 Zero significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Verdict: DeepSeek R1 Zero vs Llama 3.1 8B Instruct — which is better?

DeepSeek R1 Zero (by DeepSeek) and Llama 3.1 8B Instruct (by Meta) 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 1 benchmarks (GPQA), while Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is better at 0 benchmarks. DeepSeek R1 Zero significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Choose DeepSeek R1 Zero if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 1 of 1 shared benchmarks
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jan 2025

Choose Llama 3.1 8B Instruct if…

  • you want predictable pricing at $0.03/M input and $0.03/M output

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

1 benchmarks

DeepSeek R1 Zero outperforms in 1 benchmarks (GPQA), while Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is better at 0 benchmarks.

DeepSeek R1 Zero significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Thu Jul 02 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Model Size

Parameter count comparison

663.0B diff

DeepSeek R1 Zero has 663.0B more parameters than Llama 3.1 8B Instruct, making it 8287.5% larger.

DeepSeek
DeepSeek R1 Zero
671.0Bparameters
Meta
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
8.0Bparameters
671.0B
DeepSeek R1 Zero
8.0B
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Only Llama 3.1 8B Instruct specifies input context (131,072 tokens). Only Llama 3.1 8B Instruct specifies output context (131,072 tokens).

DeepSeek
DeepSeek R1 Zero
Input- tokens
Output- tokens
Meta
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
Input131,072 tokens
Output131,072 tokens
Thu Jul 02 2026 • llm-stats.com

License

Usage and distribution terms

DeepSeek R1 Zero is licensed under MIT, while Llama 3.1 8B Instruct uses Llama 3.1 Community License.

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

DeepSeek R1 Zero

MIT

Open weights

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct

Llama 3.1 Community License

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

DeepSeek R1 Zero was released on 2025-01-20, while Llama 3.1 8B Instruct was released on 2024-07-23.

DeepSeek R1 Zero is 6 months newer than Llama 3.1 8B Instruct.

DeepSeek R1 Zero

Jan 20, 2025

1.4 years ago

6mo newer
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct

Jul 23, 2024

1.9 years ago

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2023-12-31, while DeepSeek R1 Zero's cutoff date is not specified.

We can confirm Llama 3.1 8B Instruct's training data extends to 2023-12-31, but cannot make a direct comparison without DeepSeek R1 Zero's cutoff date.

DeepSeek R1 Zero

—

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct

Dec 2023

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Key Takeaways

DeepSeek
Higher GPQA score (73.3% vs 30.4%)
Meta
Larger context window (131,072 tokens)

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against DeepSeek R1 Zero and Llama 3.1 8B Instruct side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

DeepSeek R1 Zero
✓ Preferred
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
DeepSeek
DeepSeek R1 Zero
Meta
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct

FAQ

Common questions about DeepSeek R1 Zero vs Llama 3.1 8B Instruct.

Which is better, DeepSeek R1 Zero or Llama 3.1 8B Instruct?

DeepSeek R1 Zero significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. DeepSeek R1 Zero is made by DeepSeek and Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is made by Meta. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does DeepSeek R1 Zero compare to Llama 3.1 8B Instruct in benchmarks?

DeepSeek R1 Zero scores MATH-500: 95.9%, AIME 2024: 86.7%, GPQA: 73.3%, LiveCodeBench: 50.0%. Llama 3.1 8B Instruct scores GSM-8K (CoT): 84.5%, ARC-C: 83.4%, API-Bank: 82.6%, IFEval: 80.4%, BFCL: 76.1%.

What are the context window sizes for DeepSeek R1 Zero and Llama 3.1 8B Instruct?

DeepSeek R1 Zero supports an unknown number of tokens and Llama 3.1 8B Instruct 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 DeepSeek R1 Zero and Llama 3.1 8B Instruct?

Key differences include licensing (MIT vs Llama 3.1 Community License). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes DeepSeek R1 Zero and Llama 3.1 8B Instruct?

DeepSeek R1 Zero is developed by DeepSeek and Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is developed by Meta.

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