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DeepSeek R1 Zero vs Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B v1

DeepSeek R1 Zero and Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B v1 are closely matched at 16.0 and 19.1 on the LLM Stats Score.

DeepSeek · NVIDIA · Updated for 2026

Which is better?

DeepSeek R1 Zero and Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B v1 are closely matched on the overall LLM Stats Score at 16.0 and 19.1.

In the 3 individual benchmarks reported for both models, Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B v1 wins 3; 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 are already invested in the DeepSeek ecosystem

Choose Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B v1

  • you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 3 of 3 exact shared results
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Apr 2025

At a glance

The differences that matter most.

DeepSeek R1 Zero
DeepSeek
Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B v1
NVIDIA
Core performance indexes
LLM Stats Score
16.0
#225
19.1
#205
Reasoning
16.3
#215
18.8
#204
Coding
4.3
#208
12.4
#144
Cost, coverage & limits
Benchmark wins
0 of 3
3 of 3
Input price
— / M
— / M
Output price
— / M
— / M
Context window
—
—

Capability indexes

Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks

1 shared
Index
DeepSeek R1 Zero
Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B v1
Math
17.5#193
15.6#214
Conservative TrueSkill rating · higher is betterHow scores work

Individual benchmarks

4 reported for DeepSeek R1 Zero · 6 for Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B v1

3 shared

DeepSeek R1 Zero outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B v1 is better at 3 benchmarks (GPQA, LiveCodeBench, MATH-500).

Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B v1 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Mon Sep 14 2026 • llm-stats.com

Human preference

Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores

Model Size

Parameter count comparison

418.0B diff

DeepSeek R1 Zero has 418.0B more parameters than Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B v1, making it 165.2% larger.

DeepSeek
DeepSeek R1 Zero
671.0Bparameters
NVIDIA
Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B v1
253.0Bparameters
671.0B
DeepSeek R1 Zero
253.0B
Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B v1

License

Usage and distribution terms

DeepSeek R1 Zero is licensed under MIT, while Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B v1 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 Nemotron Ultra 253B v1

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 Nemotron Ultra 253B v1 was released on 2025-04-07.

Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B v1 is 3 months newer than DeepSeek R1 Zero.

DeepSeek R1 Zero

Jan 20, 2025

1.6 years ago

Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B v1

Apr 7, 2025

1.4 years ago

2mo newer

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B v1 has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2023-12-01, while DeepSeek R1 Zero's cutoff date is not specified.

We can confirm Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B v1's training data extends to 2023-12-01, but cannot make a direct comparison without DeepSeek R1 Zero's cutoff date.

DeepSeek R1 Zero

—

Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B v1

Dec 2023

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against DeepSeek R1 Zero and Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B v1 side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

DeepSeek R1 Zero
✓ Preferred
Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B v1
Open in Playground

FAQ

Common questions about DeepSeek R1 Zero vs Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B v1.

Which is better, DeepSeek R1 Zero or Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B v1?

DeepSeek R1 Zero and Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B v1 are closely matched on the LLM Stats Score at 16.0 and 19.1. DeepSeek R1 Zero is made by DeepSeek and Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B v1 is made by NVIDIA. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their capability indexes, individual benchmarks, pricing, and limits above.

How does DeepSeek R1 Zero compare to Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B v1 in benchmarks?

DeepSeek R1 Zero scores MATH-500: 95.9%, AIME 2024: 86.7%, GPQA: 73.3%, LiveCodeBench: 50.0%. Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B v1 scores MATH-500: 97.0%, IFEval: 89.5%, GPQA: 76.0%, BFCL v2: 74.1%, AIME 2025: 72.5%.

What are the main differences between DeepSeek R1 Zero and Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B v1?

Key differences include LLM Stats Score (16.0 vs 19.1), 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 Nemotron Ultra 253B v1?

DeepSeek R1 Zero is developed by DeepSeek and Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B v1 is developed by NVIDIA.

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