Model Comparison
DeepSeek R1 Zero vs Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B v1Which is better in 2026?
Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B v1 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Verdict: DeepSeek R1 Zero vs Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B v1 — which is better?
DeepSeek R1 Zero (by DeepSeek) and Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B v1 (by NVIDIA) 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 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.
Choose DeepSeek R1 Zero if…
- you are already invested in the DeepSeek ecosystem
Choose Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B v1 if…
- you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 3 of 3 shared benchmarks
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Apr 2025
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
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.
Arena Performance
Human preference votes
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
DeepSeek R1 Zero has 418.0B more parameters than Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B v1, making it 165.2% larger.
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.
MIT
Open weights
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.
Jan 20, 2025
1.4 years ago
Apr 7, 2025
1.2 years ago
2mo newerKnowledge 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.
—
Dec 2023
Outputs Comparison
Key Takeaways
DeepSeek R1 Zero
View detailsDeepSeek
No standout differentiators in the data we have for this pair.
Detailed Comparison
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FAQ
Common questions about DeepSeek R1 Zero vs Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B v1.