DeepSeek-V3 vs GPT-4o

DeepSeek-V3 and GPT-4o are closely matched at 15.8 and 14.4 on the LLM Stats Score. DeepSeek-V3 is 9.2x cheaper per token.

DeepSeek · OpenAI · Updated for 2026

Which is better?

DeepSeek-V3 and GPT-4o are closely matched on the overall LLM Stats Score at 15.8 and 14.4.

In the 9 individual benchmarks reported for both models, DeepSeek-V3 wins 7; this is a narrower head-to-head signal than the composite indexes.

On price, DeepSeek-V3 is roughly 9.2x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.

DeepSeek-V3 also accepts a larger context window (131,072 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.

Based on current LLM Stats indexes, shared benchmarks, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.

Choose DeepSeek-V3

you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 7 of 9 exact shared results
cost matters — it's about 9.2x cheaper per token
you process long inputs — it offers a 131,072 token context window
you want the most recent training data — it shipped Dec 2024
you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune

Choose GPT-4o

you want predictable pricing at $2.50/M input and $10.00/M output

At a glance

The differences that matter most.

Better token value: DeepSeek-V3

Core performance indexes

LLM Stats Score

15.8

#211 · 18 evals

Best

14.4

#221 · 37 evals

Reasoning

14.9

#213 · 13 evals

16.1

#203 · 31 evals

Best

Coding

6.5

#179 · 4 evals

Best

-0.3

#230 · 5 evals

Cost, coverage & limits

Benchmark wins

7 of 9

Best

2 of 9

Input price

$0.27 / M

Best

$2.50 / M

Output price

$1.10 / M

Best

$10.00 / M

Context window

131,072

Best

128,000

Capability indexes

Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks

3 shared

Index

DeepSeek-V3

GPT-4o

Math

18.2#173 · 7 evals

12.8#223 · 6 evals

Finance

20.1#79 · 2 evals

16.4#108 · 2 evals

Legal

20.1#63 · 2 evals

16.4#91 · 2 evals

Conservative TrueSkill rating · higher is betterHow scores work

Individual benchmarks

20 reported for DeepSeek-V3 · 38 for GPT-4o

9 shared

DeepSeek-V3 outperforms in 7 benchmarks (Aider-Polyglot, Aider-Polyglot Edit, AIME 2024, IFEval, MMLU, MMLU-Pro, SWE-Bench Verified), while GPT-4o is better at 2 benchmarks (GPQA, SimpleQA).

DeepSeek-V3 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Tue Sep 01 2026 • llm-stats.com

Human preference

Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

DeepSeek-V3 costs less

For input processing, DeepSeek-V3 ($0.27/1M tokens) is 9.3x cheaper than GPT-4o ($2.50/1M tokens).

For output processing, DeepSeek-V3 ($1.10/1M tokens) is 9.1x cheaper than GPT-4o ($10.00/1M tokens).

In conclusion, GPT-4o is more expensive than DeepSeek-V3.*

* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens

Lowest available price from all providers

Tue Sep 01 2026 • llm-stats.com

DeepSeek-V3

Input tokens$0.27

Output tokens$1.10

Best providerDeepSeek

GPT-4o

Input tokens$2.50

Output tokens$10.00

Best providerAzure

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue→

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

DeepSeek-V3 accepts 131,072 input tokens compared to GPT-4o's 128,000 tokens. DeepSeek-V3 can generate longer responses up to 131,072 tokens, while GPT-4o is limited to 16,384 tokens.

DeepSeek-V3

Input131,072 tokens

Output131,072 tokens

GPT-4o

Input128,000 tokens

Output16,384 tokens

Tue Sep 01 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input capabilities

Documented input modalities across available providers

GPT-4o supports multimodal inputs, whereas DeepSeek-V3 does not.

GPT-4o can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.

DeepSeek-V3

Text

Images

Audio

Video

GPT-4o

Text

Images

Audio

Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

DeepSeek-V3 is licensed under MIT + Model License (Commercial use allowed), while GPT-4o uses a proprietary license.

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

DeepSeek-V3

MIT + Model License (Commercial use allowed)

Open weights

GPT-4o

Proprietary

Closed source

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

DeepSeek-V3 was released on 2024-12-25, while GPT-4o was released on 2024-08-06.

DeepSeek-V3 is 5 months newer than GPT-4o.

DeepSeek-V3

Dec 25, 2024

1.7 years ago

4mo newer

GPT-4o

Aug 6, 2024

2.1 years ago

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.

Unable to compare the recency of their training data.

No cutoff dates available

Provider Availability

DeepSeek-V3 is available from DeepSeek. GPT-4o is available from Azure, OpenAI.

DeepSeek-V3

DeepSeek

Input Price:Input: $0.27/1MOutput Price:Output: $1.10/1M

GPT-4o

Azure

Input Price:Input: $2.50/1MOutput Price:Output: $10.00/1M

OpenAI

Input Price:Input: $2.50/1MOutput Price:Output: $10.00/1M

* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against DeepSeek-V3 and GPT-4o side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

DeepSeek-V3

✓ Preferred

GPT-4o

Open in Playground

FAQ

Common questions about DeepSeek-V3 vs GPT-4o.

Which is better, DeepSeek-V3 or GPT-4o?

DeepSeek-V3 and GPT-4o are closely matched on the LLM Stats Score at 15.8 and 14.4. DeepSeek-V3 is made by DeepSeek and GPT-4o is made by OpenAI. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their capability indexes, individual benchmarks, pricing, and limits above.

How does DeepSeek-V3 compare to GPT-4o in benchmarks?

DeepSeek-V3 scores DROP: 91.6%, CLUEWSC: 90.9%, MATH-500: 90.2%, MMLU-Redux: 89.1%, MMLU: 88.5%. GPT-4o scores AI2D: 94.2%, DocVQA: 92.8%, ChartQA: 85.7%, MMLU: 85.7%, CharXiv-D: 85.3%.

Is DeepSeek-V3 cheaper than GPT-4o?

DeepSeek-V3 is 9.3x cheaper for input tokens. DeepSeek-V3 costs $0.27/M input and $1.10/M output via deepseek. GPT-4o costs $2.50/M input and $10.00/M output via azure.

What are the context window sizes for DeepSeek-V3 and GPT-4o?

DeepSeek-V3 supports 131K tokens and GPT-4o supports 128K tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between DeepSeek-V3 and GPT-4o?

Key differences include LLM Stats Score (15.8 vs 14.4), context window (131K vs 128K), input pricing ($0.27 vs $2.50/M), multimodal support (no vs yes), licensing (MIT + Model License (Commercial use allowed) vs Proprietary). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes DeepSeek-V3 and GPT-4o?

DeepSeek-V3 is developed by DeepSeek and GPT-4o is developed by OpenAI.

DeepSeek-V3 vs GPT-4o