Model Comparison

DeepSeek VL2 vs Claude Opus 4Which is better in 2026?

Comparing DeepSeek VL2 and Claude Opus 4 across benchmarks, pricing, and capabilities.

Verdict: DeepSeek VL2 vs Claude Opus 4 — which is better?

DeepSeek VL2 (by DeepSeek) and Claude Opus 4 (by Anthropic) 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.

Claude Opus 4 also accepts a larger context window (200,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.

Choose DeepSeek VL2 if…

  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune

Choose Claude Opus 4 if…

  • you process long inputs — it offers a 200,000 token context window
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped May 2025
Want to compare interactively?Try the playground

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

No common benchmarks found

DeepSeek VL2 and Claude Opus 4don't have any common benchmark datasets to compare. They may have been evaluated on different testing suites.

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Claude Opus 4 accepts 200,000 input tokens compared to DeepSeek VL2's 129,280 tokens. DeepSeek VL2 can generate longer responses up to 129,280 tokens, while Claude Opus 4 is limited to 32,000 tokens.

DeepSeek
DeepSeek VL2
Input129,280 tokens
Output129,280 tokens
Anthropic
Claude Opus 4
Input200,000 tokens
Output32,000 tokens
Sat Jun 13 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Both DeepSeek VL2 and Claude Opus 4 support multimodal inputs.

They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.

DeepSeek VL2

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Claude Opus 4

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

DeepSeek VL2 is licensed under deepseek, while Claude Opus 4 uses a proprietary license.

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

DeepSeek VL2

deepseek

Open weights

Claude Opus 4

Proprietary

Closed source

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

DeepSeek VL2 was released on 2024-12-13, while Claude Opus 4 was released on 2025-05-22.

Claude Opus 4 is 5 months newer than DeepSeek VL2.

DeepSeek VL2

Dec 13, 2024

1.5 years ago

Claude Opus 4

May 22, 2025

1.1 years ago

5mo newer

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 VL2 is available from Replicate. Claude Opus 4 is available from Anthropic, Bedrock, Google.

DeepSeek VL2

replicate logo
Replicate

Claude Opus 4

anthropic logo
Anthropic
Input Price:Input: $15.00/1MOutput Price:Output: $75.00/1M
bedrock logo
AWS Bedrock
Input Price:Input: $15.00/1MOutput Price:Output: $75.00/1M
google logo
Google
Input Price:Input: $15.00/1MOutput Price:Output: $75.00/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Key Takeaways

DeepSeek
Has open weights
Anthropic
Larger context window (200,000 tokens)
DeepSeekDeepSeek VL2
AnthropicClaude Opus 4
Compare in Playground

Detailed Comparison

AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
DeepSeek
DeepSeek VL2
Anthropic
Claude Opus 4

FAQ

Common questions about DeepSeek VL2 vs Claude Opus 4.

Which is better, DeepSeek VL2 or Claude Opus 4?

DeepSeek VL2 (DeepSeek) and Claude Opus 4 (Anthropic) each have strengths in different areas. Compare their benchmark scores, pricing, context windows, and capabilities above to determine which fits your needs.

How does DeepSeek VL2 compare to Claude Opus 4 in benchmarks?

DeepSeek VL2 scores DocVQA: 93.3%, ChartQA: 86.0%, TextVQA: 84.2%, AI2D: 81.4%, OCRBench: 81.1%. Claude Opus 4 scores MMMLU: 88.8%, TAU-bench Retail: 81.4%, GPQA: 79.6%, MMMU (validation): 76.5%, AIME 2025: 75.5%.

What are the context window sizes for DeepSeek VL2 and Claude Opus 4?

DeepSeek VL2 supports 129K tokens and Claude Opus 4 supports 200K tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between DeepSeek VL2 and Claude Opus 4?

Key differences include context window (129K vs 200K), licensing (deepseek vs Proprietary). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes DeepSeek VL2 and Claude Opus 4?

DeepSeek VL2 is developed by DeepSeek and Claude Opus 4 is developed by Anthropic.

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