Model Comparison

DeepSeek VL2 vs Grok-3Which is better in 2026?

Grok-3 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Verdict: DeepSeek VL2 vs Grok-3 — which is better?

DeepSeek VL2 (by DeepSeek) and Grok-3 (by xAI) 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 VL2 outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Grok-3 is better at 1 benchmark (MMMU). Grok-3 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

DeepSeek VL2 also accepts a larger context window (129,280 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.

Choose DeepSeek VL2 if…

  • you process long inputs — it offers a 129,280 token context window
  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune

Choose Grok-3 if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 1 of 1 shared benchmarks
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Feb 2025
Want to compare interactively?Try the playground

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

1 benchmarks

DeepSeek VL2 outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Grok-3 is better at 1 benchmark (MMMU).

Grok-3 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Thu Jun 25 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

DeepSeek VL2 accepts 129,280 input tokens compared to Grok-3's 128,000 tokens. DeepSeek VL2 can generate longer responses up to 129,280 tokens, while Grok-3 is limited to 8,000 tokens.

DeepSeek
DeepSeek VL2
Input129,280 tokens
Output129,280 tokens
xAI
Grok-3
Input128,000 tokens
Output8,000 tokens
Thu Jun 25 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Both DeepSeek VL2 and Grok-3 support multimodal inputs.

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

DeepSeek VL2

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Grok-3

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

DeepSeek VL2 is licensed under deepseek, while Grok-3 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

Grok-3

Proprietary

Closed source

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

DeepSeek VL2 was released on 2024-12-13, while Grok-3 was released on 2025-02-17.

Grok-3 is 2 months newer than DeepSeek VL2.

DeepSeek VL2

Dec 13, 2024

1.5 years ago

Grok-3

Feb 17, 2025

1.4 years ago

2mo newer

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Grok-3 has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2024-11-17, while DeepSeek VL2's cutoff date is not specified.

We can confirm Grok-3's training data extends to 2024-11-17, but cannot make a direct comparison without DeepSeek VL2's cutoff date.

DeepSeek VL2

—

Grok-3

Nov 2024

Provider Availability

DeepSeek VL2 is available from Replicate. Grok-3 is available from xAI.

DeepSeek VL2

replicate logo
Replicate

Grok-3

xai logo
xAI
Input Price:Input: $3.00/1MOutput Price:Output: $15.00/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

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Key Takeaways

DeepSeek
Larger context window (129,280 tokens)
Has open weights
xAI
Higher MMMU score (78.0% vs 51.1%)
DeepSeekDeepSeek VL2
xAIGrok-3
Compare in Playground

Detailed Comparison

AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
DeepSeek
DeepSeek VL2
xAI
Grok-3

FAQ

Common questions about DeepSeek VL2 vs Grok-3.

Which is better, DeepSeek VL2 or Grok-3?

Grok-3 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. DeepSeek VL2 is made by DeepSeek and Grok-3 is made by xAI. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does DeepSeek VL2 compare to Grok-3 in benchmarks?

DeepSeek VL2 scores DocVQA: 93.3%, ChartQA: 86.0%, TextVQA: 84.2%, AI2D: 81.4%, OCRBench: 81.1%. Grok-3 scores AIME 2024: 93.3%, AIME 2025: 93.3%, GPQA: 84.6%, LiveCodeBench: 79.4%, MMMU: 78.0%.

What are the context window sizes for DeepSeek VL2 and Grok-3?

DeepSeek VL2 supports 129K tokens and Grok-3 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 VL2 and Grok-3?

Key differences include context window (129K vs 128K), licensing (deepseek vs Proprietary). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes DeepSeek VL2 and Grok-3?

DeepSeek VL2 is developed by DeepSeek and Grok-3 is developed by xAI.

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