Model Comparison

Grok-3 vs DeepSeek VL2Which is better in 2026?

Grok-3 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

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

Grok-3 (by xAI) and DeepSeek VL2 (by DeepSeek) 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.

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

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
Want to compare interactively?Try the playground

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

1 benchmarks

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

Grok-3 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Sat Jun 13 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.

xAI
Grok-3
Input128,000 tokens
Output8,000 tokens
DeepSeek
DeepSeek VL2
Input129,280 tokens
Output129,280 tokens
Sat Jun 13 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Both Grok-3 and DeepSeek VL2 support multimodal inputs.

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

Grok-3

Text
Images
Audio
Video

DeepSeek VL2

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Grok-3 is licensed under a proprietary license, while DeepSeek VL2 uses deepseek.

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

Grok-3

Proprietary

Closed source

DeepSeek VL2

deepseek

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

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

Grok-3 is 2 months newer than DeepSeek VL2.

Grok-3

Feb 17, 2025

1.3 years ago

2mo newer
DeepSeek VL2

Dec 13, 2024

1.5 years ago

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.

Grok-3

Nov 2024

DeepSeek VL2

—

Provider Availability

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

Grok-3

xai logo
xAI
Input Price:Input: $3.00/1MOutput Price:Output: $15.00/1M

DeepSeek VL2

replicate logo
Replicate
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

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Key Takeaways

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

Detailed Comparison

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

FAQ

Common questions about Grok-3 vs DeepSeek VL2.

Which is better, Grok-3 or DeepSeek VL2?

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

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

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

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

Grok-3 supports 128K tokens and DeepSeek VL2 supports 129K tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between Grok-3 and DeepSeek VL2?

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

Who makes Grok-3 and DeepSeek VL2?

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

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