Anthropic vs DeepSeek
Complete comparison of Anthropic (7 models) and DeepSeek (3 models) for AI coding projects. Updated April 2026.
Quick Verdict
Anthropic offers 7 models ranging from $0.250 to $15.00 per million input tokens. Cheapest: Claude 3 Haiku.
DeepSeek offers 3 models ranging from $0.270 to $0.550 per million input tokens. Cheapest: DeepSeek Chat V3.
Winner on price: Anthropic ($0.250/M input). Winner on average: DeepSeek (avg $0.363/M).
Winner Per Scenario
Which provider has the cheapest model for each coding scenario?
| Scenario | Anthropic Best | DeepSeek Best | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Script (1K lines) | Claude 3 Haiku — $0.05 | DeepSeek Chat V3 — $0.04 | DeepSeek wins by <$0.01 |
| Medium Feature (10K lines) | Claude 3 Haiku — $0.34 | DeepSeek Chat V3 — $0.31 | DeepSeek wins by $0.02 |
| Large Project (50K lines) | Claude 3 Haiku — $1.69 | DeepSeek Chat V3 — $1.57 | DeepSeek wins by $0.11 |
| Code Review (5K lines) | Claude 3 Haiku — $0.07 | DeepSeek Chat V3 — $0.07 | DeepSeek wins by <$0.01 |
Head-to-Head Model Comparisons
Each Anthropic model matched against its closest-priced DeepSeek competitor. Medium project cost (500K input + 200K output).
| Anthropic | DeepSeek | Cost | Cost | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Sonnet 4 | DeepSeek Reasoner (R1) | $4.66 | $0.63 | DeepSeek Reasoner (R1) saves $4.02 (86%) |
| Claude Opus 4 | DeepSeek Reasoner (R1) | $23.29 | $0.63 | DeepSeek Reasoner (R1) saves $22.66 (97%) |
| Claude 3.5 Sonnet | DeepSeek Reasoner (R1) | $4.66 | $0.63 | DeepSeek Reasoner (R1) saves $4.02 (86%) |
| Claude 3.5 Haiku | DeepSeek Reasoner (R1) | $1.24 | $0.63 | DeepSeek Reasoner (R1) saves $0.61 (49%) |
| Claude 3 Opus | DeepSeek Reasoner (R1) | $20.25 | $0.63 | DeepSeek Reasoner (R1) saves $19.62 (97%) |
| Claude 3 Sonnet | DeepSeek Reasoner (R1) | $4.05 | $0.63 | DeepSeek Reasoner (R1) saves $3.42 (84%) |
| Claude 3 Haiku | DeepSeek Chat V3 | $0.34 | $0.31 | DeepSeek Chat V3 saves $0.02 (7%) |
Full Ranking — All 10 Models
Every model from both providers, ranked by medium project cost.
| # | Model | Provider | Input ($/M) | Medium Project |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DeepSeek Chat V3 | DeepSeek | $0.270 | $0.31 |
| 2 | DeepSeek Coder V2 | DeepSeek | $0.270 | $0.31 |
| 3 | Claude 3 Haiku | Anthropic | $0.250 | $0.34 |
| 4 | DeepSeek Reasoner (R1) | DeepSeek | $0.550 | $0.63 |
| 5 | Claude 3.5 Haiku | Anthropic | $0.800 | $1.24 |
| 6 | Claude 3 Sonnet | Anthropic | $3.00 | $4.05 |
| 7 | Claude Sonnet 4 | Anthropic | $3.00 | $4.66 |
| 8 | Claude 3.5 Sonnet | Anthropic | $3.00 | $4.66 |
| 9 | Claude 3 Opus | Anthropic | $15.00 | $20.25 |
| 10 | Claude Opus 4 | Anthropic | $15.00 | $23.29 |
Explore Individual Comparisons
Detailed side-by-side comparisons between specific models.