DeepSeek Coder V2 vs Grok 3 Mini
Performance benchmarks + pricing comparison — updated April 2026
DeepSeek Coder V2
DeepSeekDeepSeek's coding-specialized model. Open-source and very affordable.
| Input | $0.270/M |
| Output | $1.10/M |
| Context | 128K tokens |
| Best For | Code generation, code review, debugging |
| Benchmark | 58/100 |
Grok 3 Mini
xAICost-effective xAI model for high-volume tasks. Good balance of capability and affordability.
| Input | $0.300/M |
| Output | $0.500/M |
| Context | 128K tokens |
| Best For | High-volume tasks, simple coding, cost-sensitive projects |
| Benchmark | 50/100 |
Benchmark Performance Comparison
Third-party benchmark scores — higher is better. Data sourced from SWE-bench, LiveCodeBench, HumanEval, and BigCodeBench.
| Benchmark | DeepSeek Coder V2 | Grok 3 Mini | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Score | 58 | 50 | DeepSeek Coder V2 leads by 8pts |
| SWE-bench Verified | 50 | 42 | DeepSeek Coder V2 leads by 8pts |
| LiveCodeBench | 60 | 52 | DeepSeek Coder V2 leads by 8pts |
| HumanEval | 82 | 72 | DeepSeek Coder V2 leads by 10pts |
| BigCodeBench | 42 | 36 | DeepSeek Coder V2 leads by 6pts |
Cost Comparison by Scenario
Estimated cost per project with 30% cache hit rate. Actual costs may vary based on usage patterns.
| Scenario | DeepSeek Coder V2 | Grok 3 Mini | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Script (1K lines) | $0.04 | $0.03 | Grok 3 Mini saves $0.02 (40%) |
| Medium Feature (10K lines) | $0.31 | $0.21 | Grok 3 Mini saves $0.11 (35%) |
| Large Project (50K lines) | $1.57 | $1.02 | Grok 3 Mini saves $0.55 (35%) |
| Code Review (5K lines) | $0.07 | $0.07 | Grok 3 Mini saves <$0.01 (13%) |
Value Analysis (Price per Benchmark Score Point)
Lower is better — how much you pay for each point of benchmark performance.
| Model | Overall Score | Price per Score Point | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| DeepSeek Coder V2 | 58 | $0.005/pt | Better value |
| Grok 3 Mini | 50 | $0.006/pt | Higher cost per point |
DeepSeek Coder V2 delivers the best value at $0.005 per score point.
Strengths & Weaknesses
DeepSeek Coder V2
- + Code-specialized
- + Very cheap
- - Limited general-purpose
Grok 3 Mini
- + Budget option
- + Fast
- - Limited capabilities
Verdict
DeepSeek Coder V2 wins on both price and performance — $0.270/M input with a benchmark score of 58/100.
For most developers, this is the clear choice between these two models.
Compare with Other Models
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Claude 3 Sonnet
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