DeepSeek Reasoner (R1) vs Grok 3
Performance benchmarks + pricing comparison — updated April 2026
DeepSeek Reasoner (R1)
DeepSeekDeepSeek's reasoning model. Comparable to OpenAI's o1 but at much lower cost.
| Input | $0.550/M |
| Output | $2.19/M |
| Context | 128K tokens |
| Best For | Complex reasoning, math, advanced coding |
| Benchmark | 72/100 |
Grok 3
xAIxAI's flagship model. Strong general-purpose capability with real-time knowledge access through X platform integration.
| Input | $3.00/M |
| Output | $15.00/M |
| Context | 128K tokens |
| Best For | General coding, research tasks, current-event-aware applications |
| Benchmark | 70/100 |
Benchmark Performance Comparison
Third-party benchmark scores — higher is better. Data sourced from SWE-bench, LiveCodeBench, HumanEval, and BigCodeBench.
| Benchmark | DeepSeek Reasoner (R1) | Grok 3 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Score | 72 | 70 | DeepSeek Reasoner (R1) leads by 2pts |
| SWE-bench Verified | 68 | 64 | DeepSeek Reasoner (R1) leads by 4pts |
| LiveCodeBench | 76 | 72 | DeepSeek Reasoner (R1) leads by 4pts |
| HumanEval | 90 | 88 | DeepSeek Reasoner (R1) leads by 2pts |
| BigCodeBench | 56 | 56 | DeepSeek Reasoner (R1) leads by 0pts |
Cost Comparison by Scenario
Estimated cost per project with 30% cache hit rate. Actual costs may vary based on usage patterns.
| Scenario | DeepSeek Reasoner (R1) | Grok 3 | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Script (1K lines) | $0.08 | $0.55 | DeepSeek Reasoner (R1) saves $0.47 (85%) |
| Medium Feature (10K lines) | $0.63 | $4.05 | DeepSeek Reasoner (R1) saves $3.42 (84%) |
| Large Project (50K lines) | $3.15 | $20.25 | DeepSeek Reasoner (R1) saves $17.10 (84%) |
| Code Review (5K lines) | $0.15 | $0.90 | DeepSeek Reasoner (R1) saves $0.75 (83%) |
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 Reasoner (R1) | 72 | $0.008/pt | Better value |
| Grok 3 | 70 | $0.043/pt | Higher cost per point |
DeepSeek Reasoner (R1) delivers the best value at $0.008 per score point.
Strengths & Weaknesses
DeepSeek Reasoner (R1)
- + Strong reasoning chain
- + Good value
- - Slow on simple tasks
Grok 3
- + Strong reasoning
- + X integration
- - Newer model
- - Limited ecosystem
Verdict
DeepSeek Reasoner (R1) wins on both price and performance — $0.550/M input with a benchmark score of 72/100.
For most developers, this is the clear choice between these two models.
Compare with Other Models
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Claude 3.5 Sonnet
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Claude 3.5 Haiku
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Claude 3 Opus
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Claude 3 Sonnet
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