DeepSeek-R1 vs Grok 3: which model should you choose?
We compared DeepSeek-R1 and Grok 3 on price, context window and 12 benchmarks. DeepSeek-R1 and Grok 3 are effectively tied on the index average; DeepSeek-R1 is cheaper on a blended 3:1 basis.
DeepSeek-R1
DeepSeek-R1 is a multimodal model from DeepSeek. It offers a 128,000-token context window, costs $5.83 per million input tokens and $25.23 per million output tokens, and averages 82.8 across the index's benchmark suite.
- Input
- $5.83 / 1M
- Output
- $25.23 / 1M
- Context
- 128,000
- Avg score
- 82.8
- Open weights
- Yes
Grok 3
Grok 3 is a multimodal model from xAI. It offers a 128,000-token context window, costs $15.84 per million input tokens and $70.31 per million output tokens, and averages 82.8 across the index's benchmark suite.
- Input
- $15.84 / 1M
- Output
- $70.31 / 1M
- Context
- 128,000
- Avg score
- 82.8
- Open weights
- No
Specification comparison
| Spec | DeepSeek-R1 | Grok 3 | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Input price / 1M | $5.83 | $15.84 | A |
| Output price / 1M | $25.23 | $70.31 | A |
| Context window | 128,000 | 128,000 | Tie |
| Max output | 4,096 | 4,096 | Tie |
| Average score | 82.8 | 82.8 | Tie |
| Arena Elo | 1454.1 | 1447.2 | A |
| Open weights | Yes | No | A |
Benchmark comparison
DeepSeek-R1 wins 6, Grok 3 wins 4, and 2 benchmarks are tied. The table shows the modelled score for each model and the gap.
| Benchmark | DeepSeek-R1 | Grok 3 | Gap | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MMLU-Pro | 83.8 | 81.9 | 1.9 | DeepSeek-R1 |
| GPQA Diamond | 77.8 | 80.0 | 2.2 | Grok 3 |
| SWE-bench Verified | 72.2 | 72.6 | 0.4 | Grok 3 |
| HumanEval | 86.4 | 85.3 | 1.1 | DeepSeek-R1 |
| MATH-500 | 89.1 | 88.7 | 0.4 | DeepSeek-R1 |
| AIME 2025 | 81.1 | 81.1 | 0.0 | Tie |
| LiveCodeBench | 77.4 | 74.3 | 3.1 | DeepSeek-R1 |
| IFEval | 91.0 | 91.0 | 0.0 | Tie |
| TruthfulQA | 82.9 | 85.4 | 2.5 | Grok 3 |
| HellaSwag | 89.8 | 91.4 | 1.6 | Grok 3 |
| MMMU | 79.5 | 79.1 | 0.4 | DeepSeek-R1 |
| Arena Elo | 1454.1 | 1447.2 | 6.9 | DeepSeek-R1 |
Price analysis
On a blended 3:1 input-to-output basis, DeepSeek-R1 costs about $10.68 per million tokens and Grok 3 costs about $29.46. DeepSeek-R1 is roughly 64% cheaper than Grok 3. At high volume, that gap compounds quickly, so price should carry real weight unless the quality difference is decisive.
Both models list a 128,000-token context window. That is enough for long documents, large codebases and multi-step agent traces.
Verdict
Across 12 shared benchmarks, DeepSeek-R1 wins 6, Grok 3 wins 4, and 2 are tied. The two models are effectively tied on the index average at 82.8.
The price picture favours DeepSeek-R1. The context picture is effectively a tie. Those two dimensions often matter more than a few benchmark points once a model is good enough for the task.
If you need a single default, start with DeepSeek-R1; it is cheaper on a blended basis and has the larger context window. Test it on your own traffic before committing.
Choose DeepSeek-R1 if
- Unit cost matters and you want the cheaper blended price.
- You need open weights for self-hosting or fine-tuning.
Choose Grok 3 if
- You prefer xAI's tooling or already use it.
FAQ
Is DeepSeek-R1 better than Grok 3?
The two models are effectively tied on the index average at 82.8. The better choice depends on price, context and your task. DeepSeek-R1 wins 6 benchmarks, Grok 3 wins 4.
Which is cheaper, DeepSeek-R1 or Grok 3?
DeepSeek-R1 is cheaper on a blended 3:1 basis at about $10.68 per million tokens, versus $29.46 for Grok 3.
Which has the larger context window?
Both models list a 128,000-token context window.
Are these models open weights?
DeepSeek-R1 is open weights; Grok 3 is proprietary.
Which should I choose for production?
If you need a single default, start with DeepSeek-R1; it is cheaper on a blended basis and has the larger context window. Test it on your own traffic before committing.