DeepSeek-V3.2 Base vs Sonar Pro Max: which model should you choose?
We compared DeepSeek-V3.2 Base and Sonar Pro Max on price, context window and 12 benchmarks. Sonar Pro Max has the stronger average benchmark score; DeepSeek-V3.2 Base is cheaper on a blended 3:1 basis.
DeepSeek-V3.2 Base
DeepSeek-V3.2 Base is a multimodal model from DeepSeek. It offers a 128,000-token context window, costs $5.05 per million input tokens and $27.10 per million output tokens, and averages 80.2 across the index's benchmark suite.
- Input
- $5.05 / 1M
- Output
- $27.10 / 1M
- Context
- 128,000
- Avg score
- 80.2
- Open weights
- Yes
Sonar Pro Max
Sonar Pro Max is a multimodal model from Perplexity. It offers a 128,000-token context window, costs $14.01 per million input tokens and $69.33 per million output tokens, and averages 81.1 across the index's benchmark suite.
- Input
- $14.01 / 1M
- Output
- $69.33 / 1M
- Context
- 128,000
- Avg score
- 81.1
- Open weights
- No
Specification comparison
| Spec | DeepSeek-V3.2 Base | Sonar Pro Max | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Input price / 1M | $5.05 | $14.01 | A |
| Output price / 1M | $27.10 | $69.33 | A |
| Context window | 128,000 | 128,000 | Tie |
| Max output | 128,000 | 4,096 | A |
| Average score | 80.2 | 81.1 | B |
| Arena Elo | 1417.9 | 1437.8 | B |
| Open weights | Yes | No | A |
Benchmark comparison
DeepSeek-V3.2 Base wins 3, Sonar Pro Max wins 9, and 0 benchmarks are tied. The table shows the modelled score for each model and the gap.
| Benchmark | DeepSeek-V3.2 Base | Sonar Pro Max | Gap | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MMLU-Pro | 84.3 | 83.7 | 0.6 | DeepSeek-V3.2 Base |
| GPQA Diamond | 77.1 | 78.8 | 1.7 | Sonar Pro Max |
| SWE-bench Verified | 69.1 | 71.7 | 2.6 | Sonar Pro Max |
| HumanEval | 82.8 | 85.1 | 2.3 | Sonar Pro Max |
| MATH-500 | 83.7 | 86.2 | 2.5 | Sonar Pro Max |
| AIME 2025 | 74.3 | 74.9 | 0.6 | Sonar Pro Max |
| LiveCodeBench | 73.1 | 75.7 | 2.6 | Sonar Pro Max |
| IFEval | 86.9 | 88.3 | 1.4 | Sonar Pro Max |
| TruthfulQA | 83.5 | 82.0 | 1.5 | DeepSeek-V3.2 Base |
| HellaSwag | 90.2 | 88.0 | 2.2 | DeepSeek-V3.2 Base |
| MMMU | 76.7 | 77.2 | 0.5 | Sonar Pro Max |
| Arena Elo | 1417.9 | 1437.8 | 19.9 | Sonar Pro Max |
Price analysis
On a blended 3:1 input-to-output basis, DeepSeek-V3.2 Base costs about $10.56 per million tokens and Sonar Pro Max costs about $27.84. DeepSeek-V3.2 Base is roughly 62% cheaper than Sonar Pro Max. 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-V3.2 Base wins 3, Sonar Pro Max wins 9, and 0 are tied. On the index average, Sonar Pro Max leads DeepSeek-V3.2 Base by 0.9 points (81.1 versus 80.2).
The price picture favours DeepSeek-V3.2 Base. 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 Sonar Pro Max for quality-sensitive work and DeepSeek-V3.2 Base for high-volume, well-scoped tasks. Run both on a sample of your own traffic before locking in a choice.
Choose DeepSeek-V3.2 Base if
- Unit cost matters and you want the cheaper blended price.
- You need the larger 128,000-token output limit.
- You need open weights for self-hosting or fine-tuning.
Choose Sonar Pro Max if
- You want the higher average benchmark score in this index.
FAQ
Is DeepSeek-V3.2 Base better than Sonar Pro Max?
On the index average, Sonar Pro Max leads DeepSeek-V3.2 Base by 0.9 points (81.1 versus 80.2). The better choice depends on price, context and your task. DeepSeek-V3.2 Base wins 3 benchmarks, Sonar Pro Max wins 9.
Which is cheaper, DeepSeek-V3.2 Base or Sonar Pro Max?
DeepSeek-V3.2 Base is cheaper on a blended 3:1 basis at about $10.56 per million tokens, versus $27.84 for Sonar Pro Max.
Which has the larger context window?
Both models list a 128,000-token context window.
Are these models open weights?
DeepSeek-V3.2 Base is open weights; Sonar Pro Max is proprietary.
Which should I choose for production?
If you need a single default, start with Sonar Pro Max for quality-sensitive work and DeepSeek-V3.2 Base for high-volume, well-scoped tasks. Run both on a sample of your own traffic before locking in a choice.