Head-to-head comparison

Claude Opus 4.6 vs. DeepSeek-V4-Pro

Compare published benchmark results from matching versions and cohorts, API pricing, and technical specifications. Any documented test setup differences remain visible.

shared result series: 3
distinct benchmarks: 3
latest retrieval: 2026-09-29

First modelSecond model

Specifications

General specifications

Release date, availability, context window, architecture, and published parameter counts at a glance. Undisclosed details remain marked as unavailable.

Specifications for Claude Opus 4.6 and DeepSeek-V4-Pro
Attribute	Claude Opus 4.6	DeepSeek-V4-Pro
Provider	Anthropic	DeepSeek
Released	Feb 2026	Apr 24, 2026
Availability	Active	Active
Model type	Proprietary	Open Weights
Parameters	Not published	1.6T, 49B active
Architecture	Not published	Mixture of Experts
Context window	1,000,000 tokens	1,000,000 tokens
Knowledge cutoff	May 2025	Not published
Technical sources	Model, Context	Model, Context

Pricing

API pricing compared

The table compares official standard API rates per 1M tokens, including published cache pricing. Batch, fast, priority, regional surcharges, tool calls, and cloud platform pricing are excluded.

API pricing for Claude Opus 4.6 and DeepSeek-V4-Pro
Price type	Claude Opus 4.6	DeepSeek-V4-Pro
API input	$5	$0.66 (Off-Peak)
API output	$25	$1.98 (Off-Peak)
Cache read	$0.5	$0.022 (Off-Peak)
Cache write (5 min.)	$6.25	Not listed
Cache write (1 hr.)	$10	Not listed
Price verified	09/22/2026 Source	09/22/2026 Source
DeepSeek-V4-Pro: peak pricing is $1.32 input / $3.96 output per 1M tokens during Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, 01:00-04:00 UTC; Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, 06:00-10:00 UTC; off-peak rates apply at all other times.

Claude Opus 4.6DeepSeek-V4-Pro

API inputUSD per 1M tokens, base tier

Claude Opus 4.6$5

DeepSeek-V4-Pro$0.66

API outputUSD per 1M tokens, base tier

Claude Opus 4.6$25

DeepSeek-V4-Pro$1.98

Cache readUSD per 1M tokens, base tier

Claude Opus 4.6$0.5

DeepSeek-V4-Pro$0.022

Key to the marks:better valuebetter, but not conclusivetie

Pricing by provider

Direct developer pricing and provider endpoint tariffs routed through OpenRouter are listed separately. Prices are in USD per 1M tokens. Context-dependent direct tiers plus regional, Flex, Priority, and other OpenRouter tariffs remain individually identifiable.

Provider pricing for Claude Opus 4.6 and DeepSeek-V4-Pro
Model	Provider	Purchase route and tariff	Input per 1M tokens	Output per 1M tokens	Source
Claude Opus 4.6	Anthropic	Direct from developerStandard API	Lowest listed price: $5	Lowest listed price: $25	Source09/22/2026
	Amazon Bedrock	Via OpenRouteramazon-bedrock	Lowest listed price: $5	Lowest listed price: $25	Source10/15/2026
	Anthropic	Via OpenRouteranthropic	Lowest listed price: $5	Lowest listed price: $25	Source10/15/2026
	Azure	Via OpenRouterazure/global	Lowest listed price: $5	Lowest listed price: $25	Source10/15/2026
	Claude Platform on AWS	Via OpenRouterclaude-on-aws	Lowest listed price: $5	Lowest listed price: $25	Source10/15/2026
	Google	Via OpenRoutergoogle-vertex/europe	$5.5	$27.5	Source10/15/2026
	Google	Via OpenRoutergoogle-vertex/global	Lowest listed price: $5	Lowest listed price: $25	Source10/15/2026
DeepSeek-V4-Pro	DeepSeek	Direct from developerStandard API	$0.66	$1.98	Source09/22/2026
	Alibaba	Via OpenRouteralibaba/us-east-1	$0.66	$1.98	Source10/15/2026
	AtlasCloud	Via OpenRouteratlas-cloud/fp8	$1.32	$3.96	Source10/15/2026
	Baidu	Via OpenRouterbaidu/fp8	$0.1452	Lowest listed price: $0.4356	Source10/15/2026
	Cloudflare	Via OpenRoutercloudflare	$1.32	$3.96	Source10/15/2026
	CoreWeave	Via OpenRoutercoreweave/fp8	$1.31	$3.96	Source10/15/2026
	DeepInfra	Via OpenRouterdeepinfra/fp8	$1.3	$2.6	Source10/15/2026
	DeepSeek	Via OpenRouterdeepseek	$0.66	$1.98	Source10/15/2026
	DigitalOcean	Via OpenRouterdigitalocean	$1.32	$3.96	Source10/15/2026
	GMICloud	Via OpenRoutergmicloud/fp8	$1.056	$3.168	Source10/15/2026
	Ionstream	Via OpenRouterionstream	$0.37	$2.93	Source10/15/2026
	Novita	Via OpenRouternovita/fp8	$0.99	$2.97	Source10/15/2026
	Parasail	Via OpenRouterparasail/fp8	$1.32	$3.96	Source10/15/2026
	Phala	Via OpenRouterphala	$0.957	$2.8776	Source10/15/2026
	Relace	Via OpenRouterrelace/fp4	Lowest listed price: $0.1307	$8	Source10/15/2026
	Sail Research	Via OpenRoutersail-research/fp4	$0.48	$1.98	Source10/15/2026
	Sail Research	Via OpenRoutersail-research/us	$0.48	$1.98	Source10/15/2026
	SiliconFlow	Via OpenRoutersiliconflow/fp8	$1.32	$3.96	Source10/15/2026
	StreamLake	Via OpenRouterstreamlake	$0.66	$1.98	Source10/15/2026
	Together	Via OpenRoutertogether	$1.32	$3.96	Source10/15/2026
	Venice	Via OpenRoutervenice	$1.65	$4.95	Source10/15/2026
	Wafer	Via OpenRouterwafer	$0.25	$5	Source10/15/2026

Performance

Shared benchmarks

Only published results with the same benchmark version, task, metric, and comparison cohort are paired. Different reasoning levels, agents, harnesses, or output limits appear directly in the table.

Capability profile from matched benchmarks

Each axis averages directly matched benchmark families. A value of 100 means the stronger value within this pair, not a universal quality score.

Not enough directly matched categories for a reliable radar

Only 2 of at least 5 categories have comparable, direct model measurements. The benchmark tables below show the available evidence without filling missing axes.

Claude Opus 4.6DeepSeek-V4-Pro

MedCodeOverall. Higher is better. No documented setup difference

Claude Opus 4.648.244 %

DeepSeek-V4-Pro40.455 %

MedScribeOverall. Higher is better. No documented setup difference

Claude Opus 4.686.738 %

DeepSeek-V4-Pro75.144 %

Vibe Code Bench v1.1Overall. Higher is better. No documented setup difference

Claude Opus 4.657.573 %

DeepSeek-V4-Pro49.931 %

Key to the marks:better valuebetter, but not conclusivetie

Benchmark scores for Claude Opus 4.6 and DeepSeek-V4-Pro
Benchmark and task	Claude Opus 4.6	DeepSeek-V4-Pro	Source
MedCodeOverall Test details No documented difference in the test setupVersion: 1Metric: accuracyScoring: Higher is better	Winner48.244 %	40.455 %	Vals AI Source details Data as of: 09/26/2026
MedScribeOverall Test details No documented difference in the test setupVersion: 1Metric: accuracyScoring: Higher is better	Winner86.738 %	75.144 %	Vals AI Source details Data as of: 09/26/2026
Vibe Code Bench v1.1Overall Test details No documented difference in the test setupVersion: 1.1Metric: accuracyScoring: Higher is betterSettings: Harness: OpenHands	Winner57.573 %	49.931 %	Vals AI Source details Data as of: 09/27/2026
Key to the marks:better valuebetter, but not conclusivetie

Our model tests

Our tests

SVG short test

One SVG prompt and fixed output settings. Captures are shown only with 0 reported reasoning tokens or documented lack of reasoning controls. Identical test conditions do not make the models' internal compute identical.

Shared test round: 4ae5d8eeb9a9

Claude Opus 4.6

DeepSeek-V4-Pro

Earlier tests

Pelican on a bicycle

A community classic for free-form SVG drawing.

Claude Opus 4.6

Reasoning (requested): high

Current attempt

Run date: Oct 1, 2026
API provider: openrouter
Requested API model: anthropic/claude-opus-4.6
API model reported in response: anthropic/claude-opus-4.6
Reasoning setting: high
Pinned endpoint: Anthropic | anthropic/claude-4.6-opus-20260205
Temperature: Provider default
Token limit including reasoning: 8,192 tokens
Test protocol: community-visual-tests-v1
Technical checks: Passed, not a quality rating
Response time: 85.1 s

Visually reviewed. This individual test does not establish overall model quality.

DeepSeek-V4-Pro

The response reached the token limit. No complete recording is available.

Reasoning (requested): high

Current attempt

Run date: Oct 5, 2026
API provider: openrouter
Requested API model: deepseek/deepseek-v4-pro-0813
API model reported in response: deepseek/deepseek-v4-pro-0813
Reasoning setting: high
Pinned endpoint: DeepSeek | deepseek/deepseek-v4-pro-20260813
Temperature: Provider default
Token limit including reasoning: 8,192 tokens
Test protocol: community-visual-tests-v1
Technical checks: Failed
Response time: 67.6 s

Not yet visually reviewed. A successful recording does not confirm correct physics or full compliance with the prompt.

Earlier attempts (3)

Oct 2, 2026API request failedReasoning setting: high
Oct 1, 2026API request failedReasoning setting: high
Sep 7, 2026API request failedReasoning setting: high

Prompt and test conditions

Generate an SVG of a pelican riding a bicycle

Token limit including reasoning: 8,192 tokens

Task origin (Simon Willison)

How to read this comparison

Winning one benchmark is not an overall verdict

Your workload, budget, and required context length matter most. A coding benchmark says little about visual understanding or agent performance.

The standard price table uses direct developer rates. The provider comparison labels OpenRouter endpoints, regions, and special tariffs separately.

Every result links to its measurement source and retrieval date. Labels distinguish vendor reports, official benchmark leaderboards, and independent evaluations. Disputed or archived results are excluded.

More matchups

Compare Claude Opus 4.6 and DeepSeek-V4-Pro with other leading models using the same data and benchmark logic.

View the complete LLM comparison

Claude Opus 4.6 vs. DeepSeek-V4-Pro

Change model selection

General specifications

API pricing compared

Shared benchmarks

Capability profile from matched benchmarks

Our tests

SVG short test

Claude Opus 4.6

DeepSeek-V4-Pro

Pelican on a bicycle

Winning one benchmark is not an overall verdict

Related LLM comparisons