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Head-to-head comparison

Claude Sonnet 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
20
distinct benchmarks
20
latest retrieval
2026-09-29

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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 Sonnet 4.6 and DeepSeek-V4-Pro
AttributeClaude Sonnet 4.6DeepSeek-V4-Pro
ProviderAnthropicDeepSeek
ReleasedFeb 2026Apr 24, 2026
AvailabilityActiveActive
Model typeProprietaryOpen Weights
ParametersNot published1.6T, 49B active
ArchitectureNot publishedMixture of Experts
Context window1,000,000 tokens1,000,000 tokens
Knowledge cutoffAugust 2025Not published
Technical sourcesModel, ContextModel, 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 Sonnet 4.6 and DeepSeek-V4-Pro
Price typeClaude Sonnet 4.6DeepSeek-V4-Pro
API input$3$0.66 (Off-Peak)
API output$15$1.98 (Off-Peak)
Cache read$0.3$0.02 (Off-Peak)
Cache write (5 min.)$3.75Not listed
Cache write (1 hr.)$6Not listed
Price verified09/22/2026 Source09/22/2026 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 Sonnet 4.6DeepSeek-V4-Pro
API inputUSD per 1M tokens, base tier
Claude Sonnet 4.6$3
DeepSeek-V4-ProLower price$0.66
API outputUSD per 1M tokens, base tier
Claude Sonnet 4.6$15
DeepSeek-V4-ProLower price$1.98
Cache readUSD per 1M tokens, base tier
Claude Sonnet 4.6$0.3
DeepSeek-V4-ProLower price$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 Sonnet 4.6 and DeepSeek-V4-Pro
ModelProviderPurchase route and tariffInput per 1M tokensOutput per 1M tokensSource
Claude Sonnet 4.6AnthropicDirect from developerStandard APILowest listed price: $3Lowest listed price: $15Source09/22/2026
Amazon BedrockVia OpenRouteramazon-bedrock/eu-west-1$3.3$16.5Source10/07/2026
Amazon BedrockVia OpenRouteramazon-bedrock/globalLowest listed price: $3Lowest listed price: $15Source10/07/2026
Amazon BedrockVia OpenRouteramazon-bedrock/us$3.3$16.5Source10/07/2026
AnthropicVia OpenRouteranthropicLowest listed price: $3Lowest listed price: $15Source10/07/2026
AzureVia OpenRouterazure/globalLowest listed price: $3Lowest listed price: $15Source10/07/2026
Claude Platform on AWSVia OpenRouterclaude-on-awsLowest listed price: $3Lowest listed price: $15Source10/07/2026
GoogleVia OpenRoutergoogle-vertex/europe$3.3$16.5Source10/07/2026
GoogleVia OpenRoutergoogle-vertex/globalLowest listed price: $3Lowest listed price: $15Source10/07/2026
GoogleVia OpenRoutergoogle-vertex/us-east5$3.3$16.5Source10/07/2026
DeepSeek-V4-ProDeepSeekDirect from developerStandard API$0.66Lowest listed price: $1.98Source09/22/2026
AlibabaVia OpenRouteralibaba$1.122$3.366Source10/07/2026
AtlasCloudVia OpenRouteratlas-cloud/fp8$1.32$3.96Source10/07/2026
BaiduVia OpenRouterbaidu/fp8$1.32$3.96Source10/07/2026
CloudflareVia OpenRoutercloudflare$1.32$3.96Source10/07/2026
CoreWeaveVia OpenRoutercoreweave/fp8$1.31$3.96Source10/07/2026
DeepInfraVia OpenRouterdeepinfra/fp8$1.3$2.6Source10/07/2026
DeepSeekVia OpenRouterdeepseek$1.32$3.96Source10/07/2026
DigitalOceanVia OpenRouterdigitalocean$1.32$3.96Source10/07/2026
GMICloudVia OpenRoutergmicloud/fp8$1.056$3.168Source10/07/2026
IonstreamVia OpenRouterionstream$0.6337$1.98Source10/07/2026
NebiusVia OpenRouternebius/fp8$1.32$3.96Source10/07/2026
NovitaVia OpenRouternovita/fp8$0.99$2.97Source10/07/2026
ParasailVia OpenRouterparasail/fp8$1.32$3.96Source10/07/2026
PhalaVia OpenRouterphala$1.45$4.36Source10/07/2026
RelaceVia OpenRouterrelace/fp4Lowest listed price: $0.3$4.2Source10/07/2026
Sail ResearchVia OpenRoutersail-research/fp4$0.4$4.3Source10/07/2026
Sail ResearchVia OpenRoutersail-research/us$0.4$4.3Source10/07/2026
SiliconFlowVia OpenRoutersiliconflow/fp8$1.32$3.96Source10/07/2026
StreamLakeVia OpenRouterstreamlake$0.66$1.98Source10/07/2026
TogetherVia OpenRoutertogether$1.32$3.96Source10/07/2026
VeniceVia OpenRoutervenice$1.65$4.95Source10/07/2026
WaferVia OpenRouterwafer$0.4$5Source10/07/2026

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.

255075100CodingReasoningKnowledgeFinanceLegalAgentic tasksProductivityOverall
Claude Sonnet 4.6
DeepSeek-V4-Pro
Coding: 98.8 / 72.5 (5 benchmark families)
Reasoning: 95.8 / 100 (1 benchmark family)
Knowledge: 100 / 99.9 (1 benchmark family)
Finance: 100 / 90 (5 benchmark families)
Legal: 100 / 77.6 (3 benchmark families)
Agentic tasks: 97.8 / 95.5 (2 benchmark families)
Productivity: 99.2 / 100 (1 benchmark family)
Overall: 100 / 84.8 (1 benchmark family)

20 matched rows from 19 benchmark families were considered. The radar shows 8 of 8 comparable categories.

Claude Sonnet 4.6DeepSeek-V4-Pro
Code MigrationOverall. Higher is better. No documented setup difference
Claude Sonnet 4.6Winner39.892 %
DeepSeek-V4-Pro26.201 %
CorpFin v2Overall. Higher is better. No documented setup difference
Claude Sonnet 4.6Winner65.307 %
DeepSeek-V4-Pro61.383 %
EMBOverall. Higher is better. No documented setup difference
Claude Sonnet 4.6Winner60.154 %
DeepSeek-V4-Pro51.623 %
Finance Agent (v2)Overall. Higher is better. No documented setup difference
Claude Sonnet 4.6Winner51.035 %
DeepSeek-V4-Pro44.083 %
GPQA DiamondOverall. Higher is better. No documented setup difference
Claude Sonnet 4.685.606 %
DeepSeek-V4-ProWinner89.394 %
Harvey's Legal Agent BenchmarkOverall · Task fully resolved. Higher is better. No documented setup difference
Claude Sonnet 4.6Winner5 %
DeepSeek-V4-Pro3.75 %
Legal Research BenchOverall · All-pass. Higher is better. No documented setup difference
Claude Sonnet 4.6Winner38.462 %
DeepSeek-V4-Pro23.077 %
LegalBenchOverall. Higher is better. No documented setup difference
Claude Sonnet 4.6Winner82.12 %
DeepSeek-V4-Pro80.323 %
LiveCodeBench v6Overall. Higher is better. No documented setup difference
Claude Sonnet 4.682.091 %
DeepSeek-V4-ProWinner87.484 %
MMLU-ProOverall. Higher is better. No documented setup difference
Claude Sonnet 4.6Winner87.341 %
DeepSeek-V4-Pro87.249 %
ProgramBenchOverall. Higher is better. No documented setup difference
Claude Sonnet 4.6Winner0.5 %
DeepSeek-V4-Pro0 %
Public Benefits Bench v1.1Overall. Higher is better. No documented setup difference
Claude Sonnet 4.662.449 %
DeepSeek-V4-ProWinner62.923 %

Key to the marks:better valuebetter, but not conclusivetie

Benchmark scores for Claude Sonnet 4.6 and DeepSeek-V4-Pro
Benchmark and taskClaude Sonnet 4.6DeepSeek-V4-ProSource
Code MigrationOverall
Test details
No documented difference in the test setupVersion: 1Metric: accuracyScoring: Higher is better
Winner39.892 %
26.201 %
Vals AI
Source details
Data as of: 09/27/2026
CorpFin v2Overall
Test details
No documented difference in the test setupVersion: 2Metric: accuracyScoring: Higher is better
Winner65.307 %
61.383 %
Vals AI
Source details
Data as of: 08/12/2026
EMBOverall
Test details
No documented difference in the test setupVersion: 1Metric: accuracyScoring: Higher is better
Winner60.154 %
51.623 %
Vals AI
Source details
Data as of: 09/27/2026
Finance Agent (v2)Overall
Test details
No documented difference in the test setupVersion: 2Metric: accuracyScoring: Higher is better
Winner51.035 %
44.083 %
Vals AI
Source details
Data as of: 09/27/2026
GPQA DiamondOverall
Test details
No documented difference in the test setupVersion: 1Metric: accuracyScoring: Higher is better
85.606 %
Winner89.394 %
Vals AI
Source details
Data as of: 09/01/2026
Harvey's Legal Agent BenchmarkOverall · Task fully resolved
Test details
No documented difference in the test setupVersion: 1Metric: task resolution rateScoring: Higher is better
Winner5 %
3.75 %
Vals AI
Source details
Data as of: 09/27/2026
Legal Research BenchOverall · All-pass
Test details
No documented difference in the test setupVersion: 1Metric: all-pass rateScoring: Higher is better
Winner38.462 %
23.077 %
Vals AI
Source details
Data as of: 09/27/2026
LegalBenchOverall
Test details
No documented difference in the test setupVersion: 1Metric: accuracyScoring: Higher is better
Winner82.12 %
80.323 %
Vals AI
Source details
Data as of: 09/27/2026
LiveCodeBench v6Overall
Test details
No documented difference in the test setupVersion: 1Metric: accuracyScoring: Higher is better
82.091 %
Winner87.484 %
Vals AI
Source details
Data as of: 09/01/2026
MMLU-ProOverall
Test details
No documented difference in the test setupVersion: 1Metric: accuracyScoring: Higher is better
Winner87.341 %
87.249 %
Vals AI
Source details
Data as of: 09/01/2026
ProgramBenchOverall
Test details
No documented difference in the test setupVersion: 1Metric: accuracyScoring: Higher is better
Winner0.5 %
0 %
Vals AI
Source details
Data as of: 09/27/2026
Public Benefits Bench v1.1Overall
Test details
No documented difference in the test setupVersion: 1.1Metric: accuracyScoring: Higher is better
62.449 %
Winner62.923 %
Vals AI
Source details
Data as of: 09/27/2026
SkillsBenchOverall
Test details
No documented difference in the test setupVersion: 1Metric: accuracyScoring: Higher is betterSettings: Harness: OpenHands
49.052 %
Winner51.274 %
Vals AI
Source details
Data as of: 09/27/2026
SWE-bench VerifiedOverall
Test details
No documented difference in the test setupVersion: 1Metric: accuracyScoring: Higher is better
Tie77.4 %
Tie77.4 %
Vals AI
Source details
Data as of: 09/01/2026
Tax Agent BenchOverall
Test details
No documented difference in the test setupVersion: 1Metric: accuracyScoring: Higher is better
Winner64.854 %
58.499 %
Vals AI
Source details
Data as of: 09/27/2026
TaxEval v2Overall
Test details
No documented difference in the test setupVersion: 2Metric: accuracyScoring: Higher is better
Winner77.106 %
72.077 %
Vals AI
Source details
Data as of: 09/01/2026
Terminal-Bench 2.0Overall
Test details
No documented difference in the test setupVersion: 2.0Metric: accuracyScoring: Higher is better
Winner59.551 %
56.18 %
Vals AI
Source details
Data as of: 06/04/2026
Terminal-Bench 2.1Overall
Test details
No documented difference in the test setupVersion: 2.1Metric: accuracyScoring: Higher is better
Winner57.303 %
50.187 %
Vals AI
Source details
Data as of: 09/27/2026
Vals IndexOverall
Test details
No documented difference in the test setupVersion: 2Metric: weighted index scoreScoring: Higher is better
Winner50.593 %
42.888 %
Vals AI
Source details
Data as of: 09/27/2026
Vibe Code Bench v1.1Overall
Test details
No documented difference in the test setupVersion: 1.1Metric: accuracyScoring: Higher is betterSettings: Harness: OpenHands
Winner51.476 %
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

Compare how the models respond to the same prompt. Each test shows the latest attempt, with no subsequent fixes to the generated code. Earlier runs remain available in the test details. These results do not contribute to an overall score.

Pelican on a bicycle

A community classic for free-form SVG drawing.

Claude Sonnet 4.6

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

Reasoning (requested): high

Current attempt
Run date
2 Oct 2026
API provider
openrouter
Requested API model
anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.6
API model reported in response
anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.6
Reasoning setting
high
Pinned endpoint
Anthropic | anthropic/claude-4.6-sonnet-20260217
Temperature
Provider default
Token limit including reasoning
8,192 tokens
Test protocol
community-visual-tests-v1
Technical checks
Failed
Response time
110 s

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

Earlier attempts (1)
  • 1 Oct 2026API request failedReasoning setting: high

DeepSeek-V4-Pro

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

Reasoning (requested): high

Current attempt
Run date
2 Oct 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
66.7 s

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

Earlier attempts (2)
  • 1 Oct 2026API request failedReasoning setting: high
  • 7 Sept 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

Related LLM comparisons

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

View the complete LLM comparison