Pairwise benchmark snapshot · Aug 1, 2026
In this head-to-head showdown, Llama 3.1 405B delivers higher overall intelligence and human-preferred responses (Elo 1,370 vs 1,358), while DeepSeek R1 leads in SWE-bench software engineering benchmarks (65.2%), while DeepSeek R1 is more budget-friendly at $2.19/1M per 1M output tokens. Review the complete breakdown below to determine which model best fits your performance and budget requirements.
8 direct benchmark disciplines evaluated across capability, speed, and cost
Open-weights reasoning model trained with large-scale RL.
Meta flagship open-weight 405B dense foundation model with 128k context window.
Simulate accuracy gains vs added response time & token cost
Reasoning models “think before answering” by generating internal reasoning tokens. Higher effort improves math, coding, and logic accuracy, but increases response delay and token costs.
Δ 12 Arena Elo pts
62 tok/s
$2.19 / 1M output
Relative percentile scores computed across all active models in the benchmark catalog.
Comparing top Western standard models with China's leading frontier rival across 6 skill dimensions. Tap any spoke or dot to inspect.
Category wins across reasoning intelligence, generation speed, and token cost.
Preference Elo, Coding proficiency, SWE-bench & LiveBench accuracy
Generation throughput and time to first token responsiveness
Cost per million tokens and max context window length
| Benchmark | DeepSeek R1 | Llama 3.1 405B | Advantage Delta |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preference Elo | +12 | ||
| Coding Elo | — | — | |
| LiveBench | +2.2% | ||
| SWE-bench | +6.8% | ||
| GPQA Diamond | +4.6% | ||
| Time to first token | +60 ms | ||
| Output speed | 62 tok/s | 42 tok/s | +20 tok/s |
| Input price | $0.55/1M | $1.25/1M | +$0.7/1M |
| Output price | $2.19/1M | $3.5/1M | +$1.31/1M |
| Context window | — |
Simulate monthly production API costs in USD (US Dollar).
DeepSeek R1 is estimated to save $44.15/month ($530/year).
Higher SWE-bench (65.2%).
Lower output list price ($2.19/1M).
Lower TTFT (360 ms).
Larger window (128k).
Llama 3.1 405B is the side marked multimodal in the catalog.
| Target Workload | Recommended Pick | Evaluation Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Repo / coding agents | DeepSeek R1 | Higher SWE-bench (65.2%). |
| High-volume chat | DeepSeek R1 | Lower output list price ($2.19/1M). |
| Voice / low-latency UI | Llama 3.1 405B | Lower TTFT (360 ms). |
| Long-document RAG | DeepSeek R1 | Larger window (128k). |
| Screenshots / vision | Llama 3.1 405B | Llama 3.1 405B is the side marked multimodal in the catalog. |
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