DeepSeek-V3 benchmarks, pricing and specs
DeepSeek-V3 is a DeepSeek model released on December 26, 2024 that takes text input and produces text. It is now listed as a legacy model. Its price is not published and accepts up to 128,000 tokens of context. It scores 1358 Elo on Arena Text (Arena, measured October 8, 2026).
- Context window
- 128K
- Arena Text
- 1358 Elo
Data verified October 12, 2026 · Dataset 2026-10-12
Key facts
- Provider
- DeepSeek
- Model family
- DeepSeek-V3
- Release date
- December 26, 2024
- Status
- Legacy
- Access
- API and open weights
- API model id
- Not reported
- Context window
- 128,000 tokens
- Max output
- Not reported
- Input
- text
- Output
- text
- Task families
- text
- Declared capabilities
- reasoning
DeepSeek-V3 pricing
Independent benchmark results
Scores come from independent evaluators that ran the model themselves, pinned to a dated snapshot. Rank is among current models in the same snapshot. DeepSeek's own launch figures are listed under strengths with the publisher named, because they are not measured the same way.
| Benchmark | Score | Rank | Measured | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arena Text | 1358 Elo | Not ranked | October 8, 2026 | Arena · 2026-10-12 |
| GPQA Diamond | 56.5% | Not ranked | October 12, 2026 | Epoch AI · 2026-10-12 |
| LiveBench Web of Lies V2 | 86 % correct | Not ranked | November 25, 2024 | LiveBench · 2024-11-25 |
Strengths, cautions and best uses
Strengths
- DeepSeek-V3 records both API and open-weight access for text inputs and a published 128,000-token context window
Cautions
- This record is marked legacy; confirm current availability and migration requirements before adoption
Best for
- Historical reasoning comparison with API or open-weight access
Alternatives to DeepSeek-V3
The closest current textmodels by price. The cheapest model that scores as well or better is listed first; failing that, the cheapest one within 3% of the benchmark's scale.
DeepSeek-R1
- 40 points higher on Arena Text, 1398 vs 1358
Gemini 2.5 Pro
- 87 points higher on Arena Text, 1445 vs 1358
- 1.05M context window vs 128K
- From Google
GPT-4.1
- 57 points higher on Arena Text, 1415 vs 1358
- 1.05M context window vs 128K
- From OpenAI
GPT-4.1 mini
- 25 points higher on Arena Text, 1383 vs 1358
- 1.05M context window vs 128K
- From OpenAI
DeepSeek-V3 FAQ
What is the context window of DeepSeek-V3?
DeepSeek-V3 accepts up to 128,000 tokens of context. That ranks #40 of 45 current text models by context length.
How does DeepSeek-V3 score on independent benchmarks?
DeepSeek-V3 scores 1358 Elo on Arena Text (Arena, measured October 8, 2026), 56.5% on GPQA Diamond (Epoch AI, measured October 12, 2026) and 86 % correct on LiveBench Web of Lies V2 (LiveBench, measured November 25, 2024). These are independent evaluations, not DeepSeek's own launch figures.
Is DeepSeek-V3 open source or API only?
DeepSeek-V3 is available both through DeepSeek's API and as open weights you can run yourself.
What are the best alternatives to DeepSeek-V3?
The closest current alternatives by price and measured performance are DeepSeek-R1 (40 points higher on Arena Text, 1398 vs 1358), Gemini 2.5 Pro (87 points higher on Arena Text, 1445 vs 1358), GPT-4.1 (57 points higher on Arena Text, 1415 vs 1358) and GPT-4.1 mini (25 points higher on Arena Text, 1383 vs 1358).
Sources
- DeepSeek-V3 · DeepSeek · official · verified August 6, 2026
- DeepSeek API pricing · DeepSeek · official · verified August 6, 2026
- LiveBench 2024-11-25 task results · LiveBench · independent · verified August 6, 2026 · Apache-2.0
- Epoch AI Benchmarking Hub data (benchmark_data.zip) · Epoch AI · independent · verified October 12, 2026 · CC-BY-4.0
- Arena leaderboard dataset (lmarena-ai/leaderboard-dataset) · Arena · independent · verified October 12, 2026 · CC-BY-4.0
Cite this page
Van Data Team. "DeepSeek-V3 Benchmarks, Pricing and Specs." AI Model Benchmark Dataset 2026-10-12. https://vandatateam.com/ai-model-benchmarks/deepseek-v3
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Production evaluation
Deciding whether DeepSeek-V3 fits your workload?
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