ClaudevsDeepSeek

Claude Opus 5 vs DeepSeek R1

Side-by-side comparison of pricing, task quality, and projected cost at higher scale.

Pricing

Side-by-side pricing

Claude Opus 5

Flagship

DeepSeek R1

Mid-tier
Input $/MTok
$5.00
$0.55
Output $/MTok
$25.00
$2.19
Cache discount
90% off
75% off
Context
1M
128K

Quality

Task confidence comparison

Confidence score from zero to one hundred by task type, where higher is better.
Code Generation
72
vs
0
Code Review
0
vs
0
Summarization
65
vs
0
Q&A
0
vs
0
Extraction
73
vs
0
Reasoning
91
vs
0
Classification
0
vs
0
Creative Writing
61
vs
0
Claude Opus 5
DeepSeek R1

Guidance

When to use Claude Opus 5 vs DeepSeek R1

Choose Claude Opus 5 when...

  • -You need a larger context window (1M vs 128K)
  • Similar performance; consider provider preference or ecosystem fit.

Choose DeepSeek R1 when...

  • -Cost matters: 89% cheaper on input tokens

At scale

Cost at scale

Estimated cost assuming a seventy percent input and thirty percent output token split.
Claude Opus 5
DeepSeek R1
100K tokens
$1.10
$0.10Cheaper
1M tokens
$11.00
$1.04Cheaper
10M tokens
$110.00
$10.42Cheaper

FAQ

When should I use Claude Opus 5 instead of DeepSeek R1?

Claude Opus 5 and DeepSeek R1 perform similarly across all tracked tasks. Pick based on pricing and provider preference.

Is DeepSeek R1 cheaper than Claude Opus 5?

Yes. DeepSeek R1 input costs $0.55/MTok vs $5.00/MTok for Claude Opus 5, saving 89% on input.

What are the context window sizes for Claude Opus 5 and DeepSeek R1?

Claude Opus 5 has a 1M token context window. DeepSeek R1 has a 128K token context window.

Track your real costs

Comparisons show estimated costs at list price. The dashboard reveals your real spend and savings.