Claude Sonnet 4 vs DeepSeek-R1-Distill-Llama-70B
Wins 5 of 5 areas
Coding · Reasoning · Facts · Long documents · Following instructions
Wins 0 of 5 areas
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Claude Sonnet 4 is the stronger all-rounder.DeepSeek-R1-Distill-Llama-70B is cheaper.
Scores updated · 17 tests both models report · How we compare
Where each one wins
Tests won in each of the five areas where both have results. Each piece is one test, so a longer bar means more evidence; grey means the two scored within a point of each other.
- ReasoningHard problems that need careful thinking20Claude Sonnet 42 of 3 tests · 1 tie
- CodingWriting and fixing software20Claude Sonnet 42 of 2 tests
- FactsGetting facts right instead of making them up20Claude Sonnet 42 of 2 tests
- Long documentsFinding answers in very long texts10Claude Sonnet 41 of 1 test
- Following instructionsDoing exactly what it is asked10Claude Sonnet 41 of 1 test
Long documents and following instructions rest on a single test each.
What it costs
Prices per million tokens, roughly 750,000 words. The bars show the cost of a million tokens read plus a million written.
DeepSeek-R1-Distill-Llama-70B costs 90% less for the same work.
The biggest differences
The tests each model wins by the widest margin, up to three each. Scores are out of 100.
Where Claude Sonnet 4 pulls ahead
- Reasons across sets of long documentsAA-LCR+60.3points ahead
- Avoids making up answers it doesn't knowAA-Omniscience · Non-hallucination+52points ahead
- Graduate-level biology, physics and chemistry questionsGPQA Diamond+37.5points ahead
Where DeepSeek-R1-Distill-Llama-70B pulls ahead
No clear win on a test scored out of 100.
Every test, side by side
All 17 tests both models report. The winning score is in its model's colour; marks a score checked independently.
CodingClaude Sonnet 4
- Terminal-Bench HardClaude Sonnet 4 by 29.631.11.5+29.6
- SciCodeClaude Sonnet 4 by 8.74031.3+8.7
ReasoningClaude Sonnet 4
- GPQA DiamondClaude Sonnet 4 by 37.577.740.2+37.5
- Humanity's Last ExamClaude Sonnet 4 by 5.610.75.1+5.6
- CritPttie0.30tie
FactsClaude Sonnet 4
- AA-Omniscience · Non-hallucinationClaude Sonnet 4 by 5270.918.9+52
- AA-Omniscience · AccuracyClaude Sonnet 4 by 3.522.719.2+3.5
Following instructionsClaude Sonnet 4
- IFBenchClaude Sonnet 4 by 27.154.727.6+27.1
Other results8 tests, not counted
Tests outside the eight areas. They are not counted above: several are summary scores built from other tests, or the same test under another name.
- AA-OmniscienceClaude Sonnet 4 by 46.60.2-46.4+46.6
- τ²-Bench Telecom (AA run)Claude Sonnet 4 by 42.764.621.9+42.7
- AIME 2024DeepSeek-R1-Distill-Llama-70B by 26.643.470+26.6
- Artificial Analysis Coding IndexClaude Sonnet 4 by 26.237.611.4+26.2
- AIME 2025Claude Sonnet 4 by 15.570.555+15.5
- AA IntelligenceClaude Sonnet 4 by 1118.97.9+11
- LiveCodeBenchClaude Sonnet 4 by 1168.557.5+11
- MATH-500 (EM)tie9494.5tie
Questions people ask
Which is better, Claude Sonnet 4 or DeepSeek-R1-Distill-Llama-70B?
Claude Sonnet 4 wins all five areas where both have results: coding, reasoning, facts, long documents and following instructions. DeepSeek-R1-Distill-Llama-70B wins none, but costs 90% less.
Which is better for coding?
Claude Sonnet 4. It wins 2 of the 2 coding tests both models report; DeepSeek-R1-Distill-Llama-70B wins none.
Which is cheaper?
Claude Sonnet 4 costs $3.00 per million input tokens and $15.00 per million output tokens; DeepSeek-R1-Distill-Llama-70B costs $0.70 and $1.10. That makes DeepSeek-R1-Distill-Llama-70B about 90% cheaper for the same work.
How do you compare the two?
We use the 17 benchmark tests both models have published scores on. The verdict counts the 9 tests in the eight capability areas, and a gap under one point (ten on rating-style scales) counts as a tie. The other 8 are listed but not counted, because several are summary scores or repeat a test. Each score is the one shown on the model's own page.