Anthropic vs 
DeepSeek
Verdict
- Anthropic's flagship leads: Claude Opus 5.5 at 72.6 vs DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 at 64.0.
- Anthropic has the better model in 3 of 4 price bands.
- DeepSeek's fastest ranked model (DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017, 195 tok/s) beats Anthropic's (Claude Haiku 5.5, 190 tok/s).
- DeepSeek publishes more open-weights models (24 vs 0).
- DeepSeek ships more often: one model every 37 days against every 39.
Best model per price band
Each provider’s highest-index model below the price ceiling. Purple marks the winner of the band.
| Price band | Anthropic | DeepSeek |
|---|---|---|
| Under $0.50/M | Claude Haiku 5.5 xhigh 61.5$0.200/M | DeepSeek V4 Flash max 59.4$0.175/M |
| Under $2/M | Claude Haiku 5.5 xhigh 61.5$0.200/M | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 max 64.0$0.525/M |
| Under $10/M | Claude Opus 5.5 max 72.6$8.00/M | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 max 64.0$0.525/M |
| Any price | Claude Opus 5.5 max 72.6$8.00/M | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 max 64.0$0.525/M |
Line-up
| Metric | Anthropic | DeepSeek |
|---|---|---|
| Flagship index | 72.6 | 64.0 |
| Ranked models | 23 | 22 |
| Open-weights models | 0 | 24 |
| Cheapest ranked, $/M | $0.200 | $0.068 |
| Fastest ranked, tok/s | 190 | 195 |
| Release cadence, days | 39 | 37 |
| Last release | 7 Oct 2026 | 17 Oct 2026 |
| Next expected | 30 Oct 2026 – 30 Nov 2026 | 8 Nov 2026 – 7 Dec 2026 |