DeepSeek V3 0324 vs Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct
Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct comes out ahead, 58 to 54 on our weighted score, though DeepSeek V3 0324 is 13% cheaper per token.
DeepSeekDeepSeek V3 0324
54/100- ECI135.9
- Price$0.24 / $0.90
- Context164K
- Our pick
MetaLlama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct
58/100- ECI132.2
- Price$0.321 / $0.91
- Context1M
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Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct is our pick
Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct is the better all-round choice, scoring 58/100 against DeepSeek V3 0324 (54). It leads on inputs & features and context window. DeepSeek V3 0324 wins on capability and price. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.
- CapabilityDeepSeek V3 0324Capabilities Index (ECI): DeepSeek V3 0324 135.9 · Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct 132.2
- Lowest priceDeepSeek V3 0324DeepSeek V3 0324 $0.405 · Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct $0.468 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextLlama 4 Maverick 17B InstructLlama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct 1,000,000 · DeepSeek V3 0324 163,840 tokens
- Widest inputsLlama 4 Maverick 17B InstructDeepSeek V3 0324: Text · Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct: Text, Images
- Self-hostingAll open weightsEvery model here can be downloaded and run on your own hardware
| Measure | Weight | DeepSeek V3 0324 | Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct |
|---|---|---|---|
| CapabilityCapabilities Index (ECI) | 50% | 60 | 56 |
| Price | 25% | 68 | 66 |
| Inputs & features | 15% | 25 | 50 |
| Context window | 10% | 28 | 60 |
| Overall | 100% | 54/100 | 58/100 |
Every spec in one table
Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.
| Specification | DeepSeek V3 0324DeepSeek | Llama 4 Maverick 17B InstructMeta |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | 135.9 (best) | 132.2 |
| ECI rank | #114 of 148 (best) | #122 of 148 |
| GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions | 67.6% (best) | 67.0% |
| OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics | 37.8% (best) | 20.6% |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $0.24 (best) | $0.321 |
| Output | $0.90 (best) | $0.91 |
| Cached input | — | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $0.405 (best) | $0.468 |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Median of 5 providers | Median of 6 providers |
| Limits | ||
| Context window | 163,840 tokens | 1,000,000 tokens (best) |
| Max output | 163,840 tokens (best) | 16,384 tokens |
| Inputs and features | ||
| Text | Yes | Yes |
| Images | No | Yes |
| PDFs | No | No |
| Audio | No | No |
| Video | No | No |
| Reasoning | No | No |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | No | No |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | Open | Open |
| API model ID | — | — |
| API providers | 5 | 6 (best) |
| Released | Mar 24, 2025 | Apr 5, 2025 |
| Knowledge cutoff | — | Aug 2024 |
What would a month cost?
Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.
- DeepSeek V3 0324$4.20
- Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct$5.03
Which should you choose?
Which is better: DeepSeek V3 0324 or Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct?
Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct is the better all-round choice, scoring 58/100 against DeepSeek V3 0324 (54). It leads on inputs & features and context window. DeepSeek V3 0324 wins on capability and price. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.
Which is cheaper, DeepSeek V3 0324 or Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct?
DeepSeek V3 0324 is cheaper at $0.24 input / $0.90 output per million tokens (median across 5 API providers). Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct costs $0.321 input / $0.91 output per million tokens (median across 6 API providers). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.405 per million tokens for DeepSeek V3 0324 versus $0.468 for Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct (1.2× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
DeepSeek V3 0324 scores higher on the Capabilities Index (ECI): DeepSeek V3 0324 135.9 (#114 of 148) and Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct 132.2 (#122 of 148). The confidence ranges of the top two overlap (132.4–138.0 vs 128.0–134.1), so treat the gap as small. On individual benchmarks: GPQA Diamond — DeepSeek V3 0324 67.6%, Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct 67.0%; OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025 — DeepSeek V3 0324 37.8%, Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct 20.6%.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for DeepSeek V3 0324 and Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. On overall capability, DeepSeek V3 0324 leads, which tends to carry over to coding, but test on your own codebase. Both support tool calling for agent workflows.
Which has the bigger context window?
Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct has the largest context window at 1,000,000 tokens, against 163,840 for DeepSeek V3 0324. Maximum output per response: DeepSeek V3 0324 up to 163,840, Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct up to 16,384 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
DeepSeek V3 0324 accepts text; Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct accepts text and images. Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
Yes, both publish their weights, so you can self-host them.
Which is newer?
Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct is the newest, released Apr 5, 2025. DeepSeek V3 0324 came out Mar 24, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct Aug 2024.
How do you decide the winner?
Each model gets a 0–100 score on capability (50%, independent benchmark results); price (25%, blended price per million tokens (3 input : 1 output), log scale); inputs & features (15%, image, PDF, audio and video input, tool calling, structured output and reasoning); context window (10%, maximum tokens per request, log scale). Dimensions missing for any model are dropped and the remaining weights rescaled, so every model is judged on the same evidence. Specs and prices come from public model listings and the labs’ own API pages; capability scores come from independent benchmark runs. Data updated Oct 4, 2026.
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