Claude Sonnet 4.6
VS
DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus
Claude Sonnet 4.6 vs DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus: which wins at real work?
22 task areas · same graded test runs · rank comparison only, so 0–100 and Elo collections never mix raw scores.
Claude Sonnet 4.6 wins 19 of 22 task areas we tested; DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus takes 3. DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus costs 14.8× less per token ($1.22 vs $18 per 1M).
DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus costs 14.8× less per token ($1.22 vs $18 per 1M).
Task by task
| Task area | Claude Sonnet 4.6 | DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI Strategy |
#3
/ 126
Strong
|
#101
/ 126
Usable
|
Claude Sonnet 4.6 |
| Legal & HR |
#3
/ 110
Excellent
|
#95
/ 110
Strong
|
Claude Sonnet 4.6 |
| Translation & Localization |
#13
/ 110
Excellent
|
#101
/ 110
Strong
|
Claude Sonnet 4.6 |
| Sales |
#13
/ 110
Strong
|
#97
/ 110
Needs editing
|
Claude Sonnet 4.6 |
| Executive Assistant |
#1
/ 112
Strong
|
#77
/ 112
Usable
|
Claude Sonnet 4.6 |
| Chef / Home Cooking |
#20
/ 126
Usable
|
#95
/ 126
Usable
|
Claude Sonnet 4.6 |
| Creative & Comedy | #19 / 110 | #89 / 110 | Claude Sonnet 4.6 |
| Content & Brand |
#31
/ 124
Strong
|
#100
/ 124
Usable
|
Claude Sonnet 4.6 |
| Coding |
#29
/ 115
Strong
|
#92
/ 115
Usable
|
Claude Sonnet 4.6 |
| Investor & Pitch |
#4
/ 66
Strong
|
#64
/ 66
Needs editing
|
Claude Sonnet 4.6 |
| Presentations & Decks |
#35
/ 110
Excellent
|
#91
/ 110
Strong
|
Claude Sonnet 4.6 |
| Data & Analytics |
#6
/ 110
Excellent
|
#56
/ 110
Excellent
|
Claude Sonnet 4.6 |
| Structured Output |
#105
/ 113
Usable
|
#63
/ 113
Excellent
|
DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus |
| Landing Pages |
#5
/ 72
Strong
|
#44
/ 72
Strong
|
Claude Sonnet 4.6 |
| Training & Education |
#9
/ 110
Excellent
|
#31
/ 110
Excellent
|
Claude Sonnet 4.6 |
| Knowledge & Docs |
#35
/ 110
Strong
|
#50
/ 110
Usable
|
Claude Sonnet 4.6 |
| Product & Project Management |
#48
/ 110
Strong
|
#36
/ 110
Strong
|
DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus |
| RAG, Safety & Grounding |
#73
/ 113
Excellent
|
#85
/ 113
Excellent
|
Claude Sonnet 4.6 |
| Research & Competitive Analysis |
#35
/ 110
Strong
|
#46
/ 110
Strong
|
Claude Sonnet 4.6 |
| Frontend & Landing Pages |
#23
/ 109
Needs editing
|
#33
/ 109
Needs editing
|
Claude Sonnet 4.6 |
| Customer Support |
#62
/ 113
Strong
|
#69
/ 113
Usable
|
Claude Sonnet 4.6 |
| Summarization & Meeting Notes |
#37
/ 110
Excellent
|
#32
/ 110
Excellent
|
DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus |
Rank = position among every model config we tested in that task area (lower is better). Sorted by biggest gap first.
Frequently asked
Is Claude Sonnet 4.6 better than DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus?
Across 22 task areas we benchmarked, Claude Sonnet 4.6 ranks higher in 19 and DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus in 3.
Which is cheaper, Claude Sonnet 4.6 or DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus?
DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus costs 14.8× less per token ($1.22 vs $18 per 1M).
What is Claude Sonnet 4.6 better at?
Claude Sonnet 4.6 out-ranks DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus at AI Strategy, Legal & HR, Translation & Localization.
What is DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus better at?
DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus out-ranks Claude Sonnet 4.6 at Structured Output, Product & Project Management, Summarization & Meeting Notes.
More comparisons
This page is Spring Prompt, running in public
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Prompt × model results
12 test cases · 3 evals