DeepSeek V3 vs Llama 3 70B Instruct
DeepSeek V3 (2024) and Llama 3 70B Instruct (2024) are compact production models from DeepSeek and AI at Meta. DeepSeek V3 ships a 64k-token context window, while Llama 3 70B Instruct ships a 8K-token context window. On MMLU PRO, DeepSeek V3 leads by 18.5 pts. On pricing, DeepSeek V3 costs $0.1/1M input tokens versus $0.4/1M for the alternative. This comparison covers specs, pricing, capabilities, benchmarks, provider availability, and production fit.
DeepSeek V3 is ~300% cheaper at $0.1/1M; pay for Llama 3 70B Instruct only for provider fit.
Specs
| Released | 2024-12-26 | 2024-04-18 |
| Context window | 64k | 8K |
| Parameters | 671B | 70B |
| Architecture | mixture of experts | decoder only |
| License | Open Source | Open Source |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2024-04 | - |
Pricing and availability
| DeepSeek V3 | Llama 3 70B Instruct | |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $0.1/1M tokens | $0.4/1M tokens |
| Output price | $0.3/1M tokens | $0.4/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| DeepSeek V3 | Llama 3 70B Instruct | |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | ||
| Multimodal | ||
| Reasoning | ||
| Function calling | ||
| Tool use | ||
| Structured outputs | ||
| Code execution |
Benchmarks
| Benchmark | DeepSeek V3 | Llama 3 70B Instruct |
|---|---|---|
| MMLU PRO | 75.9 | 57.4 |
| HumanEval | 85.5 | 72.6 |
| Massive Multitask Language Understanding | 88.5 | 82.0 |
Deep dive
On shared benchmark coverage, MMLU PRO has DeepSeek V3 at 75.9 and Llama 3 70B Instruct at 57.4, with DeepSeek V3 ahead by 18.5 points; HumanEval has DeepSeek V3 at 85.5 and Llama 3 70B Instruct at 72.6, with DeepSeek V3 ahead by 12.9 points; Massive Multitask Language Understanding has DeepSeek V3 at 88.5 and Llama 3 70B Instruct at 82, with DeepSeek V3 ahead by 6.5 points. The largest visible gap is 18.5 points on MMLU PRO, which matters most when that benchmark mirrors your workload. Treat isolated benchmark wins as directional, because provider routing, prompt style, and tool access can move real application results.
The capability footprint differs most on function calling: DeepSeek V3 and tool use: DeepSeek V3. Both models share structured outputs, so the practical split is not just feature count. Use those differences to decide whether the page is about raw model quality, agentic coding support, multimodal ingestion, or predictable structured API behavior.
For cost, DeepSeek V3 lists $0.1/1M input and $0.3/1M output tokens, while Llama 3 70B Instruct lists $0.4/1M input and $0.4/1M output tokens on the cheapest tracked provider. A 70/30 input-output blend puts DeepSeek V3 lower by about $0.24 per million blended tokens. Availability is 12 providers versus 18, so concentration risk also matters.
Choose DeepSeek V3 when long-context analysis, larger context windows, and lower input-token cost are central to the workload. Choose Llama 3 70B Instruct when provider fit and broader provider choice are more important. For production, rerun your own prompts through the exact provider, region, and tool stack you plan to ship.
FAQ
Which has a larger context window, DeepSeek V3 or Llama 3 70B Instruct?
DeepSeek V3 supports 64k tokens, while Llama 3 70B Instruct supports 8K tokens. That gap matters most for long documents, large codebases, retrieval-heavy agents, and conversations where earlier context must remain visible.
Which is cheaper, DeepSeek V3 or Llama 3 70B Instruct?
DeepSeek V3 is cheaper on tracked token pricing. DeepSeek V3 costs $0.1/1M input and $0.3/1M output tokens. Llama 3 70B Instruct costs $0.4/1M input and $0.4/1M output tokens. Provider discounts or batch pricing can still change the final bill.
Is DeepSeek V3 or Llama 3 70B Instruct open source?
DeepSeek V3 is listed under Open Source. Llama 3 70B Instruct is listed under Open Source. License labels affect whether you can self-host, redistribute weights, or rely only on hosted APIs, so confirm the upstream license before deployment.
Which is better for function calling, DeepSeek V3 or Llama 3 70B Instruct?
DeepSeek V3 has the clearer documented function calling signal in this comparison. If function calling is mission-critical, validate it against the provider endpoint because model-level support and API-level exposure can differ.
Which is better for tool use, DeepSeek V3 or Llama 3 70B Instruct?
DeepSeek V3 has the clearer documented tool use signal in this comparison. If tool use is mission-critical, validate it against the provider endpoint because model-level support and API-level exposure can differ.
Where can I run DeepSeek V3 and Llama 3 70B Instruct?
DeepSeek V3 is available on DeepInfra, Fireworks AI, DeepSeek Platform, Microsoft Foundry, and OpenRouter. Llama 3 70B Instruct is available on GCP Vertex AI, AWS Bedrock, Microsoft Foundry, NVIDIA NIM, and DeepInfra. Provider coverage can affect latency, region availability, compliance posture, and fallback options.
Continue comparing
Last reviewed: 2026-04-24. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.