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Model comparison

DeepSeek V3 vs Mellum2-12B-A2.5B-Instruct

Data verified

Head-to-head evidence from 2 shared benchmark results across 2 categories. Overall scores shown here use the public BenchAlign v5 ranking lane.

DeepSeek
44.97/100
No comparison
2 category wins0 category wins

Public leaderboard positions: DeepSeek V3 #147 (Supported); Mellum2-12B-A2.5B-Instruct unranked (Not scored). Intervals and evidence labels describe ranking uncertainty, not a guarantee for a specific workload.

Evidence parity. DeepSeek V3 and Mellum2-12B-A2.5B-Instruct share 2 comparable benchmark results. 2 of 8 categories are comparable. 20 results are unique to DeepSeek V3; 3 to Mellum2-12B-A2.5B-Instruct.

Updated July 23, 2026
Shared results
2
DeepSeek V3 only
20
Mellum2-12B-A2.5B-Instruct only
3
Comparable categories
2 / 8

Treat this as a split decision. DeepSeek V3 makes more sense if knowledge is the priority; Mellum2-12B-A2.5B-Instruct is the better fit if its strengths line up with your actual workload.

Confidence note. This is a partial-evidence comparison with 2 shared benchmark results across 2 evidence categories; 2 of 8 categories currently have scoreable aggregates for both models. Treat the verdict as directional until coverage is more balanced.

Why this result

DeepSeek V3 and Mellum2-12B-A2.5B-Instruct finish on the same BenchAlign overall score, so this is less about a single winner and more about where the edge shows up. The BenchAlign headline says tie; the benchmark table is where the real choice happens.

Category breakdown

Exact category averages are shown below. Not measured means BenchLM does not have enough sourced public coverage for that model and category.

Category scores and score margins for DeepSeek V3 and Mellum2-12B-A2.5B-Instruct
CategoryDeepSeek V3ΔMellum2-12B-A2.5B-Instruct
KnowledgeDeepSeek V372.7Margin 31.8Mellum2-12B-A2.5B-Instruct40.9
Inst. FollowingDeepSeek V386.1Margin 10.3Mellum2-12B-A2.5B-Instruct75.8
CodingDeepSeek V338.9MarginNo overlapMellum2-12B-A2.5B-InstructNot measured
MathDeepSeek V31.7MarginNo overlapMellum2-12B-A2.5B-InstructNot measured

Decisive benchmark drivers

The largest measured benchmark gaps in this matchup, with exact reported values.

More
A · DeepSeek V3B · Mellum2-12B-A2.5B-Instruct
  1. GPQA

    Knowledge
    Source ↗
    A 59.1%B 40.9%
    Winner: DeepSeek V3Δ 18.2
    GPQA: DeepSeek V3 scored 59.1%; Mellum2-12B-A2.5B-Instruct scored 40.9%. DeepSeek V3 wins this benchmark.
  2. IFEval

    Inst. Following
    Source ↗
    A 86.1%B 75.8%
    Winner: DeepSeek V3Δ 10.3
    IFEval: DeepSeek V3 scored 86.1%; Mellum2-12B-A2.5B-Instruct scored 75.8%. DeepSeek V3 wins this benchmark.

Operational comparison

Runtime and commercial metrics are compared only when both models have a complete sourced value.

MetricDeepSeek V3Mellum2-12B-A2.5B-InstructComparison
Input / output priceUSD per 1M tokensDeepSeek V3$0.27 input / $1.1 outputMellum2-12B-A2.5B-InstructNot availableA complete price comparison is not available.
Generation speedtokens per secondDeepSeek V3Not availableMellum2-12B-A2.5B-InstructNot availableA complete speed comparison is not available.
First-answer latencyseconds to first tokenDeepSeek V3Not availableMellum2-12B-A2.5B-InstructNot availableA complete latency comparison is not available.
Context windowmaximum listed tokensDeepSeek V3128KMellum2-12B-A2.5B-Instruct128KListed context windows are equal.

Benchmark Deep Dive

Agentic
BenchmarkDeepSeek V3Mellum2-12B-A2.5B-InstructResult
AA Agentic IndexSource 1.6%Not comparable
τ²-bench resultsSource 22.8%Not comparable
GDPval-AASource 0.0%Not comparable
GDPval-AASource 217Not comparable
BFCL v4Source 44.2%Not comparable
Coding
BenchmarkDeepSeek V3Mellum2-12B-A2.5B-InstructResult
LiveCodeBenchSource 37.6%Not comparable
SWE-bench VerifiedSource 42%Not comparable
AA Coding IndexSource 23.0%Not comparable
AA-SciCodeSource 35.4%Not comparable
Reasoning
BenchmarkDeepSeek V3Mellum2-12B-A2.5B-InstructResult
AA-LCRSource 29.0%Not comparable
CritPtSource 0.0%Not comparable
KnowledgeDeepSeek V3 wins
BenchmarkDeepSeek V3Mellum2-12B-A2.5B-InstructResult
GPQASource 59.1%40.9%DeepSeek V3 leads
MMLU-ProSource 75.9%Not comparable
Artificial Analysis Intelligence IndexSource 14.2%Not comparable
AA-GPQA DiamondSource 55.7%Not comparable
AA-HLESource 3.6%Not comparable
AA-Omniscience IndexSource -41.3%Not comparable
AA-Omniscience AccuracySource 25.4%Not comparable
AA-Omniscience Hallucination RateSource 89.4%Not comparable
MMLU-ReduxSource 78.1%Not comparable
GPQA-DSource 40.9%Not comparable
Math
BenchmarkDeepSeek V3Mellum2-12B-A2.5B-InstructResult
FrontierMath v2 (Tiers 1-3)Source 1.724%Not comparable
Multimodal
BenchmarkDeepSeek V3Mellum2-12B-A2.5B-InstructResult
Design Arena WebsiteSource 1150Not comparable
Inst. FollowingDeepSeek V3 wins
BenchmarkDeepSeek V3Mellum2-12B-A2.5B-InstructResult
IFEvalSource 86.1%75.8%DeepSeek V3 leads
AA-IFBenchSource 34.8%Not comparable
Frequently Asked Questions (3)

Which is better, DeepSeek V3 or Mellum2-12B-A2.5B-Instruct?

DeepSeek V3 and Mellum2-12B-A2.5B-Instruct are tied on the BenchAlign overall score, so the right pick depends on which category matters most for your use case.

Which is better for knowledge tasks, DeepSeek V3 or Mellum2-12B-A2.5B-Instruct?

DeepSeek V3 has the edge for knowledge tasks in this comparison, averaging 72.7 versus 40.9. Inside this category, GPQA is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.

Which is better for instruction following, DeepSeek V3 or Mellum2-12B-A2.5B-Instruct?

DeepSeek V3 has the edge for instruction following in this comparison, averaging 86.1 versus 75.8. Inside this category, IFEval is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.

Self-host vs API cost

Estimates at 50,000 req/day · 1000 tokens/req average.

DeepSeek V3
API / mo$1,028
Self-host / mo$18,221
Break-even1.2B/day
Mellum2-12B-A2.5B-Instruct
API / mo$0
Self-host / moNot listed
Break-even
Proprietary model — self-hosting not applicable.
Model the full break-even

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Last updated: July 23, 2026

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