DeepSeek pricing & review
China's most popular AI assistant with frontier V4.1 models, free web chat, and peak/off-peak API pricing from $0.15/1M.
Last checked September 10, 2026
Overview
DeepSeek is a Chinese AI lab whose V4.1 models punch far above their price tag. The web chat at chat.deepseek.com is completely free with no Plus or Pro tier — you get V4.1 Flash with fair-use throttling during peak hours. For developers, V4.1 Flash costs $0.15 per million input tokens (off-peak, cache miss) and $0.60 output, with peak rates double that. V4 Pro is $0.66/$1.98 off-peak, but from September 14, 2026 all V4 Pro requests route to V4.1 Flash at V4.1 Flash rates until V4.1 Pro launches. Both models support a 1 million token context window. Every new API account starts with 5 million free tokens valid for 30 days, no credit card required. DeepSeek uses peak/off-peak pricing: off-peak hours are 04:00–09:00 UTC and 10:00–14:00 UTC (all other hours are peak). Off-peak rates are exactly half of peak rates.
Feature highlights
- Free web chat (V4.1 Flash)
- 1M token context window
- Thinking and non-thinking modes
- API with OpenAI-compatible endpoint
- 5M free tokens for new accounts
- Peak/off-peak pricing (50% savings off-peak)
Pros and cons
Pros
- Completely free web chat
- API is 10-35x cheaper than Western rivals
- 1M context window at no extra cost
- Off-peak pricing halves the already-low cost
Cons
- No team or enterprise plans published
- Peak-hour throttling on free tier
- Data processed in China
- No official enterprise SLA
Best for
DeepSeek is best suited to developers and power users who want frontier ai at a fraction of western pricing. If that matches your needs, the free plan is a low-risk way to try it.
DeepSeek comparisons
DeepSeek FAQ
Does DeepSeek have a free plan?
Yes. Free web chat with V4.1 Flash, fair-use throttling during peak hours. API gives 5M free tokens to new accounts.
How much does DeepSeek cost?
DeepSeek starts at Free (web chat). Web chat is free. API: V4.1 Flash off-peak $0.15/$0.60 per 1M tokens, peak $0.30/$1.20. V4 Pro off-peak $0.66/$1.98, peak $1.32/$3.96 (routes to V4.1 Flash from Sep 14). 5M free tokens for new accounts. Peak hours: 01:00-04:00 and 06:00-10:00 UTC. The highest known plan is Pay-as-you-go API.
Who is DeepSeek best for?
DeepSeek is best for developers and power users who want frontier ai at a fraction of western pricing.
Does DeepSeek offer an API?
Yes, DeepSeek provides API access for developers.
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