DeepSeek Pricing

freemiumopen sourcelast verified August 26, 2026official site ↗

Plan	Price	Notes
DeepSeek Web Chatofficial source ↗	$0checked 2026-08-26	Free web chat interface access to DeepSeek models (subject to standard web concurrency rate limits)
DeepSeek APIofficial source ↗	Usage-basedchecked 2026-08-26	Pay-as-you-go per million tokens with peak/off-peak rates (from $0.007 cache hit / $0.22 miss input to $0.66-$3.96 output per 1M tokens), automatic context caching

structured from cited official pricing sources: “DeepSeek provides open-weights models and high-efficiency direct API endpoints. The web chat interface is free, while the official API operates on a usage-based per-million-token model with automatic context caching and off-peak discounts ($0.22-$1.32 input, $0.66-$3.96 output per 1M tokens).”

Self-hosting cost

DeepSeek is open source. Self-hosting does not add a software license fee, but you still pay for infrastructure, operations, and any external model or API usage. Any hosted, managed, or API plans remain separately priced.

Free & cheaper Model Providers

same category, free plan or open-source license

ClaudeFree tier with core Claude access. Paid subscription plans include Claude Pro at $20/month ($17/month billed annually), Claude Max 5x at $100/month for 5x Pro usage limits, Claude Max 20x at $200/month for heavy agentic coding and power workflows, and Claude Team at $30/user/month ($25/user/month billed annually, 5-seat minimum). Enterprise tier provides custom scalable pricing, SAML SSO, and SCIM provisioning.CerebrasCerebras delivers high-throughput inference powered by its Wafer-Scale Engine (CS-3). It offers a free tier with $5 trial credits, a Developer pay-as-you-go tier with 10x rate limits and per-token pricing starting at $0.10/1M tokens, and custom Enterprise agreements with dedicated wafer hardware and guaranteed SLAs.ChatGPTChatGPT plans (vendor_documented, as-of 2026-09-14): Free; Go (~$8/mo US); Plus $20/mo; Pro from $100/mo (5×) and $200/mo (20×—new $200 sign-ups paused as of 2026-09-10); Business Standard $25/user/mo or $20/user/mo annual (Premium seats $125/$100 annual); Enterprise custom. Product URL: chatgpt.com. Former “Team” plan is now Business. Confirm geo-localized Go/Plus/Pro card amounts on https://chatgpt.com/pricing/.GroqGroq offers ultra-fast LPU inference for open-source AI models. It features a free prototyping tier with zero credit card required, pay-as-you-go developer pricing from $0.05/1M tokens with 50% prompt caching and batch discounts, and dedicated Enterprise LPU capacity.

DeepSeek overview →alternatives →review: 90/100 →

FAQ

How much does DeepSeek cost?

DeepSeek provides open-weights models and high-efficiency direct API endpoints. The web chat interface is free, while the official API operates on a usage-based per-million-token model with automatic context caching and off-peak discounts ($0.22-$1.32 input, $0.66-$3.96 output per 1M tokens).

Does DeepSeek have a free plan?

Yes — DeepSeek has a free plan alongside its paid tiers.

Can you self-host DeepSeek for free?

What are free or cheaper DeepSeek alternatives?

Claude, Cerebras, ChatGPT are in the same category with a free plan or open-source license.

pricing is editorial catalog data (last verified August 26, 2026) — vendors change plans; confirm on the official site before you buy. Reuse this data under CC-BY 4.0 via /data.