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DeepSeek

by DeepSeek AI · Hangzhou, China

The free outlier. Strong reasoning, no paywall, no ads, no limits.

Founded Jul 2023
Lowest plan Free
Top plan
API range $0.14–$0.87 / 1M
Visit DeepSeek ↗ Updated Apr 25, 2026
§ Pricing

All plans, in full.

Free
Free
Free
  • DeepSeek V4-Flash + V4-Pro
  • Unlimited usage
  • Chain-of-thought
  • No ads or paywalls
  • Web, iOS, Android
No paid plan
  • Currently free only
No paid tier
API available
  • Pennies per million tokens
No paid tier

The honest take

The free outlier. Strong reasoning, no paywall, no ads, no limits.

Best for: Math, logic, coding for users on a budget — or curious experimenters

Where it falls short: Hosted in China; data residency may matter; less polished UX

What you actually get

  • Free
  • Reasoning
  • Coding
  • Math
  • Open weights
  • Chain-of-thought

Pricing history

Late 2024
Free chat launched
Jan 2025
R1 reasoning model open-sourced
2026
V4-Flash & V4-Pro launched, still free in chat

Should you pay for it?

There is no paid plan, so the question doesn't apply. The free version is genuinely usable for serious work — that's the entire pitch.