Tier lists / LLMs & model APIs / DeepSeek
Chinese lab releasing open-weight LLMs and a very cheap API.
Use it when…
You want strong reasoning at very low cost or to self-host.
Skip it if…
Data jurisdiction is a concern for you.
Score breakdown
Initial editorial estimate from public info; not yet hands-on tested. How we score →
Details
- Pricing
- Very low pay-per-token API; free chat appUnverified. Unverified: editorial summary. We couldn't confirm this on an official pricing page (JS-rendered, no public pricing, or usage-based) as of Oct 18, 2026.
- Free tier
- Yes (unverified)
- Platforms
- API · web
- Open source
- Yes
- Official URL
- https://www.deepseek.com
- URL verified
- Oct 18, 2026 (curl HTTP GET)
- Last reviewed
- Oct 18, 2026 by agent
- Sources
Changelog
- Oct 18, 2026: Initial listing; score 76 (A) as editorial estimate.
Alternatives for this job
S Frontier model API from OpenAI
88/100
S Frontier model API from Anthropic
87/100
S Gemini models via Google AI Studio
87/100 free tier
Featured in these guides
- Best LLM APIs and model providers
- Best open-weight LLMs and model families
- Best fast LLMs for high-volume and sub-agent work
Get your badge
Make DeepSeek? Show its current tier on your site or README. The badge updates automatically when the score changes. About badges →
