AI Tools by Use Case

DeepSeek

Open-weight model lab with a chat app and very low-cost API

Bottom line

DeepSeek is an AI tool for writing: Open-weight model lab with a chat app and very low-cost API. Pricing: See official site (checked 2026-11-14).

Who is DeepSeek for, and who isn't it for?

✅ Good fit
People who need to: Writing, analysis and reasoning questions; Power coding tools as the backend model; Batch-process text through the API; Self-host the open-weight models.

What is DeepSeek?

DeepSeek researches general-purpose large models and has open-sourced models such as DeepSeek-V4 and DeepSeek-R1. It offers a chat app plus a developer API billed per token, with a 1M-token context window and both OpenAI- and Anthropic-compatible endpoints, so many coding tools can plug in directly. A strong choice if you want capable reasoning at low cost.

What can I use DeepSeek for?

  • Writing, analysis and reasoning questions
  • Power coding tools as the backend model
  • Batch-process text through the API
  • Self-host the open-weight models

Is DeepSeek free? How much does it cost?

API is billed per 1M tokens (official page, 2026-11-14): deepseek-flash input (cache miss) $0.30 peak / $0.15 off-peak, cache hit $0.006 / $0.003, output $1.20 peak / $0.60 off-peak; deepseek-v4-pro input (cache miss) $1.32 peak / $0.66 off-peak, output $3.96 peak / $1.98 off-peak. Off-peak is half the peak rate (peak = 01:00–04:00 and 06:00–10:00 UTC on weekdays). Web search and web fetch $0.75 per 1,000 each; file parsing/OCR $0.225 per 1,000 pages. Check the site for chat app pricing.

Pricing terms used here: TokensAPI pricing

FAQ

What is DeepSeek?

DeepSeek researches general-purpose large models and has open-sourced models such as DeepSeek-V4 and DeepSeek-R1. It offers a chat app plus a developer API billed per token, with a 1M-token context window and both OpenAI- and Anthropic-compatible endpoints, so many coding tools can plug in directly. A strong choice if you want capable reasoning at low cost.

Who makes DeepSeek?

DeepSeek is made by DeepSeek.

What can I use DeepSeek for?

Common uses: Writing, analysis and reasoning questions; Power coding tools as the backend model; Batch-process text through the API; Self-host the open-weight models.

Is DeepSeek free? How much does it cost?

API is billed per 1M tokens (official page, 2026-11-14): deepseek-flash input (cache miss) $0.30 peak / $0.15 off-peak, cache hit $0.006 / $0.003, output $1.20 peak / $0.60 off-peak; deepseek-v4-pro input (cache miss) $1.32 peak / $0.66 off-peak, output $3.96 peak / $1.98 off-peak. Off-peak is half the peak rate (peak = 01:00–04:00 and 06:00–10:00 UTC on weekdays). Web search and web fetch $0.75 per 1,000 each; file parsing/OCR $0.225 per 1,000 pages. Check the site for chat app pricing.

What are some alternatives to DeepSeek?

Other tools for writing include ChatGPT, Kimi, Qwen Chat, Claude, Google Gemini.

When was this information about DeepSeek last checked?

It was verified on 2026-11-14; see Sources at the bottom of the page. Prices and features can change, so check the official site.

Sources

Added:2026-10-19 · Last verified:2026-11-14

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