This free DeepSeek cost calculator shows your likely monthly bill. Very low per-token prices. Off-peak hours cost half. Your real cost depends on your own usage, so enter your numbers above. We use the official DeepSeek pricing page, last checked on November 3, 2026.
What is the DeepSeek API?
DeepSeek is a Chinese AI lab known for strong models at very low prices. Its API works with the same request formats as OpenAI and Anthropic, so many tools and agent frameworks can switch to it by changing a base URL and a model name.
DeepSeek offers two models: DeepSeek Flash (V4.1), a fast model with vision support, and DeepSeek V4 Pro, a stronger model. Both have a 1 million token context and support tool calls and JSON output.
How much does DeepSeek API cost?
| Model | Input / 1M | Cached input / 1M | Output / 1M | Cost per support chat* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DeepSeek Flash (V4.1) | $0.30 | $0.006 | $1.20 | $0.0028 |
| DeepSeek V4 Pro | $1.32 | $0.044 | $3.96 | $0.0109 |
DeepSeek has peak and off-peak prices. Peak hours are 01:00 to 04:00 and 06:00 to 10:00 UTC, Monday to Friday. All other hours, weekends and Chinese public holidays are off-peak and cost half. Our calculator uses peak prices to be safe, so your real bill may be lower.
Cache hits are extremely cheap: $0.006 per million tokens on Flash at peak, compared with $0.30 for a cache miss. One support chat on Flash costs about $0.0028, about 4 times less than on GPT-6.1 Terra.
What is included, and what is not?
- Included: model calls, thinking mode, tool calls, JSON output, OpenAI and Anthropic compatible endpoints.
- Not included: Hosting for your agent code
- Not included: Search and Fetch API calls ($0.75 per 1,000)
What does DeepSeek cost at 3 business sizes?
A support chat agent on DeepSeek Flash (V4.1) at peak prices, 22 working days, no buffer.
| Size | Chats per day | Plan | AI model | Platform | Total per month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small | 20 | Pay as you go | $1.24 | $0.00 | $1.24 |
| Medium | 200 | Pay as you go | $12.39 | $0.00 | $12.39 |
| Large | 2,000 | Pay as you go | $124 | $0.00 | $124 |
What hidden costs should you watch for?
- Search and Fetch. $0.75 per 1,000 calls each. DeepSeek began billing server-side tool calls from coding tools on November 1, 2026.
- Data and compliance. Check where your data is processed and whether that fits your customers and industry before you switch.
- Concurrency limits. Flash allows 2,500 concurrent requests; V4 Pro allows 500.
How can you lower your DeepSeek bill?
- Schedule batch work for off-peak hours to pay half.
- Keep prompts stable to get cache hits.
- Use Flash for most tasks and V4 Pro only where needed.
What are the main DeepSeek alternatives?
Who is DeepSeek best for?
Good fit
- Cost-sensitive agents with high volume
- Batch jobs you can run off-peak
- Teams already using OpenAI-compatible code
Not the best fit
- Businesses with strict rules on where data is processed
- Agents that need a vendor-provided voice or CRM
What are the key DeepSeek features?
- Very low prices: Among the lowest token prices, and half price off-peak.
- Two models: Flash for speed and vision, V4 Pro for harder tasks.
- 1M context: Both models handle very long inputs.
- Compatible endpoints: OpenAI-format and Anthropic-format APIs.
- Thinking mode: Switch reasoning on or off per request.
How do you set up DeepSeek?
The steps below show the general setup. Button names change often, so follow the idea of each step rather than exact labels.
- Create an account and top up. DeepSeek bills from a prepaid balance.
- Create an API key. Store it safely on your server.
- Point your code at DeepSeek. In OpenAI-compatible code, change the base URL and model name.
- Pick Flash or V4 Pro. Use Flash for most steps.
- Schedule heavy jobs off-peak. Run batch work outside peak hours to pay half.
- Check compliance. Confirm the data terms fit your customers before going live.
Tips from setup
- Keep prompts stable for very cheap cache hits.
- Watch Search and Fetch calls, which are billed per request.
How do you calculate your DeepSeek cost?
- What will DeepSeek do for you?. Pick the job closest to yours. We fill in typical usage for that job, so you do not need to know anything about tokens.
- How many times a day?. Use a normal working day. A rough guess is fine, and we count 22 working days a month.
- Which DeepSeek model?. Lower-cost models suit simple work. Move up only if the answers are not good enough.
- Read your answer. You see one monthly figure, the cost of each DeepSeek task and what makes up the total.
Want to compare more tools at once? Use the main AI agent cost calculator.
How should you budget for DeepSeek?
With a model API, you pay for what the model reads and writes, so your bill comes from your own design choices. The length of your instructions, how much chat history you resend, and how many steps each task takes matter as much as the price per token. Doubling the steps roughly doubles the cost.
To budget for DeepSeek, run 20 to 50 real tasks through the model and record the tokens each one uses. Multiply the average by your expected monthly volume, then add 20% for retries and long requests. Set a monthly spending limit in your account so a bug cannot run up a large bill. Remember the API price does not cover hosting, your own development time or any paid tools your agent calls.
DeepSeek pricing FAQ
How much does the DeepSeek API cost?
At peak hours, DeepSeek Flash is $0.30 per million input tokens and $1.20 per million output tokens; V4 Pro is $1.32 and $3.96. Off-peak prices are half.
When are DeepSeek off-peak hours?
Peak hours are 01:00 to 04:00 and 06:00 to 10:00 UTC on weekdays. All other hours, weekends and Chinese public holidays are off-peak.
Can I use DeepSeek with OpenAI-compatible tools?
Yes. DeepSeek offers OpenAI-format and Anthropic-format endpoints, so many tools can switch by changing the base URL and model name.
How accurate is this DeepSeek cost calculator?
It uses prices from the official DeepSeek pricing page, last checked on November 3, 2026, and our own averages for typical usage. Treat your result as a planning estimate. Your real cost depends on your prompts, call lengths and busy days, so add about 20% and test with real work.
What does the DeepSeek cost calculator leave out?
It does not count these costs: Hosting for your agent code; Search and Fetch API calls ($0.75 per 1,000). It also leaves out tax and the time it takes to build and check your agent.
How do I work out what DeepSeek will cost my business?
Answer the questions in the calculator at the top of this page with your normal daily numbers. A rough guess is fine. Then run a small test for a week and replace your guess with your real usage.
Get your DeepSeek cost estimate
Now put in your own numbers. The DeepSeek cost calculator at the top of this page gives you a figure in about a minute. Then run a small test with real work and compare your real usage with the estimate. Still deciding? Compare other AI tools.
Source and last checked date
All DeepSeek prices on this page come from the official DeepSeek API pricing page, last checked on November 3, 2026. Peak-hour prices are used here to be safe. Off-peak prices are half. Peak hours: 01:00-04:00 and 06:00-10:00 UTC, Monday to Friday.
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