DeepSeek develops the DeepSeek family of open-weight models and runs a first-party API for them, with OpenAI- and Anthropic-format endpoints, context caching, and time-of-day pricing that halves rates outside weekday peak hours.
At a glance · prices collected Nov 12, 2026
What's good about DeepSeek
- First-party rates for DeepSeek's own models
- Cache-hit input billed at a fraction of the cache-miss rate
- Off-peak hours cut every rate in half
- Compatible with OpenAI and Anthropic client libraries
DeepSeek LLM API prices
Pay-per-token pricing, per 1M tokens.
Prices last updated November 12, 2026
| Model | Input/1M | Output/1M |
|---|---|---|
| $0.300 | $1.20 | |
| $1.32 | $3.96 |
DeepSeek pricing by model
Input, output, and batch rates, plus alternatives, for one model at a time.
Billing & terms
- Per token, peak
- Cache-hit input, cache-miss input and output billed per 1M tokens during weekday peak hours
- Per token, off-peak
- Half the peak rates at all other times
- Support
- Documentation, API status page, and FAQ
Watch out for
- Only DeepSeek's own models are offered
- Rates depend on time of day, which complicates cost forecasting
- Per-account concurrency limits apply
- Operated from China; check data-residency requirements before sending sensitive data
Features
- OpenAI and Anthropic formats
- The same models are served on an OpenAI-compatible base URL and an Anthropic-compatible one
- Thinking mode
- Models support thinking and non-thinking modes selected per request
- Context caching
- Repeated prompt prefixes are billed at a cache-hit rate well below the cache-miss input rate
- Off-peak pricing
- Rates are halved outside the published weekday peak hours and on weekends
- JSON output and tool calls
- Structured JSON output, tool calling, chat prefix completion and FIM completion (beta)
Company
Published by DeepSeek to identify the company behind this listing.
- Headquarters
- 🇨🇳 Hangzhou, China
Getting started
Step 1
Create an account
Sign up on the DeepSeek Platform and top up a balance
Step 2
Create an API key
Generate a key in the platform's API keys page
Step 3
Call the API
Point an OpenAI- or Anthropic-compatible client at api.deepseek.com
Where this page's facts come from
- LLM API prices
- api-docs.deepseek.com · last collected Nov 12, 2026
- Profile
- Reviewed Sep 28, 2026
- Method
- How we collect and check prices
Frequently Asked Questions
Which models does DeepSeek serve?
Check the pricing table above for the models DeepSeek currently serves and their per-token rates.
How do I get started with DeepSeek?
Create an account, Create an API key, Call the API
What are DeepSeek's main advantages?
DeepSeek's main advantages include: First-party rates for DeepSeek's own models, Cache-hit input billed at a fraction of the cache-miss rate, Off-peak hours cut every rate in half, Compatible with OpenAI and Anthropic client libraries.
What are DeepSeek's limitations?
DeepSeek's main limitations include: Only DeepSeek's own models are offered, Rates depend on time of day, which complicates cost forecasting, Per-account concurrency limits apply, Operated from China; check data-residency requirements before sending sensitive data.
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