Quick verdict
- Best for
- Cost-conscious developers
- Pricing
- Free
- Not ideal if
- Data routed through China
- Editor rating
- 4.4/5 editorial score, not user reviews
What is DeepSeek?
DeepSeek's chat product. Strong reasoning, free for unlimited use, with API pricing 10-50x cheaper than GPT-5. Shook the AI industry in early 2025.
Key features
- Free unlimited chat
- Strong reasoning model
- Code generation
- API access at low cost
- Open source weights
Pros
- Completely free
- Surprisingly capable
- Open source weights available
Cons
- Data routed through China
- Less polished UI
Best for
Cost-conscious developersResearchersOpen-source advocates
