DeepSeek Review 2026: Free Chat, API Pricing and Verdict

What it is

DeepSeek is an AI lab based in Hangzhou, China, operated by Hangzhou DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence Co., Ltd. It offers two products. The chat app, on the web, iOS and Android, is a free assistant with a reasoning mode called DeepThink, web search, file uploads and vision. The API sells the same models to developers by the token, with OpenAI and Anthropic compatible endpoints.

DeepSeek became known for releasing strong models at a fraction of rivals' prices. In October 2026 its API lists two models: deepseek-flash (DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash) and deepseek-v4-pro.

Pricing explained

The chat app has no subscription and no paid tier. All paid use is the API.

API model	Input, cache miss (peak / off peak)	Input, cache hit (peak / off peak)	Output (peak / off peak)	Context
deepseek-flash	$0.30 / $0.15 per 1M	$0.006 / $0.003 per 1M	$1.20 / $0.60 per 1M	1M tokens, 384K output
deepseek-v4-pro	$1.32 / $0.66 per 1M	$0.044 / $0.022 per 1M	$3.96 / $1.98 per 1M	1M tokens, 384K output

Peak hours are 01:00 to 04:00 and 06:00 to 10:00 UTC on weekdays, excluding Chinese public holidays. Every other hour is off peak at half price. Search and Fetch tools cost $0.75 per 1,000 successful requests, free through some partner tools until November 1, 2026.

To put that in context: a developer running 10 million input tokens and 2 million output tokens a month through deepseek-flash at peak pays about $5.40. The same volume off peak is about $2.70. Full worked examples are in DeepSeek pricing.

Key features

DeepThink reasoning

DeepThink shows the model working through a problem before answering, which helps on math, logic and code. It is free in the app. The App Store listing says Instant, Expert and Vision modes are now unified in one interface.

Web search

Search pulls current web results into answers in the app. On the API, search and fetch tools are billed per request.

Vision and file uploads

The app supports image and file uploads. On the API, vision is listed for deepseek-flash but not for deepseek-v4-pro.

Developer API

Both models support thinking mode, JSON output and tool calls, with a 1M token context and up to 384K output tokens. The API is compatible with OpenAI and Anthropic client formats, so switching from another provider is often a base URL change. Billing draws from a topped up balance, using any granted balance first.

What is missing

DeepSeek lists no image generation, no voice mode in our record, no team or business plan, no admin controls and no compliance certifications.

What users say

Source	Rating	Reviews
App Store	3.9	12,300
Trustpilot	2.3	161

DeepSeek's App Store rating of 3.9 is the lowest among the major assistants we cover, and its review base is small compared with rivals' millions. G2 shows 4.4 from only 18 reviews, too few to carry much weight. Trustpilot is more mixed than for rivals: 56% one star but 23% five star.

Recurring praise focuses on coding and technical problem solving, free access and web search. Recurring complaints: replies switching to Chinese despite English prompts, hallucinated sources, instructions ignored, hard to reach support, payment verification hurdles, chat sessions that expire during long projects, and sensitivity around China related topics.

Privacy and security

This is the section that decides DeepSeek for most buyers. Its privacy policy says it "directly collect[s], process[es] and store[s]" personal data in the People's Republic of China. It uses input to train and improve its models, and you can opt out by emailing a request to its privacy team rather than flipping a setting. Retention is "as long as necessary" with no fixed periods published.

Apple's App Store privacy label lists location, contact info, user content, search history and usage data as linked to your identity. Some employers and government agencies restrict DeepSeek on work devices; check yours before installing.

There is no business plan, SSO, audit log or compliance certification listed. For regulated or client data, DeepSeek is the wrong tool. Developers who want DeepSeek's models without sending data to DeepSeek's servers can look at third party hosts of its open models, though that is outside this review.

Who it is for

• Budget users who want free reasoning: DeepThink and search at no cost.
• Developers who need a very cheap API: among the lowest published per token prices, with off peak discounts.
• Experimenters comparing model labs: OpenAI and Anthropic compatible endpoints make tests easy.

Who should skip it

• Anyone handling client, health or confidential data: data is stored in China and used for training by default.
• Teams: no team plan or admin controls. See ChatGPT review.
• Creators: no image generation. See Gemini review.
• People who want a European low cost option: see Le Chat review.

Alternatives

• ChatGPT: unlimited everyday text chat on Free plus images and voice.
• Gemini: free Deep Research, images and Gemini Live.
• Mistral Vibe: $14.99 Pro from a European lab, with on premises options.
• Claude: long context and Claude Code.
• Meta AI: another free assistant with image creation.

Verdict

On price alone, DeepSeek wins the category: the app is free and the API undercuts every major rival, especially off peak. For developers running high volume, non sensitive workloads, that matters.

It falls short on almost everything else. Data is stored in China and used for training unless you email an opt out, there is no team plan or image generation, and its ratings trail the field. Use it for public, non sensitive tasks and cheap API experiments, and pick a different assistant for anything personal or confidential.