Grok vs DeepSeek: Which AI Fits You in 2026
One charges up to $200 a month for live X search, images and video. The other is free, text only and runs one of the cheapest APIs.
By , research by the BestBots team · Updated Oct 18, 2026
Fact checked against each company's published pricing, documentation and verified user ratings. How we score
Pick Grok if you want a full featured assistant: live X and web search, images up to 2K, 15 second videos, voice and API access, with Premium at $30 per month. Pick DeepSeek if you want free reasoning chats or the cheapest API: the app costs nothing and deepseek-flash starts at $0.15 per million input tokens off peak, but it is text only and stores data in China.
Side by side
| Spec | Grok | DeepSeek |
|---|---|---|
| BestBots Score | 4.0 | 3.7 |
| Starting price | $8 per month | $0 |
| Pricing model | per seat | free |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Free plan | Yes, limited chat and agent requests | Yes, the chat app is free |
| Paid from | $8 per month (Plus); Premium $30 | No subscription; API from $0.15 per 1M input tokens off peak |
| Top model on paid plan | Latest Grok models on Premium; Grok 4.7 is xAI's current flagship | No subscription; API tops out at DeepSeek-V4-Pro |
| Context window | 500K tokens for Grok 4.7 via the API; Grok 4.3 and 4.20 variants list 1M | 1M tokens (API) |
| Image generation | Yes, Grok Imagine images up to 2K and 15 second video | Not listed |
The short answer
- Choose Grok for news on X, image and video creation, team plans and a polished app.
- Choose DeepSeek for free DeepThink reasoning with web search, or high volume API work at very low cost.
- Developers comparing API prices will find DeepSeek several times cheaper per token.
Pricing
| Tier | Grok | DeepSeek |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0, limited chat and agent requests | $0, full app with DeepThink and Search |
| Entry | Plus, $8 per month | None |
| Standard | Premium, $30 per month | None |
| Power | Super, $100 per month | None |
| Top | Ultra, $200 per month | None |
| Team | Teams, from $30 per user per month | None |
API price per 1M tokens
| Model | Input | Output | Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grok 4.7 | $2 to $4 | $6 to $12 | 500K |
| Grok 4.3 | $1.25 to $2.50 | $2.50 to $5 | 1M |
| DeepSeek deepseek-flash, peak | $0.30 | $1.20 | 1M |
| DeepSeek deepseek-flash, off peak | $0.15 | $0.60 | 1M |
| DeepSeek deepseek-v4-pro, peak | $1.32 | $3.96 | 1M |
| DeepSeek deepseek-v4-pro, off peak | $0.66 | $1.98 | 1M |
xAI charges the higher rate when prompts exceed 200K tokens. DeepSeek halves its rates outside 01:00 to 04:00 and 06:00 to 10:00 UTC on weekdays.
A worked example: 10 million input and 2 million output tokens per month. On Grok 4.7 at the lower tier, that is $20 plus $12, or $32. On deepseek-flash off peak, $1.50 plus $1.20, or $2.70. On deepseek-v4-pro off peak, $6.60 plus $3.96, or $10.56.
Plan details: Grok pricing and DeepSeek pricing.
Models and features
Grok Premium runs the latest Grok models, with Grok 4.7 listed as xAI's recommended model for chat and code. DeepSeek's app offers DeepThink reasoning and Search; the API serves deepseek-flash (DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash, with vision and tool calls) and deepseek-v4-pro.
| Feature | Grok | DeepSeek |
|---|---|---|
| Live search | X and web | Web search |
| Reasoning | Latest Grok models on Premium | DeepThink, free |
| Image generation | Grok Imagine, up to 2K | Not listed |
| Video generation | Up to 15 seconds | Not listed |
| Image input | Not stated on the pricing page | deepseek-flash API |
| Voice mode | Yes | Not listed |
| Coding | Grok Build; pool shared with Cursor | API with OpenAI and Anthropic formats |
| API in plan | Included on paid plans | Pay as you go only |
| Team plan | Teams, SSO, admin and spend controls | None |
Head to head scenarios
Free everyday assistant
Winner: DeepSeek. The full app is free, including reasoning and search. Grok's free tier is limited, and xAI steers new AI users to the $30 Premium plan.
News and social trends
Winner: Grok. Live X search is its signature feature. DeepSeek searches the web but not X in real time.
Images and video
Winner: Grok. It creates both. DeepSeek creates neither.
Cheap API at scale
Winner: DeepSeek. deepseek-flash costs a small fraction of Grok 4.7 per token, with a 1M context and cache hits from $0.003 per million tokens.
Long document analysis
Winner: DeepSeek. Both API models list a 1M token context at a fraction of Grok's price. xAI's flagship Grok 4.7 lists 500K; its older Grok 4.3 and 4.20 reach 1M but cost more per token than deepseek-v4-pro off peak.
Small business team
Winner: Grok. Teams adds pooled usage, SSO and spend controls from $30 per user. DeepSeek offers no team plan or admin features.
Privacy
DeepSeek's privacy policy states that it collects, processes and stores personal data in the People's Republic of China and uses inputs to train and improve its models, with a right to opt out by contacting its privacy team. Data is kept for as long as you have an account.
Grok Teams lists SSO plus admin and spend controls. xAI's privacy policy page was not reachable when we compared plans in October 2026, so read it directly before sharing sensitive material. Consumer Grok plans tie into your X account.
Verdict
Grok is the more complete product: live X search, images, video, voice and team plans. DeepSeek is the value pick: free reasoning in the app and API rates that undercut Grok several times over. Pick Grok if you will use its media and news features; pick DeepSeek if you mainly want text answers or cheap tokens and accept China based data storage.
Read the Grok review and DeepSeek review.
Frequently asked questions
Is Grok better than DeepSeek?
Grok has far more features: live X search, image and video generation, voice, team plans and API access in paid plans. DeepSeek is free and its API is much cheaper. If you want a full featured assistant, Grok; if you want free reasoning or the cheapest API, DeepSeek.
Which API is cheaper?
DeepSeek, by a wide margin. deepseek-flash is $0.30 per 1M input tokens and $1.20 output at peak, half that off peak. Grok 4.7 is $2 to $4 input and $6 to $12 output. xAI's cheaper Grok 4.3 and 4.20 models are $1.25 to $2.50 input and $2.50 to $5 output.
Is DeepSeek free while Grok is paid?
DeepSeek's app is entirely free. Grok has a free tier with limited chat and agent requests, then paid plans at $8, $30, $100 and $200 per month.
Which is better for coding?
For API coding on a budget, DeepSeek, since its models are cheap and accept OpenAI and Anthropic compatible requests. For a coding setup tied to Cursor, Grok, because xAI shares its usage pool with Cursor and lists Grok Build 0.1 in its models.
Which is better for privacy?
DeepSeek's privacy policy states that data is stored and processed in the People's Republic of China and that inputs are used for training unless you opt out. Grok Teams offers SSO and admin controls. Neither is a top pick for sensitive work data, but Grok's team controls give businesses more to work with.
Can DeepSeek make images like Grok?
No image generation is listed for DeepSeek. Its deepseek-flash API model accepts images as input. Grok Imagine creates images up to 2K and videos up to 15 seconds.