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This comparison uses OpenAI’s and DeepSeek’s official pricing pages, help articles and privacy policies, checked on October 31, 2026. We did not run a head-to-head quality benchmark for this article.
How we compared
ChatGPT vs DeepSeek at a glance
| ChatGPT | DeepSeek | |
|---|---|---|
| Company | OpenAI (United States) | Hangzhou DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence Co., Ltd. (China) |
| Consumer plans | Free, Go, Plus ($20/mo), Pro; Business and Enterprise for teams | Chat app; the API is DeepSeek’s priced product |
| Coding agent | Codex (limited on Free and Go, included on Plus, expanded on Pro) | Models used through the API in your own tools |
| Images, voice, deep research | Yes, with limits by plan | Not a focus |
| Cheapest API model we track | GPT-6 Luna: $0.10 in / $0.50 out | DeepSeek Flash: $0.30 in / $1.20 out (peak) |
| Cached input price | GPT-6 Luna: $0.01 | DeepSeek Flash: $0.006 |
| Where personal data is stored | See OpenAI’s privacy policy | People’s Republic of China, per DeepSeek’s privacy policy |
API prices per million tokens, checked October 31, 2026.
The apps: what you get
ChatGPT has the widest set of features of any assistant we cover. Its pricing page lists unlimited everyday text chats on the free plan (subject to abuse guardrails), with limited uploads, image creation, voice, deep research and Codex. Go raises those limits and may include ads. Plus, at $20 a month billed monthly, adds advanced reasoning models, projects, scheduled tasks, custom GPTs and expanded Codex. Pro offers three usage tiers with the highest limits.
DeepSeek offers a chat app on the web and mobile, built on the same models as its API. When we checked, its homepage announced an update of DeepSeek V4.1 Flash to version V4.1-Flash-1017 and new web search and fetch support in the API. Its pitch is capable models at low cost rather than a broad feature set.
API prices compared
| Model | Provider | Input / 1M tokens | Output / 1M tokens | Cached input | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GPT-6.1 Sol | OpenAI | $2.00 | $10.00 | $0.100 | Short-context standard price. |
| GPT-6.1 Terra | OpenAI | $1.00 | $5.00 | $0.050 | Short-context standard price. |
| GPT-6 Luna | OpenAI | $0.100 | $0.500 | $0.010 | Short-context standard price. |
| DeepSeek V4 Pro | DeepSeek | $1.32 | $3.96 | $0.044 | Peak-hour price (cache miss). Off-peak is half. |
| DeepSeek Flash (V4.1) | DeepSeek | $0.300 | $1.20 | $0.006 | Peak-hour price (cache miss). Off-peak is half. |
Official list prices checked Oct 30, 2026, before tax. Sources: platform.openai.com, api-docs.deepseek.com.
At peak prices, DeepSeek Flash costs three times GPT-6 Luna for input and 2.4 times for output, but its cached input is cheaper, and off-peak pricing halves the gap. DeepSeek V4 Pro at $1.32 in and $3.96 out sits between GPT-6.1 Terra and GPT-6.1 Sol on price. Which is cheaper for you depends on your prompt length, how much is cached and when your traffic runs. Compare with your own numbers in the AI API cost calculator.
For 30,000 requests a month with 2,000 input and 500 output tokens each, GPT-6 Luna costs $13.50 and DeepSeek Flash $36 at peak ($18 off-peak). See AI API pricing compared for every model.
Privacy and data location
DeepSeek’s privacy policy names Hangzhou DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence Co., Ltd., registered in China, as the data controller, and says: “we directly collect, process and store your Personal Data in People’s Republic of China.” That matters if you handle customer data, work under regulations such as GDPR or HIPAA, or have company policies about where data may go.
Whichever service you use, do not paste secrets, passwords or customers’ personal data into a chat unless your agreement with the provider allows it. For business use, check each provider’s data retention and training settings.
Keeping DeepSeek API costs low
DeepSeek’s pricing rewards two habits more than most providers do:
- Cache-friendly prompts. DeepSeek Flash’s cached input is $0.006 per million tokens, about 50 times cheaper than a cache miss. Put fixed instructions and shared documents at the start of every prompt so repeated requests hit the cache.
- Off-peak scheduling. Prices are half off-peak. Batch jobs such as summarizing archives, tagging content or generating drafts can be scheduled for those hours.
OpenAI also discounts cached input heavily (GPT-6 Luna’s cached input is $0.01), so run the same test on both before you commit.
Trying both on the same task
The only reliable way to choose a model for your product is to test it on your own data. A simple method:
- Collect 20 to 50 real examples of the task, with the answers you would accept.
- Run them through each candidate model with the same prompt.
- Score the results blind, without knowing which model wrote which.
- Compare the passing models on cost per 1,000 requests using the AI API cost calculator.
Repeat the test when providers release new models; prices and quality both move quickly.
Which should you use?
- An everyday assistant with images, voice and research: ChatGPT.
- A coding agent included with your subscription: ChatGPT (Codex) or Claude (Claude Code); see ChatGPT vs Claude for coding.
- The lowest API bill for high-volume, cache-friendly or off-peak jobs: test DeepSeek Flash against GPT-6 Luna and Claude Haiku 5.5.
- Data that must stay out of China: avoid DeepSeek’s hosted service.
Frequently asked questions
Is DeepSeek cheaper than ChatGPT?
For the API, it depends on the model. DeepSeek Flash lists at $0.30 in and $1.20 out per million tokens at peak, and half that off-peak. OpenAI’s GPT-6 Luna is cheaper at $0.10 and $0.50, while DeepSeek V4 Pro undercuts GPT-6.1 Sol.
Is DeepSeek safe to use?
DeepSeek says it stores personal data in the People’s Republic of China. Avoid sending sensitive or regulated data, and check your organization’s policies before using it for work.
How much is ChatGPT Plus?
$20 a month, billed monthly. OpenAI does not offer an annual Plus plan.
Can I use DeepSeek for coding?
Yes. You can connect DeepSeek’s API to coding tools that support custom model providers. For a coding agent bundled with a subscription, compare ChatGPT’s Codex and Claude Code.
Sources
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