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DeepSeek

chatbot

by deepseek

Frontier AI models (V4 Pro and V4 Flash) that are completely free to chat with, the cheapest to build on, and fully open source under the MIT license.

Key features

Conversations
Coding
Math & Reasoning
Writing
DeepThink (R1 Reasoning)
Deep Research
Pricing

Free tier available

Best For

Anyone who wants a capable AI chatbot without paying anything; the consumer app is completely free with no paid tiers

Verdict

Frontier level model quality at 10 to 50x lower cost than Western competitors

What it does

Conversations

General purpose AI chat for questions, brainstorming, explanations, and everyday tasks, powered by DeepSeek V4.

Coding

Code generation, debugging, review, and explanation across all major programming languages. Particularly strong at competitive programming and algorithm problems.

Math & Reasoning

One of the strongest models available for mathematical problem solving, logic, and structured reasoning across standard benchmarks.

Writing

Long form content creation, summarization, editing, and translation with strong multilingual support.

DeepThink (R1 Reasoning)

Toggle on extended chain of thought reasoning in the chat app for complex problems that benefit from step by step thinking. Free to use.

Learn more

Deep Research

Autonomous research mode that searches the web extensively and produces comprehensive, cited reports. Available for free.

Learn more

Web Search

Up to date information retrieval with source citations, togglable directly in the chat interface.

API & Self Hosting

Build applications with the cheapest frontier API available (V4 Flash and V4 Pro), or download the full model weights and run on your own hardware under the MIT license. Both models support 1M context and are available on AWS Bedrock for managed US hosted deployments.

Learn more

Pricing

Free

Free

Complete access to DeepSeek V4 (Flash and Pro via Expert Mode), DeepThink reasoning, Deep Research, web search, and file uploads. No credit card required. No paid consumer tiers exist.

  • DeepSeek V4 Flash (Instant Mode) and V4 Pro (Expert Mode)
  • DeepThink reasoning mode
  • Deep Research
  • Web search with citations
  • File and image uploads
  • Generous daily usage limits
  • No credit card required

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • Frontier level model quality at 10 to 50x lower cost than Western competitors
  • Consumer chat app is completely free with generous limits, including reasoning and Deep Research
  • Fully open source under the MIT license with published weights, training code, and methodology
  • Exceptional performance on math, coding, and reasoning benchmarks; V4 Pro rivals top closed source models on agentic coding and STEM
  • DeepThink (R1 reasoning) available for free, while competitors charge $20+/month for equivalent features
  • API pricing is the lowest of any frontier model ($0.14/$0.28 per million tokens for V4 Flash), viable for high volume applications
  • Extensive ecosystem of distilled models (1.5B to 70B parameters) for running on various hardware configurations
  • Available on many third party platforms including AWS Bedrock, OpenRouter, Together AI, and Fireworks for US hosted infrastructure

Cons

  • Chat interface is basic compared to ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini with fewer features, less polish, and no projects or workspaces
  • Data privacy concerns: servers are in China and Chinese data laws apply. Self hosting is recommended for sensitive business use
  • V4 Preview models are still being refined; some rough edges remain compared to mature Western offerings
  • No image generation, video generation, or voice mode capabilities
  • No native integrations, plugins, or app ecosystem (no MCP, no connectors)
  • Writing quality for creative and nuanced long form content is generally behind Claude
  • Occasional censorship on politically sensitive topics related to China
  • Less reliable uptime compared to established Western providers; the API has experienced capacity issues during peak demand
  • Allegations of copying from other AI models have raised questions about training methodology and intellectual property, though DeepSeek has disputed these claims

How to get started

1

Create your free account

Go to chat.deepseek.com and create a free account. There is no paid tier for the consumer app. Everything is free, including V4 Pro via Expert Mode, DeepThink reasoning, and Deep Research. No credit card required.

DeepSeek Chat
2

Send your first message and try DeepThink

Type any question in the chat box. Use Expert Mode for V4 Pro or Instant Mode for V4 Flash. Toggle DeepThink on before sending to activate reasoning mode, which shows step by step chain of thought before the final answer. This is the equivalent of features that cost $20+/month on ChatGPT and Claude, available here for free.

3

Explore Deep Research and web search

Activate Deep Research for comprehensive, multi source reports on complex topics. Enable web search for questions that need current information with source citations. Upload PDFs, images, and documents for analysis.

4

Go further with the API or self hosting

For developers, sign up at platform.deepseek.com for API access. Use model IDs deepseek-v4-flash or deepseek-v4-pro. The API is OpenAI and Anthropic compatible, so existing client libraries work by changing the base URL. For full privacy control, download model weights from Hugging Face and run locally with Ollama, vLLM, or llama.cpp.

API PlatformAPI DocumentationHugging Face Models

Deep dive

Detailed guides with comparisons, tips, and visuals for each feature.

Model Versions

DeepSeek V4 Pro and V4 Flash (current flagships), plus R1 distilled variants from 1.5B to 70B and the full release history.

2 min read

DeepSeek Chat (Consumer Web App)

Free chat interface with DeepThink reasoning, Deep Research, web search, and file uploads. No paid tiers.

Free (no paid tiers)·1 min read

API & Developer Access

The cheapest frontier API available, OpenAI and Anthropic compatible, with aggressive caching discounts and broad third party platform support.

Pay per use, no minimum spend·2 min read

Open Source & Self Hosting

Full model weights under MIT license with no restrictions. Run on your own hardware from a single laptop to a multi GPU cluster.

MIT license, no restrictions·1 min read

Get notified about updates

We'll email you when this tool's pricing or features change.

Last updated: 2026-06-01