LLM APIs · Comparison
DeepSeek API vs Google Gemini API
2 products compared side by side: what you pay for with each one first, then the five access facts, entry prices, recorded plan limits and the bottom line of each review. The evidence note under the table says how each product was checked.
Side by side
| Metric | DeepSeek API | Google Gemini API |
|---|---|---|
| What you're paying for | Worth the priceA 1M-token-context model billed per token, with automatic cache hits at 98% off and half-price off-peak hours. | Easy to adoptGoogle's Gemini models by the token in US dollars, with an ongoing free tier to start and batch, flex and caching discounts to scale. |
| Overall score | 3.2 | 5.3Best |
| Free option | Paid only | Free plan |
| Card to start | –Not measured | No card needed |
| Getting access | Self-serve | Self-serve |
| Starter priceCheapest paid plan | $0.30/1M input tokens | $0.25/1M input tokens |
| Pricing model | Usage-based | Usage-based |
| Pricing page | Public prices | Public prices |
| How you pay | Prepaid balance (PayPal, card, Alipay, WeChat Pay); top-ups do not expire | Prepaid credits ($5 minimum), expire after 12 months |
| Free option | None stated; a "granted balance" is mentioned with no amount | Ongoing free tier on select models, no card; limits shown in AI Studio |
| Reference scenario (100M in + 20M out tokens/mo) | $54 on deepseek-flash at peak ($27 off-peak), computed | $55 on gemini-3.1-flash-lite, computed |
| Batch, cache and other discounts | No batch API; cache hits 98% off (automatic); off-peak 50% off | Batch and Flex (preview) 50% off; cached input 90% off |
| Trained on API data | May be used, de-identified, unless you opt out | Paid: no. Free tier: may be used to improve Google products |
| Default retention | No number of days ("as long as you have an account") | Abuse logs for a "limited period", days not stated |
| Zero data retention | Not stated | Not guaranteed: paid prompts are logged for abuse monitoring (docs point to Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform, formerly Vertex AI) |
| SOC 2 / ISO 27001 | Not stated | Not stated for this API |
| HIPAA BAA | Not stated | Not stated for this API |
| Data regions | No choice; processed and stored in the PRC | No region choice stated |
| Official SDKs | None of its own; docs use the OpenAI and Anthropic SDKs | Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, Go, Java, C# |
| Console SSO | Not stated | Not stated (Google account sign-in) |
| Bottom line | From its public pages, DeepSeek API has short, clear token prices, automatic 98%-off cache hits and half-price off-peak hours. Data is processed in China, training use is opt-out, and no compliance documents are stated. | From its public pages, the Gemini API pairs an ongoing free tier on current models with a detailed USD price list and published batch, flex and caching discounts. Certifications, zero data retention and data regions sit with Google Cloud's Agent Platform, and a few billing pages disagree. |
Evidence: DeepSeek API: facts checked 2026-10-15 from its public sign-up and pricing pages, no completed hands-on run; Google Gemini API: facts checked 2026-10-15 from its public sign-up and pricing pages, no completed hands-on run. Prices in USD as listed, excluding tax. "–" means not recorded.
When to pick each
In the words of each review, with the date its facts were checked.
From our DeepSeek API review
Checked Oct 15, 2026- Pick DeepSeek API when
- You want 98%-off cache hits, half-price off-peak hours and an Anthropic-format endpoint, at about the same scenario price ($54 against $55).
- Pick Google Gemini API when
- You want an ongoing free tier, a 50% batch discount and paid prompts kept out of training.
Entry price
Baseline: each product's cheapest paid plan, per month. Included usage differs, so read the line under each price.
- DeepSeek APIdeepseek-flash$0.30/1M input tokens$1.20 per 1M output tokens at the peak rate; cache hits $0.006; off-peak rates are half
- DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash
- 1M context, up to 384K output
- Tool calls, JSON output, vision
- Concurrency limit 2,500
- Google Gemini APIGemini 3.1 Flash-Lite$0.25/1M input tokens$1.50 per 1M output tokens; audio input $0.50; cached input $0.025 plus $1.00 per 1M tokens per hour of storage
- 1,048,576 input and 65,536 output tokens
- Batch and Flex $0.125 / $0.75
- Priority $0.45 / $2.70 (preview)
- Function calling and structured outputs
Prices as listed on each pricing page, in USD per month, excluding tax. Observed: DeepSeek API 2026-10-15, Google Gemini API 2026-10-15.
Which one fits
- If you need to start today without a sales call
- Google Gemini APISelf-serve sign-up, no card needed; the highest score of the 2 self-serve products here (5.3/10).
- If you want to try it without entering a card
- Google Gemini APIFree plan, no card needed; scored 5.3/10.
- Highest overall score
- Google Gemini API5.3/10 (Fair). The review shows the score breakdown and the run behind it.
Picked by fixed rules from the table above, not by hand. How we score
Full reviews
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