LLM APIs · Comparison
DeepSeek API vs OpenAI 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 | OpenAI 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. | Saves engineering timeOne API key for OpenAI's GPT-6 models and hosted tools, priced per token with published batch, flex and caching discounts. |
| Overall score | 3.2 | 7.1Best |
| Free option | Paid only | –Not measured |
| Card to start | –Not measured | –Not measured |
| Getting access | Self-serve | Self-serve |
| Starter priceCheapest paid plan | $0.30/1M input tokens | $0.10/1M 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 1 year |
| Free option | None stated; a "granted balance" is mentioned with no amount | No free allowance stated |
| Reference scenario (100M in + 20M out tokens/mo) | $54 on deepseek-flash at peak ($27 off-peak), computed | $20 on gpt-6-luna, computed |
| Batch, cache and other discounts | No batch API; cache hits 98% off (automatic); off-peak 50% off | Batch and Flex 50% off; cached input 90% off |
| Trained on API data | May be used, de-identified, unless you opt out | No, unless you opt in |
| Default retention | No number of days ("as long as you have an account") | Abuse logs up to 30 days |
| Zero data retention | Not stated | By approval, through sales |
| SOC 2 / ISO 27001 | Not stated | Both, covering the API |
| HIPAA BAA | Not stated | Standard BAA accepted in the API Platform, if eligible |
| Data regions | No choice; processed and stored in the PRC | 10 storage regions by approval; processing in US, EU, UAE |
| Official SDKs | None of its own; docs use the OpenAI and Anthropic SDKs | Python, TypeScript/JavaScript, Java (beta), Go (beta), C#, Ruby |
| Console SSO | Not stated | Custom/Enterprise billing plan |
| 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 OpenAI API has a complete per-token price list, published batch, flex and caching discounts, and audit reports that cover the API. Stricter data controls, residency and SSO go through sales, and a few docs pages lag behind the price list. |
Evidence: DeepSeek API: facts checked 2026-10-15 from its public sign-up and pricing pages, no completed hands-on run; OpenAI 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 half-price off-peak hours without a separate tier, an Anthropic-format endpoint and a balance that does not expire.
- Pick OpenAI API when
- You want a lower scenario price ($20 on GPT-6 Luna), API data kept out of training by default, SOC 2 and ISO 27001 reports and hard spend limits.
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
- OpenAI APIGPT-6 Luna$0.10/1M input tokens$0.50 per 1M output tokens; cached input $0.01, cache writes $0.125; prompts over 272K input tokens cost 2x input and 1.5x output
- 1,050,000-token context window
- Batch and Flex at 50% of standard rates
- Fast mode at 2x
- EU data residency at +10%
Prices as listed on each pricing page, in USD per month, excluding tax. Observed: DeepSeek API 2026-10-15, OpenAI API 2026-10-15.
Which one fits
- If you need to start today without a sales call
- OpenAI APISelf-serve sign-up; the highest score of the 2 self-serve products here (7.1/10).
- Highest overall score
- OpenAI API7.1/10 (Good). 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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