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Alternatives to DeepSeek API

Compare the same workload. Check the differences behind the price.

DeepSeek API

Ultra cost-effective open-weights models with deep reasoning and context caching.

Not modeled

DeepSeek-R1

Official pricing · Checked 2026-10-08

Cost breakdown and exclusions
  • Current DeepSeek pricing lists V4 models. This legacy R1 model and its historical token rates are not supported by the current pricing source.
  • Current DeepSeek pricing lists V4 models. This legacy V3 model and its historical token rates are not supported by the current pricing source.
  • This pricing model is not supported.

What this comparison covers

Commercial API inference for generative language and reasoning models. Shared multi-tenant API endpoints, standard rate limits, and pay-as-you-go billing without committed use discounts or provisioned throughput. Fine-tuning, batch API discounts, embeddings, and audio generation are excluded.

Evaluating 4 products from 4 published in this category. USD monthly equivalents, before tax. Features and service compatibility need separate evaluation.

Standard input tokens
10,000,000 tokens / month
Output tokens
2,000,000 tokens / month
Cached prompt tokens
5,000,000 tokens / month
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3 alternatives in this comparison

OpenAI API

Industry-standard foundation models with automatic prompt caching and vision.

$3.08 / month

Savings cannot be established at this workload.

  • GPT-4o mini: $3.08/month at reference usage.
  • Automatic 50% prompt caching discount applies to prompts with 1,024+ identical leading tokens.
  • Fine-tuning, Batch API discounts, audio/realtime APIs, and image generation.

Official source · Checked 2026-10-06

Compare with DeepSeek API →

Groq Cloud

LPU Inference Engine delivering unmatched token output speeds.

$10.43 / month

Savings cannot be established at this workload.

  • Llama 3.3 70B (Groq): $10.43/month at reference usage.
  • Industry-leading 250+ tokens per second inference speeds on dedicated LPU hardware.
  • Context prompt caching discounts, vision inputs on this model.

Official source · Checked 2026-10-06

Compare with DeepSeek API →

Anthropic Claude

Leading coding and analytical models with 90% prompt cache read discounts.

Not modeled

Savings cannot be established at this workload.

  • Claude 3.5 Haiku: Estimate unavailable at reference usage.
  • Claude 3.5 Haiku retired on February 19, 2026. This model is unavailable on the Claude API.
  • Claude 3.5 Sonnet retired on October 28, 2025. This model is unavailable on the Claude API.
  • This pricing model is not supported.

Official source · Checked 2026-10-08

Compare with DeepSeek API →

Questions before you decide

Are these drop-in replacements for DeepSeek API?

No compatibility is implied by sharing the LLM APIs category. Check the selected plans, workload assumptions, API compatibility and required features before switching.

Plan your offboarding from DeepSeek API →