Alternatives · DeepSeek
Updated · By llmwise, AI-assisted.
DeepSeek alternative: plans, limits and who should pick which
DeepSeek is free to use. It publishes no message count, so its price per message can't be worked out. llmwise Pro costs $20 a month and gives up to 250 DeepSeek V4 Pro messages a month ($0.08 each), counted before you send. What DeepSeek has that llmwise lacks: a free app, with no paid chat plan to buy.
DeepSeek, in DeepSeek's words
“Experience seamless interaction with DeepSeek's official AI assistant for free!”
“Chat with DeepSeek: Use API Platform”
Source: DeepSeek
“Off-peak rates are half of the peak rates. Peak hours are 01:00 - 04:00 and 06:00 - 10:00 UTC, Monday through Friday, excluding Chinese public holidays.”
DeepSeek's plans
DeepSeek sets these prices and can change them; each quote links its page.
| Plan | Price | What DeepSeek says | Messages it states |
|---|---|---|---|
| DeepSeek app | $0 | “Experience seamless interaction with DeepSeek's official AI assistant for free!” (App Store: DeepSeek - AI Assistant) | None published |
Is DeepSeek cheaper per message than llmwise?
DeepSeek publishes no price and count together, so there's no price per message to set beside llmwise's. Here's llmwise Pro's ($20), model by model.
| Where | Messages | A message |
|---|---|---|
| llmwise Pro, DeepSeek V4 Pro | Up to 250 a month | $0.08 |
| llmwise Pro, DeepSeek V4.1 Flash | 60 a day | Everyday model: a day's count |
| llmwise Pro, Claude Sonnet 5 | Up to 125 a month | $0.16 |
One more published limit: Pro's fair use stops at $7.50 of AI spend a month, which a month of typical messages doesn't reach. Very large prompts and heavy research can. Every limit, explained.
Does DeepSeek train on your chats?
DeepSeek's privacy pages, read September 28, 2026. llmwise's own policy: no training on your content, and chats kept until you delete them.
| App | Trains on chats | Turning it off | Chats kept |
|---|---|---|---|
| DeepSeek | Yes, by default | A right to opt out, in its policy; no setting named | As long as necessary, it says; stored in China |
“To improve and develop the Services and to train and improve our technology, such as our machine learning models and algorithms.”
Quoted from DeepSeek Privacy Policy
“the right to opt-out of using your Personal Data for training our models or optimizing our technologies.”
Quoted from DeepSeek Privacy Policy
“We retain Personal Data for as long as necessary to provide our Services and for the other purposes set out in this Privacy Policy.”
Quoted from DeepSeek Privacy Policy
“To provide you with our services, we directly collect, process and store your Personal Data in People's Republic of China.”
Quoted from DeepSeek Privacy Policy
How do llmwise's models do on the jobs you'd give DeepSeek?
DeepSeek V4 Pro, DeepSeek V4.1 Flash, and Claude Sonnet 5: 50 prompts, the same for each.
| Job | DeepSeek V4 Pro | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash | Claude Sonnet 5 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Writing | 5 of 5 | 4 of 5 | 4 of 5 |
| Summarization | 5 of 5 | 5 of 5 | 3 of 5 |
| Data analysis | 5 of 5 | 5 of 5 | 4 of 5 |
| Support replies | 4 of 5 | 4 of 5 | 5 of 5 |
| All 10 jobs | 49 of 50 | 48 of 50 | 46 of 50 |
No misses from any of them on coding, math, translation, SQL, answering from documents, and tool use. 5 prompts per job, from our runs of September 27, 28, 29 and October 2, 7, 8, 9, 15, 2026, graded alike for every model. Read every prompt and reply.
Should you pick DeepSeek or llmwise?
Our view, against DeepSeek's own words.
Pick DeepSeek if…
DeepSeek is all you use and free is what you want: its own app costs nothing.
Pick llmwise over DeepSeek if…
You want DeepSeek beside Claude, GPT and Gemini in one chat, a count per model, and messages that go to the model's maker or a US host rather than to DeepSeek's own app.
Only in DeepSeek
A free app, with no paid chat plan to buy.
Other assistants
Questions about DeepSeek
How much does DeepSeek cost?
DeepSeek app: $0 (from DeepSeek's own page, checked September 2026).
Is llmwise cheaper than DeepSeek per message?
DeepSeek publishes no message count, so there's no per-message price to set beside llmwise's. On llmwise Pro, up to 250 DeepSeek V4 Pro messages a month ($0.08 each).
What does DeepSeek have that llmwise doesn't?
A free app, with no paid chat plan to buy. llmwise's answer: You want DeepSeek beside Claude, GPT and Gemini in one chat, a count per model, and messages that go to the model's maker or a US host rather than to DeepSeek's own app.
Ask DeepSeek V4 Pro what you'd ask DeepSeek
It's up to 250 a month on llmwise Pro ($20). When an answer needs a second look, switch models mid-chat.