DeepSeek is a Chinese AI lab producing some of the strongest open-weight reasoning models. DeepSeek R1 rivals frontier closed models on math, science, and complex reasoning. DeepSeek V3 is the best open-weight model for general tasks.
Rankings refresh dailyScored on 6 criteriaNo paid rankings
DeepSeek R1 rivals GPT-5.4 on math and reasoning benchmarks
MIT licensed — fully open for commercial use
Training cost fraction of frontier closed models
2 models
All DeepSeek Models
Every DeepSeek model in the directory, ranked by overall capability score.
DeepSeekBudget
DeepSeek V3
Open-source frontier model from DeepSeek that matches GPT-4o class performance at a fraction of the cost — the most disruptive budget option for coding and general tasks.
Verdict
GPT-4o-class coding quality at under $0.30/1M — the best value in the directory.
Quality score
71%
Pricing
$0.27/1M in
$1.10/1M out
Speed
Fast
Best for coding, reasoning, and general tasks at extreme cost efficiency
Context
128k tokens
DeepSeek V3 shocked the market on release. At this price point with this capability level, it forces a reconsideration of when premium models are actually worth it.
Open sourceBudgetCodingDeepSeek
Best for
Coding, reasoning, and general tasks at extreme cost efficiency
Open-source reasoning model that matches o1-class performance on math, science, and complex coding at a fraction of the cost — the best open alternative to proprietary reasoning models.
Verdict
Open-source o1-class reasoning at a fraction of the cost.
Quality score
68%
Pricing
$0.55/1M in
$2.19/1M out
Speed
Deliberate
Best for math, science, complex reasoning, and multi-step problem solving at budget cost
Context
128k tokens
R1 is a genuine milestone for open-source AI. The reasoning quality is real — the tradeoff is latency, not capability.
ReasoningOpen sourceBudgetDeepSeek
Best for
Math, science, complex reasoning, and multi-step problem solving at budget cost
Pricing changes, new releases, and ranking shifts — straight to your inbox.
No spam. Useful updates only. Affiliate disclosures always clearly labeled.
DeepSeek FAQ
What is DeepSeek's best model in 2026?
DeepSeek R1 is DeepSeek's strongest model for complex reasoning, math, and science tasks. DeepSeek V3 is the best general-purpose DeepSeek model for coding and writing. Both are MIT licensed and free to run.
How does DeepSeek compare to Claude and GPT?
DeepSeek R1 matches GPT-5.4 on many reasoning benchmarks at a fraction of the cost. Claude Opus 4.7 still leads on SWE-Bench Pro coding. The key advantage of DeepSeek is MIT licensing — you can run it for free via Groq, Together AI, or self-hosted.
Is DeepSeek safe to use?
DeepSeek models are open-weight and can be self-hosted, giving full control over data. The API (api.deepseek.com) processes data through DeepSeek's servers in China — teams with data residency requirements should use self-hosted deployments or US-based providers like Groq or Together AI instead.