DeepSeek vs Google Gemini API API Pricing (2026) — Per-Token Cost Comparison
Compare / DeepSeek vs Google Gemini API
Shortlist
Team size
25 seats

DeepSeek vs Google Gemini API

LLM API Providers pricing comparison · 2026

DeepSeek pricing ranges from $0–$0/per million tokens, while Google Gemini API ranges from $0–$18/per million tokens. DeepSeek is typically 100% more affordable, though your actual cost depends on tier and team size.

Visit
See pricing on each vendor's site
Above-the-fold path — each link opens the vendor's pricing page in a new tab.
Visit DeepSeek pricing
Free plan limits → Discount programs →
Visit Google pricing
Free plan limits → Discount programs →
Compare
2 products · AI Chatbots
Side-by-side · live
DeepSeek
DeepSeek offers free unlimited chat access and API pricing starting at $0.
verified 16d ago
View pricing →
Google Gemini API
Google Gemini API pricing starts at $0 on the Free tier, which provides rate-limited acces
verified 15d ago
View pricing →
Estimated license cost
at 25 seats
List price × seats. Click a tier below to lock it.
Usage-based
$0.14 per 1M tokens
see vendor pricing for volume tiers
Usage-based
$0.1 per 1M input tokens
see vendor pricing for volume tiers
REF · 01

Sources & confidence

Every dollar amount and contract clause below traces back to a sourced fact. We don't manufacture composite scores.

Where this data comes from
Vendr · TrustRadius · Reddit · BBB · official docs
Sources 8 sourced facts
6 hidden-cost · 1 contract · Vendr median
Last verified 2w ago
Confidence High confidence
Sources 1 sourced fact
Vendr median
Last verified 2w ago
Confidence Medium confidence
REF · 02

Plans at a glance

Every tier per product. Lock one to drive the cost row above and reveal a tier-specific outbound CTA.

Tier ladder
Click a tier to lock the cost row to it. Locking surfaces a tier-specific Visit CTA.
REF · 03

Hidden costs

Each cost is severity-ranked, with the dollar range quoted from its source (Vendr, Reddit, TrustRadius, BBB, official docs) — never our estimate.

Beyond the sticker
Severity-ranked, sourced
4 documented
  • Chain-of-Thought Reasoning Token Costs (R1)
    50-70% of total R1 API costs for complex reasoning tasks
    2 sources
  • Cache Miss Penalty — 4x Higher Input Costs
    15-74% of input token costs depending on cache hit rate
    2 sources
  • Massive Provider Markup on Third-Party Platforms
    10-100x vs cheapest available provider for same model
    1 source
  • Service Availability During High Demand
    5-15% of license costs
    1 source
No hidden costs documented
REF · 04

Contract terms

The fine print, surfaced. Green = buyer-friendly. Each clause backed by a quoted source.

DeepSeek
Google
Auto-renewal
✓ No
✓ No
Cancellation
N/A — pay-as-you-go, no subscription
Not applicable — pay-per-use, no subscription contract
Commitment
None — prepaid balance model, add funds as needed
None — pay-per-use
Price escalation
No published schedule; historically pricing has decreased as newer model versions are released
No published price escalation schedule; Google may change per-token rates with notice
Can downgrade
✓ Yes
✓ Yes
Based on 1 verified source (Vendr · TrustRadius · BBB)
REF · 05

What users say

Aggregated, with sample sizes. We use whichever review platform has data.

User reviews
TrustRadius · Trustpilot · G2
No public ratings yet
Best for
Personal use and experimentation
Watch out
Rate limiting and single-request-at-a-time queuing on direct API during peak periods
No public ratings yet
Best for
Prototyping and evaluation
Decide
Get a quote from each vendor
Each link opens the vendor's pricing page in a new tab.
Visit DeepSeek pricing
Free plan limits → Discount programs →
Visit Google pricing
Free plan limits → Discount programs →
License cost is computed from publicly listed plans (real math, list price × seats). Median annual cost is from Vendr's deal flow when available — see source badges. Hidden costs and contract terms each cite their own sources. We do not invent composite scores.
Option A

DeepSeek

$0–$0
/per million tokens
3 plans · Free tier
Full pricing breakdown →
VS
Option B

Google Gemini API

$0–$18
/per million tokens
4 plans · Free tier
Full pricing breakdown →

DeepSeek and Google Gemini API are two leading LLM API providers. This page compares their per-token pricing, available models, and tier structure so you can pick the right backend for your workload — whether you're optimizing for cost per 1M tokens, latency, or model quality.

Plan-by-Plan Pricing

Plan DeepSeek Google Gemini API
Free Chat Free /month Free /month
API Access (V4 Flash) Custom Custom
API Access (V4 Pro) Custom Custom
Pro (Paid) — Custom

Contract Terms

Term DeepSeek Google Gemini API
Auto-renewal No No
Cancellation N/A — pay-as-you-go, no subscription Not applicable — pay-per-use, no subscription contract
Minimum commitment None — prepaid balance model, add funds as needed None — pay-per-use
Price escalation No published schedule; historically pricing has decreased as newer model versions are released No published price escalation schedule; Google may change per-token rates with notice
Can downgrade Yes Yes

Continue researching

DeepSeek

Google Gemini API

Related Comparisons