DeepSeek Cost Calculator
Estimate DeepSeek V4 API token spend using current cache-hit and cache-miss rates.
Inputs
Choose the model tier you plan to use in production.
Average prompt size per API call — system prompt + context + user message. Typical ranges: simple chat 500–2,000 · RAG chatbot 2,000–8,000 · document analysis 10,000–100,000. A page of text ≈ 750 tokens.
Average response length per API call. Typical ranges: short answer 200–500 · paragraph 500–1,000 · long-form 1,000–4,000 tokens.
Total API calls per month across all users and jobs. 10 users × 3 sessions/day × 10 calls/session × 30 days = 9,000 requests/month.
Fraction of input tokens billed as cached reads. Cache writes and storage are not included. Use 0 if caching is disabled.
((2,000 fresh input × $0.14 + 0 cached-read input × $0.0028 + 500 output × $0.28) / 1M × 10,000 req) × 12
Decision Summary
Cost breakdown
| Item | Monthly | Yearly |
|---|---|---|
| Fresh input (2,000 tok/req × 10,000 req × $0.14/MTok) | $2.80 | $33.60 |
| Output spend (500 tok/req × 10,000 req × $0.28/MTok) | $1.40 | $16.80 |
| Total monthly spend | $4.20 | $50.40 |
Comparison
| Option | Monthly | Yearly |
|---|---|---|
| OpenAI GPT-5 | $75.00 | $900.00 |
| Claude Claude Sonnet 5 | $90.00 | $1,080.00 |
| Gemini Gemini 2.5 Pro | $75.00 | $900.00 |
| DeepSeek DeepSeek V4 Flashcurrentcheapest | $4.20 | $50.40 |
Pricing sources
Last verified 2026-08-03 · DeepSeek official pricing api-docs.deepseek.com/quick_start/pricing
Industry Benchmark
Pricing sources
Last verified 2026-08-03 · developers.openai.com/api/docs/models/compare developers.openai.com/api/docs/models/compare · platform.claude.com/docs/en/about-claude/pricing platform.claude.com/docs/en/about-claude/pricing · ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/pricing ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/pricing · api-docs.deepseek.com/quick_start/pricing api-docs.deepseek.com/quick_start/pricing
Trends & comparison
Trend
Comparison (monthly vs. yearly)
Official DeepSeek rates used
Verified August 3, 2026: V4 Flash is $0.14/MTok cache-miss input, $0.0028 cache-hit input, and $0.28 output. V4 Pro is $0.435/$0.003625/$0.87. The values come from DeepSeek's official API pricing documentation.
A reproducible workload example
At 10,000 monthly requests with 2,000 input and 500 output tokens, V4 Flash costs $4.20 and V4 Pro costs $13.05 before any cache hits. The earlier $12.70 V4 Pro figure was incorrect and has been removed.
No assumed Batch discount
Some competing providers publish separate Batch token rates. DeepSeek's official pricing source used here does not, so this calculator does not apply the site's former blanket 50% Batch discount to DeepSeek.
Validate quality and operating constraints
Low token prices do not establish equivalent model quality or total operating cost. Test representative prompts and review latency, rate limits, data handling, regional access, tool support, and enterprise requirements before routing production traffic.
Frequently asked questions
What DeepSeek prices does this calculator use?▾
DeepSeek V4 Flash uses $0.14/MTok cache-miss input, $0.0028 cache-hit input, and $0.28 output. V4 Pro uses $0.435, $0.003625, and $0.87 respectively.
Does DeepSeek publish a Batch API token discount?▾
The official pricing page used for this verification does not publish a 50% Batch API token discount. Selecting Batch therefore leaves DeepSeek token rates unchanged and shows a warning.
Which DeepSeek model should I use?▾
V4 Flash has lower token prices than V4 Pro. Whether it is suitable depends on your own quality, latency, tool-use, compliance, and availability requirements; the calculator does not infer capability from price.
How does the cache-hit estimate work?▾
The selected cache-hit share is billed at DeepSeek's published cache-hit input rate, with the remainder at cache-miss input pricing. Verify actual hit rates from provider usage logs.
Compare verified first-party API prices on the same standard workload → AI Model Price Leaderboard