
DeepSeek
Chinese AI lab's chat service and API with open model releases
- #8 of 10 in best AI chatbots
- Free plan, paid upgrades
- Free to use
- WebiOSAndroid
Ranked 8 of 10 in best AI chatbots
Free web chat with deep thinking and intelligent search modes, plus an API. The homepage opens in Chinese by default, and the model lineup changes often.
Best for Trying reasoning models through a free web chat and API
About DeepSeek
DeepSeek is an AI lab based in Hangzhou that publishes its models and runs a chat service at deepseek.com. The homepage promotes a web chat with deep thinking and intelligent search, a downloadable app, and an API open platform with documentation and pricing. The research section lists model families including DeepSeek V4, V3.2 and R1.
The footer names the operating company as Hangzhou DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence Basic Technology Research Co., Ltd. The homepage opens in Chinese by default and offers an English version. Model names and versions change often, so the current lineup should be checked on the site before relying on a specific model.
Key features
- Deep thinking mode
- Intelligent search
- API open platform
- Model families V3.2, V4 and R1
Strengths
- Free web chat with deep thinking and search modes
- Interface available in English
- Public API documentation and pricing pages
Limits
- Homepage opens in Chinese by default
- Model lineup changes often
Where DeepSeek ranks
How DeepSeek compares
| Product | Score | Price | Platforms | Made by | Searches the web | Coding tools | Developer API |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #6 | 82.0 | Free plan, paid upgrades | WebiOSAndroid | xAI | Yes | Not listed | Yes |
| #7 | 81.0 | Free plan, paid upgrades | Web | Mistral AI | Yes | CLI and IDE coding agent | Yes |
| #8 | 79.5 | Free plan, paid upgrades | WebiOSAndroid | DeepSeek | Yes | Not listed | Yes |
| #9 | 79.0 | Free plan, paid upgrades | WebAndroid | Moonshot AI | Yes | Kimi Code, a coding product | Kimi API platform |
| #10 | 78.5 | Free | WebiOSAndroid | Alibaba Cloud | Yes | Web Dev builds pages from a prompt | Qwen API, OpenAI-compatible format |
The full comparison table for best AI chatbots has all 10 products.
Alternatives to DeepSeek
All 9 alternativesQuestions about DeepSeek
- Is DeepSeek free?
- DeepSeek can be used without paying: Free web and app chat; API pricing is listed separately on the site. Check the vendor’s pricing page for current limits.
- Is DeepSeek open source?
- No. DeepSeek is proprietary software; its source code is not public.
- Which platforms does DeepSeek support?
- DeepSeek is available on: Web, iOS, Android.
- What is DeepSeek best for?
- Trying reasoning models through a free web chat and API. In our ranking of AI chatbots it is number 8 of 10 with a score of 79.5.
- What are the best alternatives to DeepSeek?
- The highest-ranked alternatives on listme.name are ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot.
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