ChatGPT vs DeepSeek
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
ChatGPT
OpenAI's general-purpose AI assistant for chat, images and voice
DeepSeek
Free AI chat assistant built on DeepSeek's openly released models
Where they differ
- ChatGPT starts at $8 per month (Go). DeepSeek is free.
- DeepSeek is open source, according to its own site.
- DeepSeek also covers AI agents.
At a glance
| ChatGPT | DeepSeek | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free |
| Starts at | $8 per month (Go) | Free |
| Free plan | Unlimited text chats, with limits on uploads, image creation, voice chats, deep research and memory. | The web chat and the iOS and Android apps are free, and the US App Store listing shows no in-app purchases. API usage is billed separately per token. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | OpenAI | DeepSeek |
| Price read from | learn.chatgpt.com | apps.apple.com |
| Checked | Oct 4, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Who each one suits
ChatGPT
- General-purpose help with writing, questions and brainstorming
- People who want chat, voice, images and web search in one assistant
- Trying an AI assistant at no cost before paying
DeepSeek
- Free chat with no subscription tier to outgrow
- Developers who want low per-token API prices
- People who want models whose weights are openly released
Worth knowing
ChatGPT
- Pro is sold at three price points, $100, $200 or $500 per month, well above the $20 Plus plan.
- Business requires at least 2 users. SCIM, EKM and role-based access control are reserved for Enterprise and Edu.
- OpenAI began testing ads in the free version for logged-in adult US users in January 2026, according to Wikipedia.
- OpenAI's pricing page says the Go plan may include ads.
DeepSeek
- There is no paid consumer plan. API access is billed separately, from $0.15 per 1M input tokens off-peak for the deepseek-flash model.
- The desktop download is DeepSeek Harness, a preview agent app for Apple-silicon Macs on macOS 13 or later and 64-bit Windows, not the chat app.
- According to Wikipedia, DeepSeek's compliance with Chinese government censorship policies and its data collection have drawn regulatory scrutiny in several countries.
Key features
ChatGPT
- Conversational help
- Answers questions, drafts and reworks text, explains topics and reads uploaded photos in a chat, with history synced across your devices.
- Image generation
- Creates original images from a description, or transforms existing images from a short instruction.
- Advanced Voice Mode
- Hold a real-time spoken conversation in the mobile app by tapping the soundwave icon.
- Search and Deep Research
- ChatGPT Search draws on the web for more up-to-date answers, and Deep Research generates a report from extensive web searches.
- Codex
- A coding agent that runs on the web, in a CLI, in an IDE extension and on iOS from the Plus plan, with integrations such as automatic code review and Slack.
- GPTs and agents
- GPTs customize ChatGPT's behavior for a specific use case, and ChatGPT agent carries out multi-step tasks.
DeepSeek
- DeepThink and Search modes
- Two modes sit beside the chat box on DeepSeek's site: DeepThink, for reasoning through a question, and Search, for answers that draw on the web.
- Visual understanding
- DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash, released in September 2026, adds native visual understanding alongside text.
- Free mobile apps
- Official iOS and Android apps give free access to the assistant. The App Store listing covers iPhone and iPad.
- DeepSeek Harness
- A desktop agent app in public preview for organizing files, analyzing data, coding and research. It is MIT-licensed and extended through plugins such as scheduled tasks.
- Openly released models
- Wikipedia describes DeepSeek's models as open-weight and, since January 2025, released under free and open-source licenses. The web and mobile apps are proprietary.
- API platform
- The same models are available to developers through an API billed per token, with off-peak rates set at half the peak rates.
Plans
ChatGPT
Free$0
Unlimited text chats, with limits on uploads, image creation, voice chats, deep research and memory.
Go$8
per month
More messages with tools, more uploads, image creation and voice chats than Free, and longer memory. OpenAI notes this plan may include ads.
Plus$20
per month
Advanced reasoning models, expanded deep research and memory, plus projects, scheduled tasks and custom GPTs.
Business$20
per user / month, billed annually
For 2 or more users: a dedicated workspace with admin controls, SAML SSO and MFA. $25 per user / month when billed monthly.
ProFrom $100
per month
A choice of three usage tiers at $100, $200 or $500 per month, with the highest limits, pro reasoning and an always-on agent.
Enterprise & EduCustom
Sold through sales, with priority request processing, SCIM, EKM, user analytics, domain verification and role-based access control.
DeepSeek
Free$0
The chat assistant on the web, iOS and Android, running DeepSeek's latest flagship model.
Ways to pay less
ChatGPT
- Annual discount
Business is cheaper when billed annually
OpenAI's pricing page lists Business at $20 per user / month when billed annually, against $25 per user / month when billed monthly.
DeepSeek
No public discounts listed.
