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Updated 13 Nov 2026 · prices read on vendor pages

11 best DeepSeek alternatives in 2027

Mehmet ElmicenniReviewed by Mehmet Elmicenni, founder of Zekai•Prices checked •How we check

The short answer

The best DeepSeek alternatives in 2027 are Claude (best overall, $20/mo), Gemini (best free plan: Limited usage, 5-hour refresh) and Ollama (best open source, MIT). DeepSeek: No subscription; API billed per token on api-docs.deepseek.com. Zekai checked these prices on vendor pages on 13 Nov 2026; 8 more are compared below, including 3 with a free plan and 3 open source.

Open the Zekai Cost Finder Get price alerts
Best overallSee in table →

Claude

$20/mo · free plan

9.4
Best free planSee in table →
Gemini logo

Gemini

$4.99/mo · free plan

8.7
Best open sourceSee in table →
Ollama logo

Ollama

Free to self-host · MIT

9.1
11alternatives compared
5with a free plan
4open source
$4.99/mocheapest paid · Gemini
No subscription; API billed per token on api-docs.deepseek.com.DeepSeek starts at
01 · Zekai Price Ledger

Which DeepSeek alternatives are worth it in 2027?

The DeepSeek alternatives worth considering are Claude for a fixed $20 monthly chat plan, Gemini for the cheapest paid step at $4.99, and Mistral Le Chat at $14.99. Perplexity suits cited search answers. Self-hosters can run Ollama, Open WebUI, LibreChat or Jan.

ToolTypeStarting priceFree plan limitBest forCost for your teamChecked
DeepSeek logo
DeepSeekThe tool you are replacing
 You are here
No subscription; API billed per token on api-docs.deepseek.com.API pay-per-token; no chat subscription listed
 Web and app chat; no limit stated on vendor site Open-weight models and low-cost API — 13 Nov 2026 Pricing ↗
Claude Zekai score 9.4Best overall
 Free plan + paid
$20/moPro, monthly ($17/mo billed yearly)
 Limited usage per 5-hour and weekly window Long documents and careful writing — 11 Nov 2026 Pricing ↗
Gemini logo
Gemini Zekai score 8.7Best free plan
 Free plan + paid
$4.99/moGoogle AI Plus, monthly
 Free with a Google Account; limits refresh every 5 hours up to a weekly cap Free chat inside a Google account — 11 Nov 2026 Pricing ↗
Mistral Le Chat logo
Mistral Le Chat Zekai score 9.1Cheapest paid
 Free plan + paid
$14.99/moLe Chat Pro, monthly
 Limited messages and web searches; 5 scheduled tasks Chat plan from a European lab — 11 Nov 2026 Pricing ↗
Perplexity Zekai score 9.3
 Free
Free plan; paid price not publishedPro (price not stated on the help page read)
 3 Pro searches a day, 1 research query a month Cited answers from live web search $0 11 Nov 2026 Pricing ↗
Microsoft Copilot logo
Microsoft Copilot Zekai score 6.8
 Free
Free plan; paid price not publishedMicrosoft 365 Premium (price not shown on page)
 Free baseline experience; usage limits apply Copilot inside Word, Excel and PowerPoint $0 11 Nov 2026 Pricing ↗
Qwen logo
Qwen Zekai score 7.5
Not checkedPricing not stated on vendor home page
 No free plan Chatbot with image and video understanding — 11 Nov 2026 Pricing ↗
Grok logo
Grok Not yet reviewed by Zekai
Not checkedPlans not shown on grok.com landing page
 No free plan Chat with live web and X answers — 11 Nov 2026 Pricing ↗
Ollama logo
Ollama Zekai score 9.1Best open source
 Open source
Free (self-hosted)Pay as you go $0; Pro $20/mo
 No limit, self-hosted (MIT) Running open models on your computer $0 11 Nov 2026 Pricing ↗
Open WebUI logo
Open WebUI Zekai score 9.0
 Open source
Free (self-hosted)
 No limit, self-hosted (Open WebUI License (branding-preserving)) Self-hosted chat UI for Ollama $0 11 Nov 2026 Code ↗
LibreChat logo
LibreChat Zekai score 7.7
 Open source
Free (self-hosted)
 No limit, self-hosted (MIT) Self-hosted multi-provider chat interface $0 11 Nov 2026 Code ↗
Jan logo
Jan Zekai score 8.2
 Open source
Free (self-hosted)
 No limit, self-hosted (Apache-2.0) Offline desktop chat with local models $0 11 Nov 2026 Code ↗

Every price was read on the vendor's own pricing page on the date shown. The Cost Finder assumes one entry plan per person, so it multiplies by your team size; yearly prices are shown per month, and team or business plans can cost more per seat. "Not checked" means we could not confirm a public price.

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02 · Free plan

Is there a free version of DeepSeek?

DeepSeek's home page offers a web chat at chat.deepseek.com and a mobile app, but states no price or usage limit for them. The API is billed per million tokens, with off-peak rates at half the peak rate. The pricing page describes no chat subscription and no free quota.

Source: DeepSeek pricing page, read 13 Nov 2026.

Free$0

Web and app chat; no limit stated on vendor site

Paid fromNo subscription; API billed per token on api-docs.deepseek.com.

API pay-per-token; no chat subscription listed

03 · Free alternatives

What are the best free DeepSeek alternatives?

For free chat, Gemini works with a Google Account and refreshes limits every five hours up to a weekly cap, Claude gives limited usage per window, Mistral Le Chat allows limited messages and web searches, and Perplexity gives three Pro searches a day. Ollama and Jan run models locally without limits.

Claude

Best overallFree plan + paid
Limited usage per 5-hour and weekly window
Paid from $20/mo
vs DeepSeek →Zekai review
Gemini logo

Gemini

Best free planFree plan + paid
Free with a Google Account; limits refresh every 5 hours up to a weekly cap
Paid from $4.99/mo
vs DeepSeek →Zekai review
Mistral Le Chat logo

Mistral Le Chat

Cheapest paidFree plan + paid
Limited messages and web searches; 5 scheduled tasks
Paid from $14.99/mo
vs DeepSeek →Zekai review

Perplexity

Free
3 Pro searches a day, 1 research query a month
vs DeepSeek →Zekai review
Microsoft Copilot logo

Microsoft Copilot

Free
Free baseline experience; usage limits apply
vs DeepSeek →Zekai review
04 · Open source

What are the best open-source DeepSeek alternatives?

The open-source options are Ollama (MIT, local model runtime), Open WebUI (pip or Docker, branding-preserving licence), LibreChat (MIT, multi-provider interface) and Jan (Apache-2.0, offline desktop app). All are free to run; you supply the hardware or API keys, and each can connect to DeepSeek's own API.

Ollama logo

Ollama

MIT★ 180.5k GitHub stars · Sep 2026
To self-host: Runs open models on your own computer with no subscription; larger models need a capable GPU or plenty of RAM. Optional cloud models are billed per token.
Zekai open-source pageSource code ↗Managed hosting slot
Open WebUI logo

Open WebUI

Open WebUI License (branding-preserving)
To self-host: Install with pip on Python 3.12 or run the Docker image; works with Ollama or any OpenAI-compatible API, including DeepSeek's, with an optional CUDA image for Nvidia GPUs.
Source code ↗Managed hosting slot
LibreChat logo

LibreChat

MIT★ 45.1k GitHub stars · Sep 2026
To self-host: Runs with Docker or Node plus MongoDB; you supply API keys for each provider such as DeepSeek, OpenAI or Anthropic, or point it at a local model server.
Zekai open-source pageSource code ↗Managed hosting slot
Jan logo

Jan

Apache-2.0★ 45.7k GitHub stars · Nov 2026
To self-host: Desktop app for macOS, Windows or Linux; about 8 GB RAM for 3B models and 16 GB for 7B; connects to cloud models if you add API keys.
Zekai open-source pageSource code ↗Managed hosting slot
05 · Side by side

How does DeepSeek compare with each alternative?

Each alternative is compared with DeepSeek on one concrete difference: price, free-plan limit, hosting or licence. The cards show vendor-page prices read on 2026-11-11, a reason to switch and a reason to stay, and mark prices as not checked where the vendor page showed none.

01

DeepSeek vs Claude

Best overallFree plan + paid$20/mo · checked 11 Nov 20269.4
The differenceClaude Pro costs $20 monthly or $17 a month on the annual plan, with a $100 Max tier; DeepSeek lists only per-token API rates and no chat plan.
Switch to Claude ifyou want a fixed monthly chat subscription with a higher Max tier instead of metering tokens
Stay with DeepSeek ifyou build on an API billed per million tokens and want open weights you can download
Pros
  • Excellent at summarizing and analyzing long, complex documents.
  • Generates high-quality, natural-sounding educational content.
Cons
  • Free tier has usage limits that reset every few hours, which can interrupt workflow.
  • Lacks built-in DALL-E style image generation capabilities.

Pros and cons from the Zekai review of Claude · Verdict: Deep Document Analysis

Visit ClaudeRead the Zekai reviewPrice alert
02
Gemini logo

DeepSeek vs Gemini

Best free planFree plan + paid$4.99/mo · checked 11 Nov 20268.7
The differenceGemini's free tier comes with any Google Account, and paid steps are sold as multiples of free usage: AI Plus 2x, AI Pro 4x, Ultra up to 20x of Pro.
Switch to Gemini ifyou already use a Google Account and want a cheap step up with clear usage multiples
Stay with DeepSeek ifyou prefer to call open models through an API priced per million tokens
Pros
  • Free access to a highly capable base model
  • Directly integrated with the Google ecosystem and search
Cons
  • Outputs require rigorous fact-checking for academic use
  • Can generate plausible but incorrect information (hallucinations)

Pros and cons from the Zekai review of Gemini · Verdict: Top-Tier Study Partner

Visit GeminiRead the Zekai reviewPrice alert
03
Mistral Le Chat logo

DeepSeek vs Mistral Le Chat

Cheapest paidFree plan + paid$14.99/mo · checked 11 Nov 20269.1
The differenceLe Chat Pro is $14.99 a month before taxes with up to 6x the free messages and 15 GB of library storage; a Team plan is $24.99 per user.
Switch to Mistral Le Chat ifyou want a flat sub-$20 plan with image generation and library storage included
Stay with DeepSeek ifyour usage is programmatic and you would rather pay only for tokens you consume
Pros
  • Moves beyond simple completion to autonomous, multi-step coding tasks.
  • Deep integration into developer workflows via terminal and IDE plugins.
Cons
  • Advanced features like custom model training (Forge) have a steep learning curve.
  • The platform's full potential is best realized within its own ecosystem (Studio, Vibe).

Pros and cons from the Zekai review of Mistral Le Chat · Verdict: Powerful Dev Agent Suite

Visit Mistral Le ChatRead the Zekai reviewPrice alert
04

DeepSeek vs Perplexity

FreeFree plan; paid price not published9.3
The differencePerplexity's free Standard plan gives practically unlimited basic searches, 3 Pro searches a day and 1 research query a month; Education Pro is $10 a month.
Switch to Perplexity ifyou want every answer returned with web sources rather than a model's own recall
Stay with DeepSeek ifyou want a general model with a 1M-token context and downloadable weights
Pros
  • Drastically reduces time spent on research and fact-finding.
  • Provides direct citations, ensuring credibility for reports and briefs.
Cons
  • Free version has search limits (5 'Pro' searches every 4 hours).
  • Can occasionally misinterpret complex queries or pull from less-relevant sources.

Pros and cons from the Zekai review of Perplexity · Verdict: Your AI Research Assistant

Visit PerplexityRead the Zekai reviewPrice alert
05
Microsoft Copilot logo

DeepSeek vs Microsoft Copilot

FreeFree plan; paid price not published6.8
The differenceCopilot offers a free baseline experience, and Microsoft 365 Premium adds Copilot in Word and Excel with the highest usage limits; usage cannot be shared.
Switch to Microsoft Copilot ifyour documents live in Microsoft 365 and you want the assistant built into those apps
Stay with DeepSeek ifyou work outside Office and want a model you can call directly through an API
Pros
  • Free version is highly capable for many tasks
  • Extremely easy to use with no learning curve
Cons
  • Not specialized for professional writing or translation workflows
  • Lacks advanced features like style guides or terminology management

Pros and cons from the Zekai review of Microsoft Copilot · Verdict: Powerful Generalist AI

Visit Microsoft CopilotRead the Zekai reviewPrice alert
06
Qwen logo

DeepSeek vs Qwen

Not checked7.5
The differenceQwen's site describes a chatbot with image and video understanding from Alibaba's Qwen model family; the home page lists no plan prices or free limits.
Switch to Qwen ifyou want image and video understanding from the same family that offers a chatbot
Stay with DeepSeek ifyou want published API rates per million tokens and a documented off-peak discount
Pros
  • Supports 92 major official languages and dialects
  • Provides safety moderation for prompts and responses
Cons
  • Requires technical expertise to deploy and integrate
  • Heavy compute requirements for large foundation models

Pros and cons from the Zekai review of Qwen · Verdict: Model Suite

Visit QwenRead the Zekai reviewPrice alert
07
Grok logo

DeepSeek vs Grok

Not checked
The differenceGrok describes itself as an assistant that chats, creates images, writes code and answers in real time from the web and X; private chats are not used for training.
Switch to Grok ifyou want answers drawn from live web and X posts together with image creation
Stay with DeepSeek ifyou want to download open model weights and run them on your own servers
Visit GrokPrice alert
08
Ollama logo

DeepSeek vs Ollama

Best open sourceOpen sourceFree (self-hosted)9.1
The differenceOllama runs open models on your hardware without limits and sells optional cloud access: Pro at $20 a month with $60 of usage credits, Max at $100.
Switch to Ollama ifyou want chats to stay on your own machine with no per-token bill
Stay with DeepSeek ifyour computer lacks the memory for large models and you would rather call a hosted API
Visit OllamaRead the Zekai reviewPrice alert
09
Open WebUI logo

DeepSeek vs Open WebUI

Open sourceFree (self-hosted)9.0
The differenceOpen WebUI is a self-hosted chat interface that points at Ollama or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint, so DeepSeek's API can sit behind your own login screen.
Switch to Open WebUI ifyou want your own chat front end over DeepSeek's API or local models for a team
Stay with DeepSeek ifyou only need DeepSeek's hosted chat and do not want to run a server
Pros
  • Complete data ownership and privacy on your own hardware
  • Unified interface for multiple local and cloud LLM providers
Cons
  • Requires managing your own self-hosted infrastructure
  • No built-in cloud hosting tier provided directly by the core open source project

Pros and cons from the Zekai review of Open WebUI · Verdict: Self-hosted AI workspace

Visit Open WebUIRead the Zekai reviewPrice alert
10
LibreChat logo

DeepSeek vs LibreChat

Open sourceFree (self-hosted)7.7
The differenceLibreChat is an MIT-licensed web app that connects to many providers at once with agents, MCP and search, so you pay each provider's own API rates.
Switch to LibreChat ifyou want one self-hosted interface with user accounts across several model providers
Stay with DeepSeek ifyou do not want to maintain a database, a server or several API keys
Visit LibreChatRead the Zekai reviewPrice alert
11
Jan logo

DeepSeek vs Jan

Open sourceFree (self-hosted)8.2
The differenceJan is an Apache-2.0 desktop app that runs offline, downloads models from Hugging Face and exposes a local OpenAI-compatible server on port 1337.
Switch to Jan ifyou want an offline desktop app with a local API server and no Docker setup
Stay with DeepSeek ifyou want a hosted 1M-token context and web search without managing downloads
Visit JanRead the Zekai reviewPrice alert
06 · What changed

Why do people leave DeepSeek?

  • DeepSeek introduced peak and off-peak API pricing, with off-peak prices set at half of peak-hour prices, effective 16 August 2026. (source)

  • With the V4.1-Flash release, the previous V4 Flash and V4 Flash Vision Exp models were retired and API prices were reduced. (source)

  • The legacy model names deepseek-chat and deepseek-reasoner were announced for discontinuation three months after the V4 preview, on 2026-07-24. (source)

08 · FAQ

Questions people ask about DeepSeek alternatives

What is the best alternative to DeepSeek in 2027?

Claude is the best overall DeepSeek alternative on this page ($20/mo). For no cost, Gemini has a free plan (Free with a Google Account; limits refresh every 5 hours up to a weekly cap). To self-host, Ollama is open source (MIT).

Is there a free version of DeepSeek?

Yes. DeepSeek has a free plan: Web and app chat; no limit stated on vendor site. Paid plans start at No subscription; API billed per token on api-docs.deepseek.com., checked on 13 Nov 2026.

Is there a 100% free alternative to DeepSeek?

Yes. Ollama, Open WebUI, LibreChat, Jan are open source and free to self-host. Claude, Gemini, Mistral Le Chat, Perplexity, Microsoft Copilot have a free plan with limits, shown in the table.

How much do DeepSeek alternatives cost for a team of 5?

If each of 5 people buys the entry paid plan, at the prices Zekai checked on 13 Nov 2026, the monthly cost is Gemini $24.95/mo, Mistral Le Chat $74.95/mo, Claude $100/mo. Team and business plans can cost more per seat. The Zekai Cost Finder on this page recalculates for any team size.

Which is better, Claude or DeepSeek?

Claude Pro costs $20 monthly or $17 a month on the annual plan, with a $100 Max tier; DeepSeek lists only per-token API rates and no chat plan. Choose Claude if you want a fixed monthly chat subscription with a higher Max tier instead of metering tokens. Stay with DeepSeek if you build on an API billed per million tokens and want open weights you can download.

Why are people leaving DeepSeek?

The documented reasons are: DeepSeek introduced peak and off-peak API pricing, with off-peak prices set at half of peak-hour prices, effective 16 August 2026 (13 Aug 2026); With the V4.1-Flash release, the previous V4 Flash and V4 Flash Vision Exp models were retired and API prices were reduced (10 Sep 2026). Each is sourced in the section above.

What is better than DeepSeek?

It depends on the job. Claude suits long documents and careful writing, Gemini suits Google account users, and Perplexity returns cited web answers. For open weights you run yourself, Ollama and Jan are the local options.

Can I run DeepSeek locally?

DeepSeek states its models are open-source and available on Hugging Face and ModelScope. Local runtimes such as Ollama, Jan and Open WebUI can serve open models on your own computer, subject to your memory and GPU.

09 · Method

How did Zekai check this page?

Zekai independently reviews AI tools. For this page we read each vendor's own pricing and product pages and recorded the starting price, the free-plan limit and the date of the check. Only tools that do the same job as DeepSeek are listed, and sponsors never change the order or the scores.

Mehmet Elmicenni, founder of Zekai
Mehmet Elmicenni

Founder of Zekai. Reviews the alternatives pages and the price checks behind them.

About the founder · How Zekai scores tools

JSON copyMarkdown copy
1 · Same job onlyEvery alternative does the same task as DeepSeek; tools for other jobs are left out.
2 · Vendor pages onlyPrices and free limits come from each vendor's own pricing page, never from blogs.
Zekai score0–10, from four published weights: ease 25%, output quality 30%, value 20%, time saved 25%. How we score
3 · Re-checkedA price older than 35 days is re-read or the page falls back to an older version.
Change log

  • Page rebuilt on v6; all prices re-read on vendor pages.

  • Missing prices re-read on vendor pages.

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