DeepSeek Free Tier and Free Usage (October 2026)
Three Free Paths
- Web: chat.deepseek.com is free, with vision after V4.1-Flash
- API: new-developer free credits (millions of tokens per public docs)
- Self-host: MIT-licensed V4 weights; Ascend stack for domestic chips
Free covers learning and light use; production should use the API or self-host.