Deep Infra vs DeepSeek: Token Pricing, Speed & Intelligence

Full comparison of Deep Infra and DeepSeek — live token pricing, latency, throughput, context window, strengths, weaknesses, and best use cases. Updated July 2026.

Deep Infra

The cheapest inference API for open-weight models — Llama, Mistral, and more

Deep Infra is an inference-focused API provider specialising in open-weight models at extremely competitive prices. Consistently among the cheapest providers for Llama 3, Mistral, and DeepSeek models, making it the go-to choice for cost-sensitive production inference.

Cost-sensitive inferenceLlama 3 productionDeepSeek hostingHigh-volume batch processing

Open-weight hostHosts open weights

DeepSeek

Chinese frontier lab — DeepSeek V3 and R1 at remarkably low prices

DeepSeek is a Chinese AI lab that has released highly capable open-weight models at prices far below Western competitors. DeepSeek V3 matches GPT-4 class performance at $0.27/1M input tokens, while DeepSeek R1 is a reasoning model competitive with o1 at a fraction of the cost. Both models are open-weight.

Cost-efficiencyReasoningCodingOpen-sourceSelf-hosting

Proprietary models

Key metrics

Cheapest input ($/1M)

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Cheapest output ($/1M)

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Peak throughput

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Best latency (TTFT)

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Intelligence score

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Context window

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Live token pricing

Strengths & weaknesses

Deep Infra

Consistently lowest prices for open-weight models

Wide model catalog including Llama, Mistral, DeepSeek

OpenAI-compatible API

Fast cold start times

No rate limits on most models

No proprietary models — open-weight only

Less enterprise support than larger providers

Smaller ecosystem than Together AI or Fireworks

DeepSeek

DeepSeek V3 matches GPT-4 class at $0.27/1M input — 10× cheaper

R1 reasoning model competitive with o1 at a fraction of the cost

Both V3 and R1 are open-weight — can be self-hosted

Mixture-of-Experts architecture for efficient inference

Strong coding and math benchmarks

Data residency in China — may not meet compliance requirements

API reliability can lag Western providers during peak demand

Limited multimodal capability vs. Gemini or GPT-4o

Key differentiators

Deep Infra

The most price-competitive inference API for open-weight models — often 30–50% cheaper than comparable providers for the same Llama or Mistral model.

DeepSeek

DeepSeek V3 delivers GPT-4 class intelligence at $0.27/1M input tokens — the most disruptive price-to-performance ratio in the LLM market.

Frequently asked questions

Deep Infra FAQs

How cheap is Deep Infra compared to other providers?

Deep Infra is consistently among the cheapest providers for open-weight models. For example, Llama 3.1 8B is available at $0.02–0.05/1M tokens, and Llama 3.3 70B at around $0.10/1M tokens — often 30–50% below comparable providers.

What models does Deep Infra support?

Deep Infra hosts a wide range of open-weight models including the full Llama 3.x family, Mistral, Mixtral, DeepSeek V3 and R1, Qwen, and many others. The catalog is updated frequently as new models are released.

Is Deep Infra OpenAI-compatible?

Yes. Deep Infra provides an OpenAI-compatible API, so you can use the OpenAI SDK by pointing it at the Deep Infra endpoint. This makes migration straightforward.

DeepSeek FAQs

How much does DeepSeek cost?

DeepSeek V3 costs $0.27/1M input and $1.10/1M output tokens — roughly 10× cheaper than GPT-4o for comparable capability. DeepSeek R1 is $0.55/1M input and $2.19/1M output.

Is DeepSeek open-weight?

Yes. Both DeepSeek V3 and DeepSeek R1 are open-weight models available on Hugging Face. You can self-host them on your own GPU infrastructure, though they require significant compute (671B parameters for R1).

How does DeepSeek R1 compare to OpenAI o1?

DeepSeek R1 scores comparably to OpenAI o1 on math and coding benchmarks at a fraction of the cost. R1 is open-weight and can be self-hosted, while o1 is proprietary. R1 is available via multiple inference providers including Fireworks AI and Together AI.

Provider resources

Deep Infra

Provider page Website Pricing Docs

DeepSeek

Provider page Website Pricing Docs

Deep Infra — The cheapest inference API for open-weight models — Llama, Mistral, and more

The most price-competitive inference API for open-weight models — often 30–50% cheaper than comparable providers for the same Llama or Mistral model.

DeepSeek — Chinese frontier lab — DeepSeek V3 and R1 at remarkably low prices

DeepSeek V3 delivers GPT-4 class intelligence at $0.27/1M input tokens — the most disruptive price-to-performance ratio in the LLM market.

Key strengths compared

Deep Infra

▸Consistently lowest prices for open-weight models
▸Wide model catalog including Llama, Mistral, DeepSeek
▸OpenAI-compatible API

DeepSeek

▸DeepSeek V3 matches GPT-4 class at $0.27/1M input — 10× cheaper
▸R1 reasoning model competitive with o1 at a fraction of the cost
▸Both V3 and R1 are open-weight — can be self-hosted

Provider category context

Deep Infra is a inference api, founded in 2023. DeepSeek is a frontier lab, founded in 2023. Deep Infra as an inference API provider hosts open-weight models — typically offering lower prices for equivalent capability tiers. DeepSeek as a frontier lab trains and serves proprietary models with capabilities not available elsewhere.

How to choose between them

Choose Deep Infra if you need consistently lowest prices for open-weight models. Choose DeepSeek if you need deepseek v3 matches gpt-4 class at $0.27/1m input — 10× cheaper. For high-volume production workloads, run a cost comparison using the token pricing table above with your actual prompt/completion token ratio — the cheapest provider depends heavily on your input-to-output token ratio.