DeepSeek vs SeaLink: Token Pricing, Speed & Intelligence
Full comparison of DeepSeek and SeaLink — live token pricing, latency, throughput, context window, strengths, weaknesses, and best use cases. Rates sourced from public APIs — verify before use.
DeepSeek
DeepSeek V4 Pro and V4.1-Flash — 1M context, open-weight, peak/off-peak pricing
DeepSeek's September 2026 API offers two models: DeepSeek V4 Pro (deepseek-v4-pro-0813, frontier) and DeepSeek V4.1-Flash (deepseek-flash, efficient). Peak hours (01:00–10:00 UTC weekdays) are 2× the off-peak rate. Both models support 1M token context, JSON output, tool calls, and the Anthropic API format.
SeaLink
Embeddings API gateway (Singapore) — Gemini Embedding models, USD pricing, no chat completions
SeaLink is a Singapore-based embeddings API gateway providing access to Gemini Embedding 001 and Gemini Embedding 2. Pricing is in USD per 1M input tokens with no output charge. SeaLink does not offer chat completions — it is an embeddings-only service. Billing is in USD.
Key metric comparison
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Live token pricing
Strengths and weaknesses
DeepSeek
SeaLink
Key differentiators
DeepSeek V4 Pro delivers frontier-class intelligence at competitive off-peak rates — open-weight, 1M context, and compatible with both OpenAI and Anthropic SDKs.
Embeddings-only API gateway in Singapore — Gemini Embedding 001 ($0.135/1M) and Gemini Embedding 2 ($0.18/1M) with USD billing and no output charge.
Frequently asked questions
DeepSeek FAQs
What are the latest DeepSeek models?
DeepSeek's September 2026 API offers DeepSeek V4 Pro (deepseek-v4-pro-0813) and DeepSeek V4.1-Flash (deepseek-flash). Both support 1M token context windows, JSON output, tool calls, and the Anthropic API format.
What is DeepSeek V4 Pro pricing?
DeepSeek V4 Pro uses peak/off-peak pricing — off-peak rates apply on weekends and Chinese public holidays; peak hours (01:00–10:00 UTC weekdays) are 2× the off-peak rate. Cache hits are billed at a reduced rate. Check api-docs.deepseek.com/quick_start/pricing for current rates.
What is DeepSeek V4.1-Flash pricing?
DeepSeek V4.1-Flash uses the same peak/off-peak structure as V4 Pro, with off-peak rates significantly cheaper than peak. It also supports vision inputs. Check api-docs.deepseek.com/quick_start/pricing for current rates.
SeaLink FAQs
What is SeaLink?
SeaLink is a Singapore-based embeddings API gateway providing access to Gemini Embedding 001 and Gemini Embedding 2. It does not offer chat completions. See sealink.io/pricing for current rates.
Does SeaLink offer chat completions?
No. SeaLink is an embeddings-only service. It provides Gemini Embedding 001 and Gemini Embedding 2 for vector generation workloads such as semantic search and RAG pipelines. It does not offer chat, reasoning, or other completion modalities.
How much does SeaLink cost?
As of October 2026: Gemini Embedding 001 is USD 0.135 per 1M input tokens; Gemini Embedding 2 is USD 0.18 per 1M input tokens. There is no output charge for embeddings. See sealink.io/pricing for current rates.
Provider resources
DeepSeek — DeepSeek V4 Pro and V4.1-Flash — 1M context, open-weight, peak/off-peak pricing
DeepSeek's September 2026 API offers two models: DeepSeek V4 Pro (deepseek-v4-pro-0813, frontier) and DeepSeek V4.1-Flash (deepseek-flash, efficient). Peak hours (01:00–10:00 UTC weekdays) are 2× the off-peak rate. Both models support 1M token context, JSON output, tool calls, and the Anthropic API format.
DeepSeek V4 Pro delivers frontier-class intelligence at competitive off-peak rates — open-weight, 1M context, and compatible with both OpenAI and Anthropic SDKs.
SeaLink — Embeddings API gateway (Singapore) — Gemini Embedding models, USD pricing, no chat completions
SeaLink is a Singapore-based embeddings API gateway providing access to Gemini Embedding 001 and Gemini Embedding 2. Pricing is in USD per 1M input tokens with no output charge. SeaLink does not offer chat completions — it is an embeddings-only service. Billing is in USD.
Embeddings-only API gateway in Singapore — Gemini Embedding 001 ($0.135/1M) and Gemini Embedding 2 ($0.18/1M) with USD billing and no output charge.
Key strengths compared
DeepSeek
- V4 Pro off-peak: competitive per-1M pricing — frontier intelligence at a fraction of Western provider cost
- V4.1-Flash off-peak: fast and cost-efficient — cheapest DeepSeek model tier
- Both models open-weight — can be self-hosted
- Data residency in China — may not meet GDPR/compliance requirements
- API reliability can lag Western providers during peak demand
SeaLink
- Gemini Embedding 001 and Gemini Embedding 2 at competitive USD rates
- Singapore-based — low latency for Southeast Asia workloads
- Simple USD billing with no output charge for embeddings
- Embeddings only — no chat completions or other modalities
- Small catalog limited to Gemini Embedding models
Key weaknesses compared
DeepSeek
- Data residency in China — may not meet GDPR/compliance requirements
- API reliability can lag Western providers during peak demand
- V4.1-Flash does not support vision inputs
SeaLink
- Embeddings only — no chat completions or other modalities
- Small catalog limited to Gemini Embedding models
- Newer provider with limited public track record
Provider category context
DeepSeek is a frontier lab, founded in 2023. SeaLink is a inference api, founded in 2024. DeepSeek as a frontier lab trains and serves its own proprietary models. SeaLink as an inference API provider hosts open-weight models — typically offering lower prices for equivalent capability tiers but without access to proprietary frontier models.
How to choose between them
Choose DeepSeek if you need v4 pro off-peak: competitive per-1m pricing — frontier intelligence at a fraction of western provider cost. Choose SeaLink if you need gemini embedding 001 and gemini embedding 2 at competitive usd rates. 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.