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Engadget
DeepSeek's AI models are about to cost four times more
DeepSeek has informed customers about substantial price increases for its AI models, particularly with the launch of the DeepSeek V4 Pro. The costs are set to rise from $0.87 per million output tokens to $3.96 during peak hours. The company cites a need for more reasonable resource allocation as the rationale behind the changes, introducing a tiered pricing structure for peak and off-peak usage. Despite the steep increase, DeepSeek remains competitively priced compared to major players like OpenAI, whose services are significantly more expensive.
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Published 14 Aug 2026, 11:25 UTC1 min read
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Summary
TL;DR
- DeepSeek announces a fourfold price increase for its V4 Pro model.
- New pricing structure to include peak and off-peak rates.
- V4 Pro will cost $3.96 per million tokens at peak; $1.98 during off-peak.
- DeepSeek remains cheaper than competitors like OpenAI and Moonshot.
- The V4 Flash model also sees significant price increases.
Interesting facts
- The price hike for DeepSeek’s models is primarily a shift from its previous cost-leadership model.
- DeepSeek's new pricing still offers better rates compared to other AI service providers.
- Competitive pressure might influence further price adjustments in the AI service market.