DeepSeek Platform

LLM 6.2/10

First-party API for DeepSeek's V3.2 chat and R1 reasoning models, with a finite signup credit and no credit card.

DeepSeek Platform scores 6.2/10 for free value in LLM. The main constraint: 5M free tokens granted at signup, no credit card; credits expire 30 days after signup, then pay-as-you-go. Covers deepseek-chat (V3.2) and deepseek-reasoner (R1), 128K context.

Category LLM Kind Hosted first-party LLM API Caveats Finite one-time 5M-token credit that expires in 30 days (so 'conditional'). Prompts may be used to improve models unless explicitly opted out in account settings. Card required No Eligibility anyone

Free value score

6.2 / 10

Show the math

Value 5.9/10

value = 2.72 $ one-time

weighted score = 0.7 * 5.9/10

Model Quality 8/10

value = 44 artificial_analysis_score

weighted score = 0.2 * 8/10

Volume 4.4/10

value = 5000000 tok/mo

weighted score = 0.1 * 4.4/10

Access 4/10

value = 4/10

score = 4/10

Key metrics

deepseek-v4-pro 44 Best model

5.0M T/mo Free tokens

Yes Commercial use

Models

4 free · 2 total

Model	Family	AA	Access
deepseek-v4-pro	DeepSeek	44.3	free
deepseek-v4-flash	DeepSeek	40.3	free
deepseek-chat (legacy alias)	DeepSeek	—	free
deepseek-reasoner (legacy alias)	DeepSeek	—	free

What you get

5M free tokens at signup, no credit card

Includes R1 reasoning model and V3.2 chat

OpenAI SDK-compatible

128K context window

Limitations

5M token one-time credit

New accounts receive exactly 5 million free tokens at signup; this pool is finite and does not regenerate.
Credits expire in 30 days

The 5M signup tokens expire 30 days after account creation, making this effectively a trial rather than an ongoing free tier.
China-based provider, data residency

DeepSeek is a Chinese company; data is processed on infrastructure subject to Chinese jurisdiction, which may be a blocker for regulated industries or certain regions.

Sources

"DeepSeek gives 5 million free tokens to new users on sign-up. Their API has no rate limits — they serve every request they can."
https://pricepertoken.com/endpoints/deepseek/free
"DeepSeek credits each new account with 5 million free tokens (roughly $8.40 value) valid for 30 days. Unused tokens expire after 30 days"
https://www.datastudios.org/post/deepseek-free-plans-trials-and-subscriptions-token-grants-usage-caps-and-api-pricing-strategies
"deepseek-v4-flash | deepseek-v4-pro ... CONTEXT LENGTH | 1M ... Concurrency Limit | 2500 | 500"
https://api-docs.deepseek.com/quick_start/pricing
"DeepSeek V4 Pro (Reasoning, Max Effort) scores 52 on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, placing it well above average among comparable models (averaging 30)."
https://artificialanalysis.ai/models/deepseek-v4-pro

llm-api reasoning openai-compatible trial-credit china

Open service Source ← All LLM