DeepSeek vs OpenAI: how much cheaper is it for a real chatbot workload?
Bottom line: cheapest is DeepSeek: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash at about $23.41/month; the median model costs $184.34/month; the most expensive, OpenAI: GPT-6 Astra Pro, costs $5,386/month. That is a 230× spread for the same workload.
Scenario: 10,000 monthly users × 30 messages, 600 words in / 150 words out per message.
| Vendor | Model | In $/1M | Out $/1M | Est. monthly cost | Source / check |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DeepSeek | DeepSeek: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash | $0.0489 | $0.1956 | $23.41 | source 2026-10-21 ⚠ differs from lab price ($0.14/$0.28) |
| DeepSeek | DeepSeek: DeepSeek V4 Flash 0423 | $0.091 | $0.182 | $32.68 | source 2026-10-21 ℹ vs market median ($0.14/$0.28) |
| OpenAI | OpenAI: GPT-6 Luna Pro | $0.1 | $0.5 | $53.87 | source 2026-10-21 ✔ matches |
| OpenAI | OpenAI: GPT-6 Luna | $0.1 | $0.5 | $53.87 | source 2026-10-21 ✔ matches |
| DeepSeek | DeepSeek: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 | $0.15 | $0.6 | $71.82 | source 2026-10-21 no 2nd source |
| DeepSeek | DeepSeek: DeepSeek V4 Flash Vision Exp | $0.2156 | $0.6468 | $90.33 | source 2026-10-21 ℹ vs market median ($0.2246/$0.6739) |
| DeepSeek | DeepSeek: DeepSeek V3.2 | $0.28 | $0.42 | $92.17 | source 2026-10-21 ✔ matches |
| DeepSeek | DeepSeek: DeepSeek V4 Pro 0423 | $0.4461 | $0.8923 | $160.20 | source 2026-10-21 ℹ vs market median ($1.5008/$3.2) |
| DeepSeek | DeepSeek: DeepSeek V4 Flash 0731 | $0.44 | $1.32 | $184.34 | source 2026-10-21 ℹ vs market median ($0.143/$0.4) |
| DeepSeek | DeepSeek: DeepSeek V4 Pro 0813 | $0.66 | $1.98 | $276.51 | source 2026-10-21 ✔ matches |
| OpenAI | OpenAI: GPT-6.1 Sol Pro | $2.0 | $10.0 | $1,077 | source 2026-10-21 ✔ matches |
| OpenAI | OpenAI: GPT-6.1 Sol | $2.0 | $10.0 | $1,077 | source 2026-10-21 ✔ matches |
| OpenAI | OpenAI: GPT-6 Sol Pro | $2.0 | $10.0 | $1,077 | source 2026-10-21 ✔ matches |
| OpenAI | OpenAI: GPT-6 Sol | $2.0 | $10.0 | $1,077 | source 2026-10-21 ✔ matches |
| OpenAI | OpenAI: GPT-6 Astra | $10.0 | $50.0 | $5,386 | source 2026-10-21 ✔ matches |
| OpenAI | OpenAI: GPT-6 Astra Pro | $10.0 | $50.0 | $5,386 | source 2026-10-21 ✔ matches |
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Prices from OpenRouter's public API, cross-checked with InferIndex. No spam.