DeepSeek vs Z AI: Features, Pricing and User Reviews 2026

DeepSeek is free to use through its website and mobile app, with no cost for chat, writing help, or file uploads.

For developers, DeepSeek offers an API that is billed by usage, based on the number of tokens processed.

• DeepSeek-V4-Flash: Costs $0.14 per 1 million input tokens, $0.0028 per 1 million tokens on a cache hit, and $0.28 per 1 million output tokens.

• DeepSeek-V4-Pro: Costs $0.435 per 1 million input tokens, $0.003625 per 1 million tokens on a cache hit, and $0.87 per 1 million output tokens.

Charges are calculated by multiplying the number of tokens used by the price, and fees are taken automatically from your account balance. You only pay for what you actually use, so there is no fixed monthly fee for the API.

Z AI's coding plans come in three tiers, Lite, Pro, and Max, each available monthly or yearly.

• Lite ($16.20/month): 10% off the regular $18 price, with a base usage allowance, access to the latest models, and support for over 20 coding tools including Claude Code.

• Pro ($64.80/month): Everything in Lite, plus 5 times the usage, priority access to new models, a curated set of MCP tools, and faster generation speeds.

• Max ($144/month): Everything in Pro, plus 20 times the usage, first access to new models, and dedicated resources during busy times.

Choosing yearly billing saves 30%, bringing Lite down to $12.60 a month, Pro to $50.40 a month, and Max to $112 a month.