by DeepSeek AI · DeepSeek V4-Flash-0731
DeepSeek stores all conversation data in China under Chinese law. This means government access requirements apply. Do not input client code, business data, personal information, or anything sensitive. For professional or business use, choose ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini instead. Current model names, token pricing and concurrency limits are published in the DeepSeek API documentation.
See the DeepSeek free tier entry alongside other no-cost AI tools in the SpotFreeAI free tools directory.
~$0.28 per million tokens vs Claude's ~$15. For developers building AI-powered products, the cost difference is substantial.
Matches GPT-4 class coding performance on standard benchmarks. Particularly strong on algorithmic and reasoning tasks.
The V4-Flash-0731 release on 31 July 2026 lifted Terminal Bench 2.1 from 61.8 to 82.7 and DeepSWE from 7.3 to 54.4. Artificial Analysis scored it 50 on its Intelligence Index, up 10 points. Architecture and pricing are unchanged, so the gains came from retraining alone. Note that this landed on the API only, not the free web tier. Benchmark scores of this kind are best read alongside the ranking methodology described in the Chatbot Arena paper, since single test figures move quickly.
Web interface has no daily cap. The most generous free usage of any major AI model by volume.
Comparable to or faster than ChatGPT. Scores 9/10 on speed.
All data is subject to Chinese law including the National Intelligence Law. Not suitable for business, client, or personal data.
No visual content capabilities whatsoever.
Multiple governments have restricted or are reviewing access. Stability of access is less certain than US-based models.
Coding is strong but creative writing lacks the nuance of Claude or ChatGPT.
Singapore business users: PDPA compliance with China-stored data is legally unclear. Most compliance and legal teams advise against using DeepSeek for any business data. Use ChatGPT or Claude for professional work in Singapore.
| Works in Singapore | ✅ Currently, no VPN needed |
| Works in Malaysia | ✅ Currently, no VPN needed |
| Government restriction risk | ⚠️ Some countries reviewing access |
| PDPA consideration | ❌ Unclear, China data storage |
| Data stored | China ⚠️ |
| Plan | Price | SGD | Key Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free (Web) | $0 | $0 | Unlimited messages, 128K context, web search, file upload |
| API Access | $0.14 in / $0.28 out per 1M tokens | Extremely cheap | V4-Flash-0731, 1M context, $0.0028 per 1M cached input, Responses API and Codex support, pay per use |
Developers building AI products who need cheap API tokens for non-sensitive open source work only.
Personal coding projects with no sensitive or proprietary content. Strong benchmarks at zero cost.
⚠️ Only use DeepSeek for tasks with no sensitive, personal, or business data. All data goes to China-based servers.
For a full breakdown of what DeepSeek does well and where it falls short, read our DeepSeek review for 2026.
This is the section most reviews gloss over. It should not be glossed over.
DeepSeek's privacy policy states that data is stored on servers located in China. Chinese law includes the National Intelligence Law (2017), which requires organisations to cooperate with national intelligence work. This means the Chinese government can legally request access to data stored by Chinese companies. There is no equivalent of GDPR, US privacy law, or similar frameworks that create legal protection for foreign users' data.
The practical recommendation is clear: never input business data, client information, code from a proprietary system, personal details, or anything you would not want stored indefinitely on Chinese government-accessible servers. For tasks with entirely public or non-sensitive content, the practical risk is lower but the principle still stands.