Updated 2026-10-11
DeepSeek V4 Pricing per Million Tokens
Official DeepSeek API prices per 1M tokens, verified 2026-10-11. The current models are deepseek-flash (DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash) and deepseek-v4-pro (DeepSeek-V4-Pro-0813). API usage is billed separately from this site's Coding Plans.
1. Current official prices
Peak hours are 09:00–12:00 and 14:00–18:00 Beijing time (01:00–04:00 and 06:00–10:00 UTC), Monday–Friday, excluding Chinese public holidays. All other hours, weekends, and Chinese public holidays are off-peak.
The current pricing page does not state an effective date for this latest table; the date above records our verification. USD and CNY values are taken from the respective official English and Chinese tables, not converted using an exchange rate.
Official Flash API pricing: Off-peak: $0.15 input / $0.6 output per 1M tokens (cache-miss input); Peak: $0.3 input / $1.2 output per 1M tokens (cache-miss input). Peak hours are 09:00–12:00 and 14:00–18:00 Beijing time (01:00–04:00 and 06:00–10:00 UTC), Monday–Friday, excluding Chinese public holidays. All other hours, weekends, and Chinese public holidays are off-peak. Cached input is billed separately; see the complete pricing table.
Official Pro API pricing: Off-peak: $0.66 input / $1.98 output per 1M tokens (cache-miss input); Peak: $1.32 input / $3.96 output per 1M tokens (cache-miss input). Peak hours are 09:00–12:00 and 14:00–18:00 Beijing time (01:00–04:00 and 06:00–10:00 UTC), Monday–Friday, excluding Chinese public holidays. All other hours, weekends, and Chinese public holidays are off-peak. Cached input is billed separately; see the complete pricing table.
Sources
- DeepSeek official Models & Pricing page - Primary source for current models, USD rates, time windows, and token limits.
- Official CNY prices - CNY rates are quoted directly from the Chinese pricing table.
2. Cache hit versus cache miss is not a cosmetic line item
The official DeepSeek page separates input pricing into cache hit and cache miss because repeated context can bill differently from fresh context. If your workload reuses long prompts, system instructions, or prior context effectively, the cost profile changes a lot.
That means the right buyer question is not only 'Flash or Pro'. It is also 'How often does my input qualify as a cache hit'. A team that ignores that split can overestimate or underestimate DeepSeek spend by a wide margin.
| Model and window | 1M input cache hit | 1M input cache miss | 1M output |
|---|---|---|---|
| deepseek-flash · off-peak | $0.003 / ¥0.02 | $0.15 / ¥1.00 | $0.6 / ¥4.00 |
| deepseek-flash · peak | $0.006 / ¥0.04 | $0.3 / ¥2.00 | $1.2 / ¥8.00 |
| deepseek-v4-pro · off-peak | $0.022 / ¥0.15 | $0.66 / ¥4.50 | $1.98 / ¥13.50 |
| deepseek-v4-pro · peak | $0.044 / ¥0.30 | $1.32 / ¥9.00 | $3.96 / ¥27.00 |
3. A simple way to think about Flash versus Pro
Use Flash as the financial default when the workload is broad support chat, repeated structured transforms, agent side tasks, or other traffic where throughput matters more than squeezing out the strongest reasoning on every call.
Use Pro when the prompts are harder, the reasoning path matters, or the downstream cost of a weaker answer is higher than the API savings. The official page does not tell you which one to buy. It gives you the contract so you can choose intentionally.
The clean DeepSeek-first rule is simple: start from the user problem, then map that problem onto the official Pro or Flash pricing curve instead of treating the most expensive model as the default out of habit.
4. Pricing is only part of the contract
The same official page also shows a shared 1M context length and a maximum output of 384K for both `deepseek-flash` and `deepseek-v4-pro`. That matters because model selection is really a three-part decision: price, capability, and traffic shape.
If one model were cheaper but had a radically smaller context or output ceiling, the tradeoff would look different. The current official table says the main split is economic and operational rather than a smaller context window on Flash.
5. Do not confuse site pricing cards with the official model contract
This site's `/pricing` page is for in-stock DeepSeek Coding Plans only. It is not a mirror of every possible official DeepSeek model or every future contract DeepSeek might document.
That distinction matters. The official docs tell you what DeepSeek itself currently charges and supports. The local `/pricing` page only reflects what inventory is actually available for resale on this site.
6. A buyer checklist before you commit to a model
Answer six questions before standardizing on a DeepSeek model: how many tokens you send in, how many you expect back, how often cached context repeats, whether the workload is output-heavy, how much concurrency you need, and whether weaker reasoning would create downstream support cost.
If you need the throughput side of that decision, continue with `/guides/deepseek-v4-concurrency-limits`. If you need broader endpoint selection context, compare this page with `/guides/deepseek-openai-vs-anthropic-api-routing` and `/guides/deepseek-v4-pro-vs-flash`.
FAQ
How does DeepSeek officially price V4 usage?
DeepSeek bills official API usage per 1M tokens with separate cache-hit input, cache-miss input, and output prices for Flash and Pro, split again into peak and off-peak windows.
Is DeepSeek V4.1 Flash cheaper than DeepSeek V4 Pro?
Yes. On the current official pricing page, Flash is materially cheaper than Pro across cache-hit input, cache-miss input, and output billing.
Why does DeepSeek separate cache hit and cache miss pricing?
Because repeated cached input can be billed differently from fresh uncached input, which changes the real cost profile for long or repetitive workloads.
Does this page mean both models are always sold on the pricing page?
No. This page explains the official DeepSeek model contract. The local `/pricing` page still lists only the in-stock DeepSeek Coding Plans actually available on this site.
What should I read next if my real problem is throughput, not price?
Read `/guides/deepseek-v4-concurrency-limits` next, because concurrency limits and 429 behavior affect production traffic even when the per-token price looks acceptable.
The practical pricing rule is simple: separate cache hits from misses, account for Beijing peak windows, and choose Flash or Pro based on workload shape instead of treating one headline token price as the whole contract.
Related model comparisons
Continue from this guide into structured DeepSeek-first comparison pages with model tables, routing advice, and pricing context.