DeepSeek, GLM, Kimi and Qwen: Free AI or Cheap API?
A comparison of free AI chat plans and API costs for DeepSeek, GLM, Kimi and Qwen, based on usage logs and model tests from October 24, 2026.
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Before paying $20 for a subscription, consider two cheaper options: free AI chat plans and low-cost model APIs. Using my usage logs from October 24, 2026, I calculated the cost of a task on DeepSeek V4.1 Flash, GLM-5.3, Kimi K3.1 Pro and Qwen3.8 Max, then compared the results with the free versions of ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and DeepSeek.
At a glance (as of October 24, 2026)
- For $1.27 in API usage, you can get about 1,180 typical short tasks on DeepSeek V4.1 Flash, about 800 on GLM-5.3 and about 170 on Kimi K3.1 Pro.
- Quality: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash scored 94.8% in my test, compared with 98.7% for Claude Opus 5.5.
- DeepSeek’s free chat uses the same V4.1-Flash-1017 model, so you don’t need the API for a conversation.
- Free plans from major providers offer weaker models: ChatGPT Free includes GPT-5.6 Luna, while Gemini without a subscription mainly uses Flash-Lite.
What you get with free AI plans
| Free plan | Model | Provider’s stated limit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT Free | GPT-5.6 Luna | “Unlimited” standard chats, subject to abuse safeguards | 27,000-token context; limited files, images and voice |
| Claude Free | Sonnet and Haiku | Five-hour session; no message count specified | No Opus or Claude Code; up to five projects |
| Gemini without a subscription | Auto mode, mainly Flash-Lite | Standard limit, refreshed every five hours | More difficult prompts may be routed to Flash or Pro |
| DeepSeek | V4.1-Flash-1017 | No published limits | No paid chat plan |
| Kimi Adagio | Kimi | Message count not specified | Paid plans start at $19 |
| Mistral Free | Mistral models | “Limited messages and searches” | Pro offers up to six times more messages |
I’ve covered the free versions in more detail in separate guides: ChatGPT for free, Gemini for free after the October 9 changes and Claude Haiku 5.5 for free.
How much does a task cost on low-cost models?
These figures come from my test across 10 languages on October 24, 2026, using OpenRouter with medium reasoning; Qwen and GLM were tested in seven languages. Prices are from official price lists on the same date. For DeepSeek, I use peak-hour rates ($0.30 / $1.20); off-peak rates, including weekends, are half as much.
| Model (input/output USD per 1 million tokens) | Typical short task | Document of about 30,000 tokens | Tasks for $1.27 |
|---|---|---|---|
| DeepSeek V4.1 Flash ($0.30 / $1.20) | about $0.00107 | about $0.00866 | about 1,180 |
| GLM-5.3 ($1.40 / $4.40) | about $0.00157 | about $0.03856 | about 806 |
| Gemini 4 Argon ($2 / $10) | about $0.00429 | about $0.05387 | about 297 |
| Kimi K3.1 Pro ($2 / $10) | about $0.00732 | about $0.06149 | about 174 |
| Qwen3.8 Max ($2 / $6) | about $0.00820 | about $0.05471 | about 155 |
In practical terms, $1.27 divided by the $0.0011 cost of a DeepSeek task comes to about 1,180 tasks. A $20 plan would only be worth it over DeepSeek at 620 tasks a day, or over GLM-5.3 at 422 tasks a day.
$1.27 / $0.00108 = 1,180 tasksWhat about quality?
In my test, each model completed 12 tasks in each of 10 languages. Responses were scored from 0 to 6 against a reference, with some scoring automated and some done by two AI judges. Average results were: Claude Opus 5.5, 98.7%; GPT-6 Astra, 97.8%; Qwen3.8 Max, 95.2%; DeepSeek V4.1 Flash, 94.8%; Gemini 4 Argon, 93.6%; GLM-5.3, 87.3%; and Kimi K3.1 Pro, 86.5%. Kimi lost points mainly because eight responses were off-topic on the standard endpoint, as discussed in the K3.1 Pro test.
The practical takeaway: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash delivers about 96% of Opus’s quality for about 6% of the price on short tasks. That’s enough for letters, summaries, translations and data extraction. For difficult writing where style and nuance matter, a four-point difference can be noticeable.
When to use free chat and when to use a low-cost API
- Free DeepSeek chat: Conversations and one-off questions. It uses the same model as the API, with no bill.
- Low-cost API: Repetitive automated tasks, hundreds of product descriptions, extracting data to JSON, or workflows in n8n or your own script. Free chat isn’t suited to this.
- Free ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini: Quick questions in a mobile app, but with weaker models and usage limits.
- Paid plan: Consider one when you need the best model every day, long conversations or a coding agent.
I cover DeepSeek API pricing in my DeepSeek API pricing guide, and Kimi in Kimi K3.1 Pro API pricing and Kimi pricing.
This is my Kimi referral link. Kimi says both parties receive a bonus when you buy a membership, at no extra cost to you.
For break-even comparisons across seven models and plans from $8 to $200, see my guide to subscriptions versus APIs.
Frequently asked questions
Is DeepSeek free?
The chat at chat.deepseek.com and the app have no paid plan and use DeepSeek V4.1-Flash-1017. Only the API is paid, with charges based on tokens.
Which model offers the most for the least?
Of the models tested, DeepSeek V4.1 Flash: about $0.00107 per typical short task and 94.8% in my test.
Does free ChatGPT include GPT-6?
According to OpenAI’s help information, Free and Go users get GPT-5.6 Luna. GPT-6 is available on plans from Plus upward.
Is the Gemini API free?
Some models, including Gemini 3.8 Flash, have a free tier, but Google uses content from that tier to improve its services. Gemini 4 Argon is available only on the paid tier.
Google · Your sourcesQuantslant higher in your Google - one clickAdd to preferred sources →Sources and date checked
- DeepSeek API pricing - V4.1 Flash, peak and off-peak rates (checked October 24, 2026)
- DeepSeek changelog - model in the app and on the website (checked October 24, 2026)
- Z.ai GLM pricing (checked October 24, 2026)
- Kimi API pricing and Kimi plans (checked October 24, 2026)
- Alibaba Cloud Model Studio Qwen pricing (checked October 24, 2026)
- ChatGPT plans, Claude plans, Gemini subscriptions and Mistral pricing (checked October 24, 2026)
- Gemini API pricing - free tier (checked October 24, 2026)
- Task cost and quality: my 768-query test through OpenRouter on October 24, 2026, covering seven models
