You want a capable AI chatbot without overpaying. DeepSeek V4 Preview is free on web, app, and API, with no ads, and open-sourced. Gemini has a $0 tier too, but its flagship Gemini 3.1 Pro and 1M-token context window sit behind Google AI Pro at $19.99/month.
Free Access and Pricing
DeepSeek is the cheapest path to a frontier-class chatbot: free on web, app, and API, with no ads or in-app purchases, and DeepSeek V4 Preview is open-sourced. Gemini gates its best model behind a subscription.
| Tier | Gemini (Google AI) | DeepSeek |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0/mo, 15 GB storage, Gemini 3.5 Flash | $0, full app + API, open weights |
| Entry paid | AI Plus $4.99/mo, 400 GB, 2x limits | None (everything is free) |
| Pro / flagship | AI Pro $19.99/mo, 5 TB, Gemini 3.1 Pro, 1M context | Free, V4 Pro + Flash, 1M context |
| Top tier | AI Ultra from $99.99/mo, 20x limits, Deep Think | Free |
| Open weights | No (closed) | Yes (V4 open-sourced) |
Gemini app usage runs on compute-based limits that factor in prompt complexity, features used, and chat length; they refresh every 5 hours until a weekly cap, after which you drop to smaller models. AI Pro adds the 1M-token window, Deep Research, and Veo 3.1 video generation. AI Ultra dropped from $250 to $200/month while keeping the same 20x usage limits and Deep Think.
Model Lineup and Context
| Spec | Gemini 3.1 Pro | DeepSeek V4 |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Current Pro flagship | Latest gen, open-sourced (Jun 2026) |
| Variants | 3.5 Flash, 3.1 Pro | Pro 1.6T params (49B active), Flash 285B (13B active) |
| Context window | Up to 1M tokens | 1M tokens (Pro and Flash) |
| Reasoning | Deep Research, Deep Think (Ultra) | Three reasoning modes |
| Multimodal | Audio + video + image native | Text + reasoning, file upload |
| Self-host | No | Yes (download weights) |
Gemini 3.1 Pro's 1M-token window holds about 1,500 pages of text or 30K lines of code. DeepSeek V4 matches that 1M length on both Pro and Flash, and because the weights are open you can run either variant in your own infrastructure. See our take on DeepSeek's latest models.
Benchmarks
| Benchmark | Gemini score |
|---|---|
| ARC-AGI-2 (verified) | 77.1% (Gemini 3.1 Pro) |
| GPQA Diamond | 91.9% (Gemini 3 Pro) |
| Humanity's Last Exam (no tools) | 37.5% (Gemini 3 Pro) |
| ARC-AGI-2 (Deep Think, code exec) | 45.1% (Gemini 3) |
Where Gemini Wins
Native multimodal
Audio, video, and image in one prompt. DeepSeek is text and reasoning focused.
Google ecosystem
Embedded in Workspace and Search, with 5 TB storage on AI Pro.
Deep Research and Veo
Deep Research on AI Pro and Ultra; Veo 3.1 video and Deep Think on the top tiers.
Where DeepSeek Wins
Free, no ads
Full web, app, and API access at $0, with no in-app purchases.
Open weights
V4 Pro and Flash are open-sourced. Download, fine-tune, and self-host.
Full data control
Self-host and keep every prompt in your own infrastructure.
Run DeepSeek at Full Fidelity
Open weights only help if the host serves them faithfully. Most serverless providers quantize activations to fp8 to cut cost, which degrades output quality. Morph serves DeepSeek with 16-bit (bf16) activations and no fp8 or int8 quantization, so responses match the reference weights. For coding, Morph adds codegen-specific speculative decoding and custom low-level kernels tuned for code generation, which makes it the fastest and highest-quality option for coding agents.
| Dimension | Detail |
|---|---|
| Activations | 16-bit (bf16), no fp8 quantization |
| Input price / 1M tokens | $0.139 |
| Output price / 1M tokens | $0.278 |
| Codegen | Speculative decoding + custom kernels |
Full model list and pricing on Morph Models and the pricing page. For semantic code search inside agents, WarpGrep is free up to 100k requests, then $1 per 1M.
Pick by Priority
| Your priority | Best choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Lowest cost / free | DeepSeek | Free app, web, and API; open weights. |
| Multimodal work | Gemini 3.1 Pro | Native audio, video, image. |
| Self-hosting / data control | DeepSeek V4 | Open weights in your infra. |
| Google-native workflow | Gemini | Workspace, Search, 5 TB storage. |
| Run DeepSeek at full quality | Morph | 16-bit activations, $0.139/$0.278 per 1M. |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is DeepSeek free and is Gemini free?
DeepSeek is fully free on web, app, and API, with no ads, and V4 is open-sourced. Gemini has a $0 tier with Gemini 3.5 Flash, but Gemini 3.1 Pro and its 1M context window need Google AI Pro at $19.99/month.
Is DeepSeek V4 better than Gemini 3.1 Pro?
Gemini 3.1 Pro (77.1% ARC-AGI-2) leads on multimodal and ecosystem. DeepSeek V4 ships open weights with a 1M context and three reasoning modes, so you can self-host. Different strengths.
What context window do they have?
Gemini 3.1 Pro is up to 1M tokens; DeepSeek V4 Pro and Flash are both 1M.
Can I self-host DeepSeek but not Gemini?
Yes. DeepSeek V4 is open-sourced; Gemini is hosted only through Google's app and API.
Where do I run DeepSeek V4 at full quality?
Morph serves it at 16-bit activations (no fp8 quantization). morph-dsv4flash is $0.139 in and $0.278 out per 1M tokens.
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Run DeepSeek at Full Fidelity
Morph serves DeepSeek V4 with 16-bit activations, no fp8 quantization, plus codegen speculative decoding. morph-dsv4flash is $0.139 in / $0.278 out per 1M tokens.