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DeepSeek vs Duck.ai

Features, pricing, ratings, and pros and cons, side by side.

Verdict

DeepSeek and Duck.ai are both AI Assistants tools. DeepSeek scores higher in FinderAtlas's editorial review (8.8 vs 7.8 out of 10). Both have a free plan or trial. Only DeepSeek is available on Windows, macOS and iOS and offers an API.

Best overall

DeepSeek

  • Software developers
  • Researchers and analysts
  • Students
  • AI engineers

Choose DeepSeek if

  • You want a tool built for Low-cost API integration.
  • Web chat and mobile apps are free.
  • API output costs from $0.60 per 1M tokens (Flash, off-peak), well below most frontier providers.

Choose Duck.ai if

  • You want a tool built for everyday questions and drafting where you do not want chats tied to an account or used for training, and trying several models in one place.
  • Free tier works without an account.
  • Personal metadata such as IP address is removed before prompts reach providers.
Best for beginners
DeepSeek
Best for business
Duck.ai

Features

18 features compared.

  • V4 model family
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Duck.ai
    Not available
  • Thinking mode
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Duck.ai
    Not available
  • Open weights
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Duck.ai
    Not available
  • OpenAI and Anthropic compatible API
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Duck.ai
    Not available
  • Tool calls and JSON output
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Duck.ai
    Not available
  • Search and Fetch APIs
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Duck.ai
    Not available
  • Agent tool integrations
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Duck.ai
    Not available
  • DeepSeek Harness
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Duck.ai
    Not available
  • Vision on Flash
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Duck.ai
    Not available
  • Multi-model chat
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Duck.ai
    Available
  • No account required
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Duck.ai
    Available
  • Metadata removal
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Duck.ai
    Available
  • No training on chats
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Duck.ai
    Available
  • Local recent chats
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Duck.ai
    Available
  • Voice chat
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Duck.ai
    Available
  • Image generation
    DeepSeek
    Limited
    Duck.ai
    Available
  • File and image upload
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Duck.ai
    Available
  • Subscription bundle
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Duck.ai
    Available

Limited means partial support or a paid add-on.

Pricing

Plans as listed by each vendor. Check their sites for current prices.

  • Pricing model
    DeepSeek
    Freemium
    Duck.ai
    Freemium
  • Free plan
    DeepSeek
    Yes
    Duck.ai
    Yes
  • Starting price
    DeepSeek
    $0
    Duck.ai
    $0
  • Plans
    DeepSeek
    3 plans
    Duck.ai
    3 plans

DeepSeek plans

  • Chat and App

    Most popular

    $0

    Free access to DeepSeek models on web, iOS and Android

    • Web chat
    • iOS and Android apps
    • Thinking mode
    • Web search
    • File upload

  • API: deepseek-flash

    $0.15/1M input tokens

    Pay as you go; $0.15 cache-miss input and $0.60 output per 1M tokens off-peak, double at peak

    • 1M context
    • 384K max output
    • Vision
    • Tool calls
    • JSON output

  • API: deepseek-v4-pro

    $0.66/1M input tokens

    Pay as you go; $0.66 cache-miss input and $1.98 output per 1M tokens off-peak, double at peak

    • 1M context
    • 384K max output
    • Tool calls
    • JSON output

Duck.ai plans

  • Free

    $0

    No-account access to smaller models within daily limits

    • Text chat
    • Voice chat
    • Image generation
    • Daily usage limits

  • Plus

    Most popular

    $9.99/month

    DuckDuckGo subscription with advanced models and privacy bundle

    • Advanced models
    • Reasoning models
    • VPN
    • Personal Information Removal
    • Identity Theft Restoration

  • Pro

    $19.99/month

    Highest reasoning models and doubled usage

    • Everything in Plus
    • Claude Opus access
    • Highest reasoning effort
    • 2x Plus usage limits

Our ratings

Scored out of 10 by the Finder Atlas editorial team. Last reviewed October 2026.

DeepSeek
8.8overall
Duck.ai
7.8overall

DeepSeek leads in 0 categories and Duck.ai in 1.

  • Reasoning & Logic

    DeepSeek
    8.8
    Duck.ai
    Not rated

  • Coding & Syntax

    DeepSeek
    8.7
    Duck.ai
    Not rated

  • Cost Efficiency

    DeepSeek
    9.6
    Duck.ai
    Not rated

  • Long Context

    DeepSeek
    8.8
    Duck.ai
    Not rated

  • Ease of Use

    Duck.ai leads by 1.0
    DeepSeek
    8.0
    Duck.ai
    9.0

  • Feature Depth

    DeepSeek
    Not rated
    Duck.ai
    7.0

  • Value for Money

    DeepSeek
    Not rated
    Duck.ai
    8.0

  • Performance & Speed

    DeepSeek
    Not rated
    Duck.ai
    7.5

  • Documentation & Support

    DeepSeek
    Not rated
    Duck.ai
    7.5

Scores weigh documented features, plan value, platform coverage, integrations and user feedback. A missing score means we have not rated that area yet.

Pros and cons

DeepSeek

Pros

  • Web chat and mobile apps are free
  • API output costs from $0.60 per 1M tokens (Flash, off-peak), well below most frontier providers
  • Open weights for V4 and earlier models on Hugging Face
  • 1M-token context and 384K max output on both API models
  • API works with both OpenAI and Anthropic SDKs and several coding agents

Cons

  • Peak-hour API rates are double the off-peak rates on weekday mornings UTC
  • deepseek-v4-pro does not support vision input
  • No image generation
  • Data is processed by a company based in China, which some organizations cannot accept

Duck.ai

Pros

  • Free tier works without an account.
  • Personal metadata such as IP address is removed before prompts reach providers.
  • Chats are not used for training by DuckDuckGo, and providers agree not to train on them.
  • Several providers' models are available from one interface.
  • Plus ($9.99/month) bundles a VPN and identity protection services.

Cons

  • Free tier is limited by daily usage caps, and the paid limits are not published as numbers.
  • Strongest models are subscriber-only, and the top tier costs $19.99/month.
  • No public API and no standalone mobile app found.
  • Chat history is local by default, so it does not sync across devices without opting into Sync & Backup.

Platforms

  • Web
    DeepSeek
    Supported
    Duck.ai
    Supported
  • Windows
    DeepSeek
    Supported
    Duck.ai
    Not supported
  • macOS
    DeepSeek
    Supported
    Duck.ai
    Not supported
  • iOS
    DeepSeek
    Supported
    Duck.ai
    Not supported
  • Android
    DeepSeek
    Supported
    Duck.ai
    Not supported
  • API
    DeepSeek
    Supported
    Duck.ai
    Not supported
  • Browser Extension
    DeepSeek
    Not supported
    Duck.ai
    Not supported

Integrations

DeepSeek

6 integrations
  • OpenAI SDK
  • Anthropic SDK
  • Claude Code
  • Codex
  • OpenCode
  • Hugging Face

Duck.ai

2 integrations
  • DuckDuckGo Search
  • DuckDuckGo Browser

Company

  • Company
    DeepSeek
    DeepSeek
    Duck.ai
    DuckDuckGo
  • Founded
    DeepSeek
    2023
    Duck.ai
    2008
  • Headquarters
    DeepSeek
    Hangzhou, China
    Duck.ai
    Paoli, PA
  • Listing
    DeepSeek
    Claimed
    Duck.ai
    Claimed

Frequently asked questions

Is DeepSeek better than Duck.ai?

It depends on your workflow. DeepSeek is built for Low-cost API integration. Duck.ai is built for everyday questions and drafting where you do not want chats tied to an account or used for training, and trying several models in one place.

What are the key feature differences between DeepSeek and Duck.ai?

DeepSeek: Free AI chat app and low-cost API running DeepSeek's open-weights V4 models. Duck.ai: Chat with ChatGPT, Claude and other AI models without handing over your data.

Does DeepSeek or Duck.ai have a free plan?

Yes, both do. DeepSeek is freemium and Duck.ai is freemium, and each has a free plan or trial.

Which is cheaper, DeepSeek or Duck.ai?

Both can be used for free. Paid plans differ in limits and features, so compare the tiers in the pricing table above.