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DeepSeek vs Groq

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

Verdict

DeepSeek is listed under AI Assistants and Groq under Developer Tools. Both have a free plan or trial. Only DeepSeek is available on Windows, macOS and iOS.

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 Groq if

  • You want a tool built for Low-latency LLM API calls.
  • Listed speeds of about 280 to 1,000 tokens per second on hosted models.
  • OpenAI-compatible API and Responses API support, so migration is mostly a base URL change.
Best for beginners
DeepSeek
Best for business
Groq

Features

18 features compared.

  • V4 model family
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Groq
    Not available
  • Thinking mode
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Groq
    Not available
  • Open weights
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Groq
    Not available
  • OpenAI and Anthropic compatible API
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Groq
    Not available
  • Tool calls and JSON output
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Groq
    Not available
  • Search and Fetch APIs
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Groq
    Not available
  • Agent tool integrations
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Groq
    Not available
  • DeepSeek Harness
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Groq
    Not available
  • Vision on Flash
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Groq
    Not available
  • LPU inference
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Groq
    Available
  • OpenAI-compatible API
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Groq
    Available
  • Open model catalog
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Groq
    Available
  • Speech models
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Groq
    Available
  • Built-in tools and MCP
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Groq
    Available
  • Batch and Flex tiers
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Groq
    Available
  • Structured outputs and reasoning
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Groq
    Available
  • Spend limits and projects
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Groq
    Available
  • LoRA inference
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Groq
    Available

Pricing

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

  • Pricing model
    DeepSeek
    Freemium
    Groq
    Freemium
  • Free plan
    DeepSeek
    Yes
    Groq
    Yes
  • Starting price
    DeepSeek
    $0
    Groq
    $0
  • Plans
    DeepSeek
    3 plans
    Groq
    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

Groq plans

  • Free

    $0

    Free API access with lower rate limits, for evaluation and small projects

    • API key from the console
    • Access to hosted open models
    • Playground
    • Lower rate limits than the Developer tier

  • Developer

    Most popular

    $0.075-$4.00/1M tokens

    Pay-as-you-go usage billing with higher rate limits, no monthly fee

    • Higher rate limits
    • Chat support
    • Flex service tier
    • Batch processing
    • Spend limits

  • Enterprise

    Custom/custom

    Contact sales for dedicated capacity and enterprise-only models

    • Custom rate limits
    • Models such as Llama 3.3 70B
    • Dedicated infrastructure
    • Enterprise controls

Our ratings

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

DeepSeek
8.8overall
Groq
8.6overall

DeepSeek leads in 1 category and Groq in 0.

  • Reasoning & Logic

    DeepSeek
    8.8
    Groq
    Not rated

  • Coding & Syntax

    DeepSeek
    8.7
    Groq
    Not rated

  • Cost Efficiency

    DeepSeek leads by 1.1
    DeepSeek
    9.6
    Groq
    8.5

  • Long Context

    DeepSeek
    8.8
    Groq
    Not rated

  • Ease of Use

    DeepSeek
    8.0
    Groq
    Not rated

  • Inference Speed

    DeepSeek
    Not rated
    Groq
    9.5

  • Latency

    DeepSeek
    Not rated
    Groq
    9.2

  • API Compatibility

    DeepSeek
    Not rated
    Groq
    9.0

  • Model Selection

    DeepSeek
    Not rated
    Groq
    7.0

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

Groq

Pros

  • Listed speeds of about 280 to 1,000 tokens per second on hosted models
  • OpenAI-compatible API and Responses API support, so migration is mostly a base URL change
  • Free tier with an API key, and pay-as-you-go pricing with no monthly fee
  • Low per-token prices, for example $0.15 input and $0.60 output per 1M tokens for GPT OSS 120B
  • Includes speech-to-text and text-to-speech models alongside text models

Cons

  • Only hosts a curated set of open models; no proprietary frontier models such as GPT or Claude
  • Some models, including Llama 3.3 70B, are enterprise-only and require contacting sales
  • Free tier rate limits are low for production use
  • No public pricing page on groq.com; prices sit in the developer docs
  • Preview models can be discontinued at short notice

Platforms

  • Web
    DeepSeek
    Supported
    Groq
    Supported
  • Windows
    DeepSeek
    Supported
    Groq
    Not supported
  • macOS
    DeepSeek
    Supported
    Groq
    Not supported
  • iOS
    DeepSeek
    Supported
    Groq
    Not supported
  • Android
    DeepSeek
    Supported
    Groq
    Not supported
  • API
    DeepSeek
    Supported
    Groq
    Supported
  • Browser Extension
    DeepSeek
    Not supported
    Groq
    Not supported

Integrations

DeepSeek

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

Groq

8 integrations
  • OpenAI SDK
  • Factory Droid
  • OpenCode
  • Kilo Code
  • Roo Code
  • Cline
  • Google Workspace
  • MCP connectors

Company

  • Company
    DeepSeek
    DeepSeek
    Groq
    Groq LLC
  • Founded
    DeepSeek
    2023
    Groq
    2016
  • Headquarters
    DeepSeek
    Hangzhou, China
    Groq
    San Francisco, CA
  • Listing
    DeepSeek
    Claimed
    Groq
    Claimed

Frequently asked questions

Is DeepSeek better than Groq?

It depends on your workflow. DeepSeek is built for Low-cost API integration. Groq is built for Low-latency LLM API calls.

What are the key feature differences between DeepSeek and Groq?

DeepSeek: Free AI chat app and low-cost API running DeepSeek's open-weights V4 models. Groq: Fast, OpenAI-compatible inference API for open models, running on custom LPU chips.

Does DeepSeek or Groq have a free plan?

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

Which is cheaper, DeepSeek or Groq?

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