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DeepSeek vs Kagi

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

Kagi logo

Kagi

Ad-free, subscription-funded search engine with built-in AI assistant and summarization tools

Free trial
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Verdict

DeepSeek and Kagi are both AI Assistants tools. DeepSeek scores higher in FinderAtlas's editorial review (8.8 vs 8.1 out of 10). Both have a free plan or trial. Only DeepSeek is available on Windows and macOS.

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 Kagi if

  • You want a tool built for people who want ad-free, personalizable search results and are willing to pay a subscription to get them.
  • No advertising; revenue comes from subscriptions.
  • Site-level raise, lower and block controls let users tune results.
Best for beginners
Kagi
Best for business
Kagi

Features

17 features compared.

  • V4 model family
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Kagi
    Not available
  • Thinking mode
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Kagi
    Not available
  • Open weights
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Kagi
    Not available
  • OpenAI and Anthropic compatible API
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Kagi
    Not available
  • Tool calls and JSON output
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Kagi
    Not available
  • Search and Fetch APIs
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Kagi
    Not available
  • Agent tool integrations
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Kagi
    Not available
  • DeepSeek Harness
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Kagi
    Not available
  • Vision on Flash
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Kagi
    Not available
  • Ad-free search
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Kagi
    Available
  • Site personalization
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Kagi
    Available
  • Lenses
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Kagi
    Available
  • Kagi Assistant
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Kagi
    Available
  • Quick Answer and Summarize Page
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Kagi
    Available
  • Developer APIs
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Kagi
    Available
  • Orion browser
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Kagi
    Available
  • Kagi Translate and Kagi News
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Kagi
    Available

Pricing

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

  • Pricing model
    DeepSeek
    Freemium
    Kagi
    Free trial
  • Free plan
    DeepSeek
    Yes
    Kagi
    Yes
  • Starting price
    DeepSeek
    $0
    Kagi
    $0
  • Plans
    DeepSeek
    3 plans
    Kagi
    4 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

Kagi plans

  • Trial

    $0

    Free trial to evaluate Kagi

    • 100 searches
    • 100 Assistant interactions

  • Starter

    $5/month

    Entry plan for light searchers

    • 300 searches
    • Assistant Quick mode

  • Professional

    Most popular

    $10/month

    Unlimited search for regular users

    • Unlimited searches
    • Assistant Quick mode
    • larger monthly Assistant allowance

  • Ultimate

    $25/month

    Full AI access

    • Unlimited searches
    • Assistant Research mode
    • flagship models including Claude
    • GPT and Gemini
    • highest level of support

Our ratings

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

DeepSeek
8.8overall
Kagi
8.1overall

DeepSeek leads in 0 categories and Kagi in 1.

  • Reasoning & Logic

    DeepSeek
    8.8
    Kagi
    Not rated

  • Coding & Syntax

    DeepSeek
    8.7
    Kagi
    Not rated

  • Cost Efficiency

    DeepSeek
    9.6
    Kagi
    Not rated

  • Long Context

    DeepSeek
    8.8
    Kagi
    Not rated

  • Ease of Use

    Kagi leads by 0.2
    DeepSeek
    8.0
    Kagi
    8.2

  • Feature Depth

    DeepSeek
    Not rated
    Kagi
    8.6

  • Value for Money

    DeepSeek
    Not rated
    Kagi
    7.4

  • Performance & Speed

    DeepSeek
    Not rated
    Kagi
    8.4

  • Documentation & Support

    DeepSeek
    Not rated
    Kagi
    7.8

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

Kagi

Pros

  • No advertising; revenue comes from subscriptions.
  • Site-level raise, lower and block controls let users tune results.
  • Lenses give quick topic-specific filtering such as Academic or Forums.
  • Ultimate bundles access to Claude, GPT and Gemini models in Assistant.
  • Public APIs and an MCP server support developer use.
  • Transparent funding history published by the company.

Cons

  • No permanent free tier: the trial is limited to 100 searches.
  • The $5 Starter plan caps searches at 300 per month, which users report running out of quickly.
  • Reviewers report that lens use and loading more results can count as extra searches.
  • Full AI model access requires the $25 Ultimate plan.

Platforms

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

Integrations

DeepSeek

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

Kagi

4 integrations
  • Anthropic Claude
  • OpenAI GPT
  • Google Gemini
  • MCP

Company

  • Company
    DeepSeek
    DeepSeek
    Kagi
    Kagi Inc.
  • Founded
    DeepSeek
    2023
    Kagi
    2018
  • Headquarters
    DeepSeek
    Hangzhou, China
    Kagi
    San Francisco, CA
  • Listing
    DeepSeek
    Claimed
    Kagi
    Claimed

Frequently asked questions

Is DeepSeek better than Kagi?

It depends on your workflow. DeepSeek is built for Low-cost API integration. Kagi is built for people who want ad-free, personalizable search results and are willing to pay a subscription to get them.

What are the key feature differences between DeepSeek and Kagi?

DeepSeek: Free AI chat app and low-cost API running DeepSeek's open-weights V4 models. Kagi: Ad-free, subscription-funded search engine with built-in AI assistant and summarization tools.

Does DeepSeek or Kagi have a free plan?

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

Which is cheaper, DeepSeek or Kagi?

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