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DeepSeek vs Novastart

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

Novastart logo

Novastart

Infinite canvas desktop where your apps, teammates and AI agents share one workspace

Freemium
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Verdict

DeepSeek is listed under AI Assistants and Novastart under Productivity. DeepSeek scores higher in FinderAtlas's editorial review (8.8 vs 7.3 out of 10). Both have a free plan or trial. Only DeepSeek is available on Web, iOS and Android and offers an API. Only Novastart is available on Linux.

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 Novastart if

  • You want a tool built for keeping many apps and projects organized in saved workspaces, watching AI agents work step by step, sharing a live workspace with teammates.
  • Agents work with a visible cursor and can be paused, steered or taken over.
  • Permanent free plan with all apps available.
Best for beginners
DeepSeek
Best for business
Novastart

Features

18 features compared.

  • V4 model family
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Novastart
    Not available
  • Thinking mode
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Novastart
    Not available
  • Open weights
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Novastart
    Not available
  • OpenAI and Anthropic compatible API
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Novastart
    Not available
  • Tool calls and JSON output
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Novastart
    Not available
  • Search and Fetch APIs
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Novastart
    Not available
  • Agent tool integrations
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Novastart
    Not available
  • DeepSeek Harness
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Novastart
    Not available
  • Vision on Flash
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Novastart
    Not available
  • Infinite canvas
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Novastart
    Available
  • Saved canvases
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Novastart
    Available
  • Visible AI agents
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Novastart
    Available
  • Multi-agent runs
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Novastart
    Available
  • Agent modes
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Novastart
    Available
  • Team collaboration
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Novastart
    Available
  • Real apps
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Novastart
    Available
  • Local-first data
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Novastart
    Available
  • Undo history
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Novastart
    Available

Pricing

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

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

Novastart plans

  • Free

    $0

    Try Novastart with limited canvas space.

    • All apps
    • 1 folder
    • 2 canvases
    • 4 windows per canvas
    • AI agents pay per use

  • Pro

    Most popular

    $10/month

    Unlimited canvas space, marked as the recommended start.

    • All apps
    • Unlimited folders
    • Unlimited canvases
    • Unlimited windows
    • AI agents pay per use

  • Team

    $20/month

    Pro plus shared canvases for teams.

    • Everything in Pro
    • Team collaboration
    • Shared canvases

Our ratings

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

DeepSeek
8.8overall
Novastart
7.3overall

  • Reasoning & Logic

    DeepSeek
    8.8
    Novastart
    Not rated

  • Coding & Syntax

    DeepSeek
    8.7
    Novastart
    Not rated

  • Cost Efficiency

    DeepSeek
    9.6
    Novastart
    Not rated

  • Long Context

    DeepSeek
    8.8
    Novastart
    Not rated

  • Ease of Use

    DeepSeek
    8.0
    Novastart
    Not rated

  • Agent Transparency

    DeepSeek
    Not rated
    Novastart
    8.0

  • Workspace Organization

    DeepSeek
    Not rated
    Novastart
    8.0

  • Team Collaboration

    DeepSeek
    Not rated
    Novastart
    7.5

  • Setup & Compatibility

    DeepSeek
    Not rated
    Novastart
    6.0

  • Pricing Clarity

    DeepSeek
    Not rated
    Novastart
    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

Novastart

Pros

  • Agents work with a visible cursor and can be paused, steered or taken over
  • Permanent free plan with all apps available
  • Pro at $10 per month removes canvas limits
  • Local-first design keeps canvas contents on the user's machine
  • Peer-to-peer canvas sharing with per-person cursors

Cons

  • The app is a full computer in a window and the site warns to expect some lag
  • App supports only Windows and Intel Macs, and needs 8 GB RAM and virtualization
  • Novastart OS replaces the existing system on the PC it is installed on
  • Agent use costs extra on every plan and needs credits of $25 or more
  • Young product launched in September 2026 with little independent review history

Platforms

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

Integrations

DeepSeek

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

Novastart

No integrations listed.

Company

  • Company
    DeepSeek
    DeepSeek
    Novastart
    Marketplace Distributors LLC
  • Founded
    DeepSeek
    2023
    Novastart
    Not listed
  • Headquarters
    DeepSeek
    Hangzhou, China
    Novastart
    Manhattan Beach, CA
  • Listing
    DeepSeek
    Claimed
    Novastart
    Claimed

Frequently asked questions

Is DeepSeek better than Novastart?

It depends on your workflow. DeepSeek is built for Low-cost API integration. Novastart is built for keeping many apps and projects organized in saved workspaces, watching AI agents work step by step, sharing a live workspace with teammates.

What are the key feature differences between DeepSeek and Novastart?

DeepSeek: Free AI chat app and low-cost API running DeepSeek's open-weights V4 models. Novastart: Infinite canvas desktop where your apps, teammates and AI agents share one workspace.

Does DeepSeek or Novastart have a free plan?

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

Which is cheaper, DeepSeek or Novastart?

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