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DeepSeek vs Qwen

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

Verdict

DeepSeek and Qwen are both AI Assistants 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 Qwen if

  • You want a tool built for free general-purpose chat.
  • Free web assistant with image, video and document features.
  • Open-weight models in many sizes on Hugging Face and GitHub.
Best for beginners
DeepSeek
Best for business
Qwen

Features

18 features compared.

  • V4 model family
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Qwen
    Not available
  • Thinking mode
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Qwen
    Not available
  • Open weights
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Qwen
    Not available
  • OpenAI and Anthropic compatible API
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Qwen
    Not available
  • Tool calls and JSON output
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Qwen
    Not available
  • Search and Fetch APIs
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Qwen
    Not available
  • Agent tool integrations
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Qwen
    Not available
  • DeepSeek Harness
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Qwen
    Not available
  • Vision on Flash
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Qwen
    Not available
  • Document processing
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Qwen
    Available
  • Web search and tool use
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Qwen
    Available
  • Voice and video chat
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Qwen
    Available
  • Artifacts
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Qwen
    Available
  • Multi-model chat
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Qwen
    Available
  • Image and video understanding
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Qwen
    Available
  • Image generation and editing
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Qwen
    Available
  • Open-weight models
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Qwen
    Available
  • Model Studio API
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Qwen
    Available

Pricing

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

  • Pricing model
    DeepSeek
    Freemium
    Qwen
    Freemium
  • Free plan
    DeepSeek
    Yes
    Qwen
    Yes
  • Starting price
    DeepSeek
    $0
    Qwen
    $0
  • Plans
    DeepSeek
    3 plans
    Qwen
    2 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

Qwen plans

  • Qwen Chat (web and app)

    Most popular

    $0

    Free access to the Qwen assistant on the web and Android

    • Chat with Qwen models
    • Image and video understanding
    • Image generation
    • Web search
    • Document processing
    • Artifacts

  • Open weights

    $0

    Downloadable models from Hugging Face and GitHub; license varies by model

    • Many model sizes
    • Run locally
    • Self-hosting

Our ratings

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

DeepSeek
8.8overall
Qwen
8.7overall

DeepSeek leads in 2 categories and Qwen in 0.

  • Reasoning & Logic

    DeepSeek
    8.8
    Qwen
    Not rated

  • Coding & Syntax

    DeepSeek leads by 0.2
    DeepSeek
    8.7
    Qwen
    8.5

  • Cost Efficiency

    DeepSeek
    9.6
    Qwen
    Not rated

  • Long Context

    DeepSeek
    8.8
    Qwen
    Not rated

  • Ease of Use

    DeepSeek leads by 0.2
    DeepSeek
    8.0
    Qwen
    7.8

  • Open-Weight Availability

    DeepSeek
    Not rated
    Qwen
    9.3

  • Multilingual Accuracy

    DeepSeek
    Not rated
    Qwen
    8.8

  • Value for Money

    DeepSeek
    Not rated
    Qwen
    9.0

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

Qwen

Pros

  • Free web assistant with image, video and document features
  • Open-weight models in many sizes on Hugging Face and GitHub
  • Hosted API with Max, Flash and Omni model options
  • Strong multilingual coverage, including Chinese
  • Many models can be self-hosted, which keeps data on your own hardware

Cons

  • No published paid consumer tier or stated usage limits for the free assistant
  • Open-weight licenses vary by model, so not every model is Apache 2.0
  • Hosted chat and API are run by a China-based company, which may not suit sensitive data
  • App and model names change often, which can make official apps hard to identify

Platforms

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

Integrations

DeepSeek

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

Qwen

5 integrations
  • Hugging Face
  • GitHub
  • Ollama
  • LM Studio
  • Alibaba Cloud Model Studio

Company

  • Company
    DeepSeek
    DeepSeek
    Qwen
    Alibaba Cloud
  • Founded
    DeepSeek
    2023
    Qwen
    2009
  • Headquarters
    DeepSeek
    Hangzhou, China
    Qwen
    Hangzhou, China
  • Listing
    DeepSeek
    Claimed
    Qwen
    Claimed

Frequently asked questions

Is DeepSeek better than Qwen?

It depends on your workflow. DeepSeek is built for Low-cost API integration. Qwen is built for free general-purpose chat.

What are the key feature differences between DeepSeek and Qwen?

DeepSeek: Free AI chat app and low-cost API running DeepSeek's open-weights V4 models. Qwen: Alibaba's free AI assistant and open-weight model family, on web, mobile and API.

Does DeepSeek or Qwen have a free plan?

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

Which is cheaper, DeepSeek or Qwen?

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