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DeepSeek vs Shortcut

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

Shortcut logo

Shortcut

AI agent that builds, audits and edits Excel financial models from plain-language prompts

Freemium
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Verdict

DeepSeek is listed under AI Assistants and Shortcut under Productivity. DeepSeek scores higher in FinderAtlas's editorial review (8.8 vs 7.6 out of 10). Both have a free plan or trial. Only DeepSeek is available on macOS, iOS and Android. Only Shortcut is available on CLI.

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 Shortcut if

  • You want a tool built for building LBO and DCF and three-statement models quickly, auditing and tracing existing workbooks, repeatable finance workflows via CLI or API.
  • Covers Excel add-in, web, Windows desktop, CLI and API from one product.
  • Finance-specific focus on LBO, DCF and three-statement models with source tracing.
Best for beginners
DeepSeek
Best for business
Shortcut

Features

18 features compared.

  • V4 model family
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Shortcut
    Not available
  • Thinking mode
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Shortcut
    Not available
  • Open weights
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Shortcut
    Not available
  • OpenAI and Anthropic compatible API
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Shortcut
    Not available
  • Tool calls and JSON output
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Shortcut
    Not available
  • Search and Fetch APIs
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Shortcut
    Not available
  • Agent tool integrations
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Shortcut
    Not available
  • DeepSeek Harness
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Shortcut
    Not available
  • Vision on Flash
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Shortcut
    Not available
  • Natural-Language Model Building
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Shortcut
    Available
  • Spreadsheet Editing and Auditing
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Shortcut
    Available
  • Excel Add-in
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Shortcut
    Available
  • Desktop Agent
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Shortcut
    Available
  • Web App
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Shortcut
    Available
  • CLI
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Shortcut
    Available
  • Platform API
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Shortcut
    Available
  • Reusable Skills and Templates
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Shortcut
    Available
  • Enterprise Governance
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Shortcut
    Available

Pricing

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

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

Shortcut plans

  • Free

    $0

    Entry plan to try the agent

    • 20 weekly credits
    • web app
    • desktop app
    • Excel plugin
    • Google Sheets plugin

  • Pro

    Most popular

    $100/month

    Individual finance professionals

    • 1,000 monthly credits
    • unlimited file creation and edits
    • Platform API access

  • Teams

    $320/month

    Small teams of 2 to 15 seats

    • 1,000 pooled monthly credits plus $100 per seat
    • shared workspace
    • usage analytics
    • centralized billing
    • shared resources

  • Enterprise

    Custom/custom

    Large organizations with custom needs

    • SSO
    • custom permissions
    • BYOK
    • private gateway
    • dedicated support
    • custom contracts and SLAs
    • custom integrations

Our ratings

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

DeepSeek
8.8overall
Shortcut
7.6overall

DeepSeek leads in 0 categories and Shortcut in 0, with 1 tied.

  • Reasoning & Logic

    DeepSeek
    8.8
    Shortcut
    Not rated

  • Coding & Syntax

    DeepSeek
    8.7
    Shortcut
    Not rated

  • Cost Efficiency

    DeepSeek
    9.6
    Shortcut
    Not rated

  • Long Context

    DeepSeek
    8.8
    Shortcut
    Not rated

  • Ease of Use

    Tied
    DeepSeek
    8.0
    Shortcut
    8.0

  • Feature Depth

    DeepSeek
    Not rated
    Shortcut
    8.3

  • Value for Money

    DeepSeek
    Not rated
    Shortcut
    6.8

  • Performance & Speed

    DeepSeek
    Not rated
    Shortcut
    7.8

  • Documentation & Support

    DeepSeek
    Not rated
    Shortcut
    7.2

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

Shortcut

Pros

  • Covers Excel add-in, web, Windows desktop, CLI and API from one product.
  • Finance-specific focus on LBO, DCF and three-statement models with source tracing.
  • Permanent free tier with 20 weekly credits.
  • Enterprise security options include SOC 2 Type II, BYOK and on-premises deployment.
  • Public Platform API with webhooks and an OpenAPI spec.

Cons

  • Pro costs $100/month billed annually, well above general-purpose AI assistants.
  • Credit-based usage (2 to 15 credits per message) makes costs hard to predict; a Trustpilot reviewer reported credits cut after switching to an annual plan and slow support.
  • Desktop agent is listed for Windows only, and there is no mobile app.
  • Published benchmark claims are vendor-run, and the Teams pricing is inconsistent across pages.

Platforms

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

Integrations

DeepSeek

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

Shortcut

4 integrations
  • Microsoft Excel
  • Google Sheets
  • Microsoft PowerPoint
  • Microsoft AppSource

Company

  • Company
    DeepSeek
    DeepSeek
    Shortcut
    Fundamental Research Labs
  • Founded
    DeepSeek
    2023
    Shortcut
    Not listed
  • Headquarters
    DeepSeek
    Hangzhou, China
    Shortcut
    San Francisco, CA
  • Listing
    DeepSeek
    Claimed
    Shortcut
    Claimed

Frequently asked questions

Is DeepSeek better than Shortcut?

It depends on your workflow. DeepSeek is built for Low-cost API integration. Shortcut is built for building LBO and DCF and three-statement models quickly, auditing and tracing existing workbooks, repeatable finance workflows via CLI or API.

What are the key feature differences between DeepSeek and Shortcut?

DeepSeek: Free AI chat app and low-cost API running DeepSeek's open-weights V4 models. Shortcut: AI agent that builds, audits and edits Excel financial models from plain-language prompts.

Does DeepSeek or Shortcut have a free plan?

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

Which is cheaper, DeepSeek or Shortcut?

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