yangmao.ai · Free API intent page
DeepSeek Free API Guide
DeepSeek has a tracked free API path, with $5 and rate limit notes of 2 RPM.
Quick verdict
- Free API: $5
- Rate limits: 2 RPM
- Best model starting point: DeepSeek-V4-Pro
- Mainland China access: direct or relatively friendly
Provider fit matrix
DeepSeek buyer intent notes
Who should care
Best for China-access coding agents, low-cost reasoning trials, and teams that want OpenAI-style setup without Western API access friction.
Decision trigger
Shortlist DeepSeek when you need cheap inference, Chinese/English coding quality, and a domestic fallback for agent workloads.
Watch out: Watch model version changes, context limits, and service status before putting autonomous retries in production.
Production readiness checklist
Python setup snapshot
Start with the smallest possible chat completion, then move the key to your server-side secret manager before production.
from openai import OpenAI
client = OpenAI(
api_key="your-deepseek-key",
base_url="https://api.deepseek.com"
)
response = client.chat.completions.create(
model="deepseek-chat", # DeepSeek-V3
messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "你好"}],
)
print(response.choices[0].message.content)cURL smoke test
Use this to verify endpoint, auth header, model name, response shape, and quota before adding SDK abstractions.
curl https://api.deepseek.com/chat/completions \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $DEEPSEEK_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"model": "DeepSeek-V4-Pro",
"messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Hello from yangmao.ai"}]
}'Free API and pricing notes
$5
$5 free credits on signup, pay-as-you-go after. V4-Pro has a 25%-of-list pricing window through 2026/05/31, then moves to the announced 1/4-of-list pricing basis; cache-hit price is reduced to 1/10. Tencent Cloud's 2026-06-04 hotlist signal reports up to a 97.5% price reduction for DeepSeek-V4-series calls on that third-party cloud channel; verify final billing in Tencent Cloud/DeepSeek console. V4-Flash $0.14/M input, $0.28/M output
Access and production risk
Mainland China friendly / direct path likely
Chinese service, direct access in mainland China, very fast, no proxy needed
Decision checklist
Check DeepSeek free credits and rate limits.
Compare same-category providers and Mainland China access needs.
Pick the provider with the clearest no-card/free API path for testing.
DeepSeek production validation table
Use this table before sending real users, scheduled agents, or paid traffic to DeepSeek. The goal is to validate source freshness, quota behavior, regional access, and fallback needs instead of trusting a stale free-credit claim.
额度变动提醒
想知道免费额度、价格或可用性变化？先订阅提醒，后续也可以对比官方平台、API 网关和同类替代方案。
订阅提醒 → 获取 OpenLLMAPI Key → 比较 API 网关 →Related internal links
Source snapshot
Data source: yangmao.ai provider YAML tracker plus provider docs reviewed by the daily crawler. Official dashboards can change quota and pricing without notice; verify before production.
- yangmao.ai provider id
- deepseek
- Official source
- https://platform.deepseek.com
- Last updated
- 2026-06-16
- Free tier
- 50 requests/day
- API credits
- $5
- Rate limit
- 2 RPM
- Access note
- Chinese service, direct access in mainland China, very fast, no proxy needed
FAQ
Does DeepSeek have a free API?
Yes. Current yangmao.ai record: $5. Rate limit note: 2 RPM.
Is DeepSeek OpenAI-compatible?
The recorded setup uses an OpenAI-compatible pattern or SDK-style call. Validate the latest base URL and model names in DeepSeek docs.
Can I use DeepSeek from mainland China?
DeepSeek is marked as relatively direct or Mainland-China-friendly in the current tracker.
What should I do when DeepSeek credits run out?
Compare the alternatives below, check /en/free-ai-api/, and shortlist official providers or API gateway options before production.
When should I choose DeepSeek over a global API?
Choose DeepSeek when mainland China access, low token cost, and coding/reasoning quality matter more than one-vendor global availability.