Yes. DeepSeek’s official mobile app is free to use. It also offers web chat without an advertised consumer subscription. The API is a separate service billed by usage, while running a downloaded model means covering your own computing costs.
For everyday questions, writing help or explaining a piece of code, the free app is a straightforward starting point. You don’t need an API key or a developer balance to use it.
What’s free in the chat and app?
The DeepSeek mobile app lets you ask questions, use search and work with supported files and images without buying a subscription. Sign in to a DeepSeek account to get started. The app is available for iPhone and Android; our app guide covers the first steps.
Prefer a browser? The official web chat gives you that option. Adding money to a DeepSeek API account pays for API usage; it does not buy extra messages in the web chat or mobile app.
Does free mean unlimited?
No. Free access does not guarantee that every request or upload will go through. Follow any usage limit or retry instruction shown in your account. DeepSeek’s upload help also identifies an upload limit as one possible reason a file fails, without giving a numeric allowance in that answer.
A “server busy” message doesn’t automatically mean you’ve hit a daily limit. If the service stops responding, check the official status page before assuming you need to pay.
When do you pay for DeepSeek?
You pay for model usage when you connect software to the DeepSeek API. Instead of a flat chat subscription, the bill depends on the model and the amount it processes and generates. For example, asking the mobile app to rewrite one email is part of the free service; building a tool that sends emails to the API for rewriting creates API usage charges.
Free API credit is not something to assume. The official billing rules allow charges to come from either topped-up or granted balance, using granted balance first. They do not promise a starter credit to every new account. Check your own balance and any offer’s terms before relying on it.
For the current rates, see DeepSeek pricing. If you’re ready to connect an application, the API setup guide explains the key, balance and first request.
The desktop tool DeepSeek Harness is a separate case from the free phone app: its terms require Open Platform prepayment for its default model services. Downloading Harness does not make its default model service free.
What about running a model yourself?
DeepSeek makes model weights available to download. For example, DeepSeek-R1’s model card permits use under the MIT license and explains the different terms attached to some distilled variants. Check the license for the exact model you choose.
Running it locally avoids DeepSeek’s API usage charges, but you still supply the computer, storage and electricity, or pay to rent a server. Check the hardware requirements before downloading a model.
Why do some DeepSeek apps ask for payment?
Other companies can build products using DeepSeek models and charge their own subscriptions. That payment buys the provider’s service, with its own features and limits. It does not upgrade your account on DeepSeek’s official chat.
Chat-Deep.ai is independent too. Our browser chat is free and ad-supported, with its own usage limits and no sign-up. Those limits belong to this site; they are not the allowance for an official DeepSeek account.