DeepSeek: API pricing restructured to peak/off-peak billing, prices roughly double
token pricing moved from flat rates to peak (01:00-04:00 & 06:00-10:00 UTC) / off-peak billing with an overall increase — v4-flash cache-hit $0.0028→$0.007/$0.014, cache-miss $0.14→$0.22/$0.44, output $0.28→$0.66/$1.32; v4-pro cache-hit $0.003625→$0.022/$0.044, cache-miss $0.435→$0.66/$1.32, output $0.87→$1.98/$3.96 (per 1M tokens)
What changed
DeepSeek API token pricing restructured from flat rates to peak/off-peak billing (peak 01:00-04:00 & 06:00-10:00 UTC) with a significant increase across both models: v4-flash cache-hit $0.0028→$0.007/$0.014, cache-miss $0.14→$0.22/$0.44, output $0.28→$0.66/$1.32; v4-pro cache-hit 0.003625→$0.022/$0.044, cache-miss $0.435→$0.66/$1.32, output $0.87→$1.98/$3.96 (off-peak/peak per 1M tokens)
Before and after
Aug 10, 2026 vs Aug 17, 2026DeepSeek API token pricing restructured from flat rates to peak/off-peak billing (peak 01:00-04:00 & 06:00-10:00 UTC) with a significant increase across both models: v4-flash cache-hit $0.0028→$0.007/$0.014, cache-miss $0.14→$0.22/$0.44, output $0.28→$0.66/$1.32; v4-pro cache-hit 0.003625→$0.022/$0.044, cache-miss $0.435→$0.66/$1.32, output $0.87→$1.98/$3.96 (off-peak/peak per 1M tokens)
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More from DeepSeek
Full history →- Week 39, 2026·packagingDeepSeek: peak-hour billing now excludes Chinese public holidays
- Week 38, 2026·packagingDeepSeek merges v4-flash and vision-exp into cheaper Flash V4.1
- Week 35, 2026·packagingDeepSeek adds vision model, exempts weekends from peak pricing
- Week 33, 2026·packagingDeepSeek: dropped peak/off-peak pricing plan, warns of broader increase
- Week 32, 2026·packagingDeepSeek: announced peak/off-peak surge pricing (2x during peak hours)
