DeepSeek vs Perplexity
Two strong options — here's where they genuinely differ, and which one fits what you're trying to do.
| DeepSeek | Perplexity | |
|---|---|---|
| Developer | DeepSeek (China) | Perplexity AI |
| Current model | DeepSeek V3 / R1 family | Own models + GPT/Claude options on Pro |
| Free tier | Yes — generous free chat access | Yes — unlimited basic searches; limited Pro searches per day |
| Paid from | API-priced (very low per-token costs) | $20/mo (Pro) |
| Plan ladder | Free chat · pay-as-you-go API | Free · Pro $20 |
| Context window | Large | Search-centric (large for uploaded files on Pro) |
| Multimodal | Primarily text-focused | Text, image understanding, file uploads on Pro |
| Public API | ✔ Yes | ✔ Yes |
| Open weights | ✔ Yes | ✕ No |
| Data & privacy | Data processed in China — a hard blocker for many UK businesses and public-sector users | Offers an AI-training opt-out; search queries processed per privacy policy |
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The verdict
Both DeepSeek and Perplexity are solid choices if you mainly want best value / free use — for those needs you won't go far wrong either way.
Choose DeepSeek if your priority is coding & development, open-source / self-host.
Choose Perplexity if you care more about research & cited answers, real-time information.
Both offer free tiers — the genuinely sensible move is to try each on a task you actually do, then pay for the one that earned it.