Claude vs DeepSeek: Which AI Tool Should You Use?

Claude and DeepSeek compared side by side: pricing, platforms, features, pros and cons, from the facts in our listings.

Claude

Anthropic's AI assistant for writing, analysis and coding

97/100Our scoreAccess 22/25 · Platforms 20/20 · Features 20/20 · Use cases 10/10 · Pricing transparency 15/15 · Adoption 10/10How we score
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DeepSeek

Open-weight AI models with a free chat app and low-cost API

92/100Our scoreAccess 22/25 · Platforms 16/20 · Features 20/20 · Use cases 10/10 · Pricing transparency 15/15 · Adoption 9/10How we score
Visit DeepSeek
FeatureClaudeDeepSeek
Our score97/10092/100
PricingFreemium · from $17/month (Pro, billed annually)Freemium · from Free (chat app); API from $0.15 per 1M input tokens
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, macOS, WindowsWeb, iOS, Android, API
CategoriesAI Chatbots & Assistants, AI Coding Assistants, AI Writing ToolsAI Chatbots & Assistants, AI Models & APIs
Key features
  • Long-document reading and editing
  • Coding help and code review
  • File and data analysis
  • Desktop app alongside the web app
  • Free chat on web and mobile
  • Open-weight model releases
  • Developer API platform
  • Reasoning-focused models
Best for
  • Writing and editing long reports
  • Analysing PDFs and spreadsheets
  • Pair programming
  • Everyday questions and writing
  • Maths and coding problems
  • Building apps on an affordable API
Pros
  • Free plan available to get started
  • Published pricing (from $17/month (Pro, billed annually))
  • Available on iOS, Android, macOS, Windows
  • Free plan available to get started
  • API or developer access for integrations
  • Available on iOS, Android
  • Open-source or open-weight option
Cons
  • Advanced features and higher limits need a paid plan
  • API is pay-as-you-go per token, with peak-hour rates double the off-peak ones
Last checkedOctober 18, 2026October 22, 2026

Which should you choose?

  • Choose Claude if you mainly need writing and editing long reports.
  • Choose DeepSeek if you mainly need everyday questions and writing.
  • Both run on Web, iOS, Android.

Our score is calculated from the facts in each listing with a published rubric (how we score); it is not a hands-on benchmark. Confirm prices on the official sites before you buy.

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