DeepSeek Chat vs DeepSeek V3
DeepSeek Chat vs DeepSeek V3: DeepSeek Chat is cheaper by 91% on average. DeepSeek Chat from DeepSeek (131,072-token context, tool calls) vs. DeepSeek V3 from Azure AI Foundry (128,000-token context). Use Agent Command Center to A/B both in shadow mode and pick the winner per workload.
Side-by-side cost
Live workload comparison
Same workload run through both models. The cheaper one is highlighted.
3,000
0131,072
400
08,192
5,000
01,000,000
At this workload, DeepSeek Chat is 81% cheaper than DeepSeek V3 — a savings of $645/month ($7,736/year).
Production recipe — Agent Command Center
strategy: cost-optimized
primary:
model: deepseek-chat
provider: deepseek
fallback:
model: deepseek-v3
provider: azure-ai-foundry
shadow: { sample_rate: 0.05 } # mirror 5% of traffic to compare quality live| DeepSeek Chat | DeepSeek V3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $0.280/M | $1.14/M |
| Output price | $0.420/M | $4.56/M |
| Context window | 131,072 | 128,000 |
| Max output | 8,192 | 8,192 |
| Function calling | ✓ | — |
| Vision | — | — |
| Audio input | — | — |
| Reasoning | — | — |
| Prompt caching | ✓ | — |
| Structured output | ✓ | — |
| Pricing verified | May 12, 2026 | May 12, 2026 |
Benchmark comparison
Side-by-side public benchmark scores. Greener bar = winner.