The best alternatives to DeepSeek
DeepSeek might not be the right fit: the price, a missing feature or a payment model you don't like. These are the closest alternatives in our catalog, ordered by rating, with the full review of each one.
Why look for a DeepSeek alternative
The same argument shows up everywhere: near-frontier reasoning for nothing in the chat and for pennies on the API, with V4 weights published on Hugging Face under an MIT license. The objection repeats too and it is not a small one, DeepSeek's own policy states data is processed and stored in China, Italy's Garante ordered a limitation on processing Italian users' data, and several governments have banned the app on official devices.
What its own users repeat in the July 26, 2026 sweep:
- Its privacy policy states it collects, processes and stores personal data in the People's Republic of China and uses it to train its models, with an opt-out available (strong theme)
- Italy's Garante ordered a limitation on processing Italian users' data in January 2025, and Australia, South Korea, Taiwan, the Czech Republic and several US agencies banned the app on official devices (strong theme)
- Visible censorship on topics sensitive to the Chinese government, where the assistant starts writing an answer then deletes it before finishing (strong theme)
- Capacity limits on the larger model, with waits, timeouts and rejected requests at peak hours (present theme)
- Minimal product around the model: no desktop apps, no memory across chats, no connectors and no image generation (present theme)
Best alternatives to DeepSeek
The AI assistant that covers the most ground.
The assistant behind the GLM models, with its weights published openly.
Moonshot's assistant with a million-token context window.
What the internet says about each alternative
ChatGPT 4.1/5 · Free + from $20
The agreement is broad: ChatGPT covers more ground than any rival and needs the least explaining to a newcomer. Two complaints repeat, the Plus usage caps run out without the interface ever showing what you have spent, and since February 2026 the Free and Go plans carry ads, now the most cited reason people cancel in forum threads.
Where it wins: It covers text, code, images, voice, web search and cross-conversation memory in one place, and that breadth is the argument people repeat most when comparing it with rivals Where it slips: The Plus caps run out with no consumption meter in the interface, and a single long task can burn the whole period's allowance
Z.ai (GLM) 4.1/5 · Free + from $18
The argument that repeats most is the price and openness equation: MIT-licensed weights anyone can download and an entry plan at $18 a month against the $20 the big names charge. The complaints repeat too, the free chat answers with an older model unless you create an account, there are no mobile apps, and the dependence on a Chinese company comes up as soon as the use stops being personal.
Where it wins: GLM-5.2 weights are published on Hugging Face under the MIT license, so they can be downloaded, fine-tuned and served on your own infrastructure with commercial use allowed Where it slips: Without signing in the chat answers with GLM-4.7 rather than the flagship GLM-5.2, which shows in the picker but requires an account
Kimi 3.8/5 · Free + from $19
Kimi has stopped being the cheap option and now competes at the top while charging like it: K3 holds up against frontier models and the entry plan costs $19, roughly what ChatGPT or Claude charge. The recurring praise is the very long context and a free plan none of the big three match. The recurring complaint is that Moonshot paused new sign-ups for lack of GPUs, and that its privacy policy never says which country your data ends up in.
Where it wins: Frontier-level quality on long research and documents: K3 entered the Frontend Code Arena at number one, and research reports are the most praised feature in app store ratings Where it slips: The entry plan costs $19 a month, essentially what the big three charge, so the bargain-price argument no longer applies to the assistant
Comparison table
| Tool | Price | Free trial | Platforms | Rating | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DeepSeek | Free | No | Web, iOS, Android | VisitDeepSeek (opens in a new tab) | |
| ChatGPT | Free + from $20 | No | Web, iOS, Android, macOS, Windows | VisitChatGPT (opens in a new tab) | |
| Z.ai (GLM) | Free + from $18 | No | Web | VisitZ.ai (GLM) (opens in a new tab) | |
| Kimi | Free + from $19 | No | Web, iOS, Android, macOS, Windows | VisitKimi (opens in a new tab) |
Still unsure? Read the full review of DeepSeek?