SCANNING● LIVE DATAUTC 2026-06-29 00:00:00
VENDORS 23RECEIPTS 32CRITICAL 57D 0 NEWv0.9.4-rc1
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gotnerfed · index of recordfiled · · receipt #deepseek-2026-02-v3-price-hike
RECEIPT#DEEP-2026-02-PIwarn
DeepSeek·Open-weight reasoning model API·scored16nerf/ 100

DeepSeek V3 API output token price doubles after launch promotion ends

DeepSeek's V3 API launched with promotional pricing of $0.28/M output tokens. Two months later that doubled to $0.55/M with one week's notice. Still cheap relative to GPT/Claude, but doubled is doubled.

Filed
2026-02-08
Observed
2026-02-08
Response window
UNCONTESTED · DAY 30
Jurisdiction
MIT · public
DEEPSEEKNERFED16FEB 8, 2026INDEX · OF · RECORD
§ 01THE CHANGEBEFORE → AFTER · OPEN-WEIGHT REASONING MODEL API
− BEFORE · REMOVED2026-02-08
$0.14/M input, $0.28/M output (promo)
$0.28/M out tokens·V3 API · PROMOTIONAL RATE·promo active until 2026-02-08
+ AFTER · CURRENT2026-02-08
$0.27/M input, $0.55/M output (standard)
$0.55/M out tokens·V3 API · STANDARD RATE·standard rate from 2026-02-08
WAS$0.14/M in · $0.28/M out (promo)
NOW
$0.27/M in · $0.55/M out (standard)
2xOUTPUT TOKEN PRICE DOUBLE
PREDICTED IMPACT · EST.LOW CONFIDENCE
USER IMPACTSmall subsetof users on edge configurations
12-MO FINANCIAL DAMAGENegligible direct costsoft friction only
CHURN PRESSURE · 30Dlowmarginal pressure on edge cases
Estimate based on the receipt's Nerf Index (16 / 100), the severity flag, and the kind of change (price increase). How we estimate ↗
§ 03VENDOR RESPONSE WINDOWCLOSED · UNCONTESTED
DeepSeek · response window UNCONTESTEDUNCONTESTED
FILED2026-02-08
MARKED UNCONTESTED2026-03-10
NOW · DAY 141

DeepSeek did not respond inside the 30-day window. This receipt now reads as uncontested in the public record.

§ 04EVIDENCE TRAIL1 SOURCES
CONTEXT · NARRATIVEfiled by gotnerfed · 2026-02-08

The promotional pricing period ended on schedule per the original announcement, but the magnitude (2x) caught users who had built apps assuming the launch rate would persist.

The promotional pricing period ended on schedule per the original announcement, but the magnitude (2x) caught users who had built apps assuming the launch rate would persist. DeepSeek is the cheapest frontier-quality option in the market, so the change moved it from 'almost free' to 'merely cheap.'

DETECTED2026-02-08KINDPRICE INCREASESEVERITYMINORSOURCES1VENDOR REPLYNONE
PRIMARY SOURCES · CHRONOLOGICAL01 / 01
DOC
DeepSeek pricing pageSource · api-docs.deepseek.com
§ 05NEXT STEP · ESCAPE POD4 RANKED ALTS
◆ FREE / OPEN-SOURCE ALTERNATIVES4 ranked replacements for DeepSeek.avg score 90 / 100
OllamaFREE / OSS
MIT·130k

Easiest way to run a local LLM. Pair with Open WebUI for full ChatGPT replacement.

Open WebUIFREE / OSS
MIT·95k

The default ChatGPT-replacement self-host. Massive ecosystem.

MIT

Permissive (MIT) open-weight model targeting ChatGPT/Claude-class chat and agentic coding without API lock-in - the strongest open option for a self-hosted stack.

MIT

Drop-in open-weight replacement for the OpenAI/Anthropic chat APIs. Flash is the locally-runnable variant; serve it behind Open WebUI.

List manually curated · last reviewed 2026-05-13Open full picker
Filed by gotnerfed · public open-source watchdog · MIT licensed · no vendor moneyINDEX · OF · RECORD