DeepSeek vs ChatGPT — Features, Performance, Privacy & Which One You Should Choose in 2026?

AI tools and technologies surround us. We are using robotics to do our manual tasks and AI tools to get virtual work done. ChatGPT pops up in our minds immediately whenever we have to do an assignment, get suggestions, or ideas.

But there is also another tool that has been getting attention for the past few years, and that is DeepSeek. How can we forget the day when this word was trending all over X (Twitter) and everyone was talking about the end of ChatGPT? 

People were sharing screenshots of answers from both tools and debating about which one is best. Everyone thought it was nearly the end of ChatGPT, but its usage tells a different story. According to DemandSurge, ChatGPT has reached roughly 800 million weekly active users, and it’s a double from around 400 million from the previous year. It also processes over 2 billion queries daily. These numbers show that ChatGPT usage has increased even after the launch of Deepseek. 

According to reports, DeepSeek had 22.15 million daily active users across the world. But its monthly active users went around 96.9 million in April 2025. ChatGPT and Deepseek users are increasing with every passing day. But there is a constant debate on which one is best. They both have unique features and capabilities, but the major reason behind all of this hype is a tech competition between the U.S. and China. 

ChatGPT comes from the U.S.-based OpenAI, but DeepSeek originates in China. There is an AI race between these two nations, and the winner is still unannounced. ChatGPT provides accurate and detailed responses, but DeepSeek offers free access for consumers and affordable API access for developers. But those aren’t their only notable distinctions.

Therefore, we have discussed everything about ChatGPT and DeepSeek in detail. We will discuss their strengths, their weaknesses, how they compare, and why you might pick one over the other. We will also discuss their technical and interface features.

Release of ChatGPT and DeepSeek

OpenAI launched ChatGPT on November 30, 2022, and we never thought it would become such a big thing. Sam Altman shared, 

“We ended up mercifully calling it ChatGPT and launched it on November 30th of 2022. The launch kicked off a growth curve like nothing we have ever seen.” 

 His statement was true as ChatGPT reached over 100 million users in just its first two months. Everyone started using it for fun, teaching, learning, and getting advice. But OpenAI never left it as it is after launching. They released various upgraded models like GPT-3.5 and GPT-4 in March 2023.

But ChatGPT really became one solution to all of our problems with the launch of GPT-4. It has image, audio, and text capabilities to help us generate images with a single prompt. 

But ChatGPT was not the only one now to lead the AI tools market. China also stepped in with DeepSeek in May 2023. DeepSeek was founded in Hangzhou under the lead of Liang Wenfeng. It was launched to develop large language models (LLMs) and open-weight systems as an alternative to the big Western players.

But this was not just a vague ambition because DeepSeek surpassed ChatGPT as the most-downloaded free app in the U.S after releasing the R1 model on 20 January. Tech giants were sharing statements about what DeepSeek can do, and many praised them. Billionaire investor Marc Andreessen described DeepSeek-R1 on X as “a profound gift to the world”.

Sam Altman said, 

“DeepSeek’s R1 is an impressive model, particularly around what they’re able to deliver for the price. We will obviously deliver much better models, and it’s also legit invigorating to have a new competitor!”

DeepSeek didn’t stop there. They launched the “V3” family (DeepSeek-V3) in December 2024 with solid features like large token windows, a focus on code reasoning, and open-source aspects. But OpenAI also stepped into the competition, and they released multiple upgraded models back-to-back. GPT-5 mini, o3-pro, GPT-4.1, GPT-4.5, and GPT-5 models have been released in just one year.

Wei Sun, principal AI analyst at Counterpoint Research, said,

“The AI gap between the U.S. and China is now measured in months, not years.” 

These two AI tools have been competing against each other over the past two years. 

Key Features of ChatGPT vs DeepSeek

Here are the features and a comparison of ChatGPT with DeepSeek:

Price

One of the things that we notice when purchasing something is the price, but both of these models have free versions. ChatGPT’s free version allows us to chat, get summaries, and even generate limited free images. But it also offers plus plans for users who want more out of it. It costs $20/month in the U.S, and we get faster access and unlimited features in return.

But this is not the limit as ChatGPT also offers a Pro tier at around $200/month for those who want to use advanced features and models. But public reactions are mixed about this pricing model.

A Reddit user wrote,

“$200 plan was never worth it in the first place. The only thing worth using in OpenAI’s stack is Deep Research.” 

But many others shared that it’s the best value subscription they’ve ever had. Thoughts are different when it comes to DeepSeek’s free version. Its Free plan includes access to all the models (such as DeepSeek-V3 and R1) with a daily token limit ( 20,000 tokens per day) and no subscription fee. But it’s not entirely accurate to say “there is no premium model”.

The developer/API side of DeepSeek definitely uses token-based billing for its API endpoints. It means we pay only for the number of tokens we use when using DeepSeek’s API (the version for developers and companies). It costs around $0.07 for every 1 million tokens we input in the model and $1.10 for every 1 million tokens for every reply.

A Reddit user shared in a thread,

“I spent $20 two months ago, and I still have $15.17, so $5 will get you pretty far.” 

DeepSeek is very cheap compared to other AI models, because GPT-4 or Claude usually costs several dollars per million tokens. But the best part is that DeepSeek offers discounts during off-peak hours. It means we can get up to 50–75% cheaper rates.

But still, it depends on the user because both tools have different capabilities.  Choose ChatGPT’s $20/month plan if you’re a casual user who just wants to chat, write, and explore ideas. But DeepSeek works best for those who build apps, do lots of queries, and work with code.

Platforms 

We all like convenience in every matter. We like to chat over the phone instead of long texts in a hurry and use AI tools that provide direct answers instead of scrolling top 10 websites. ChatGPT is also accessible through the web, mobile apps (iOS and Android), and even from our Chrome extension. Its mobile app syncs perfectly with the web version, so we can pick up conversations right where we left off.

The official iOS app of ChatGPT crossed over 10 million downloads within weeks of launch. But DeepSeek is not convenient to use. It is available through its web app, API access for developers, and now even a Chrome extension, but they do not have a mobile app yet.

One Reddit user shared,

“If not as good, it’s almost as good. I can’t tell any difference. It also has web access and costs much, much less.” 

ChatGPT and DeepSeek are also available on platforms like Siri and a few third-party tools. Perplexity uses DeepSeek’s R1 model for deep research, and Hugging Face uses DeepSeek’s Janus-Pro model for image generation. This is because DeepSeek uses a business approach, where it shares its technology with different apps. However, the public reactions are not very good about the ChatGPT app.

A user wrote,

“The Chat GPT app is so garbage now, I don’t even know why I’m paying for it. Responses are WAY slower.”

It shows that people are having a bad experience with the app. But ChatGPT still leads as it’s available on nearly every device and integrates smoothly with other apps. DeepSeek also wins points for accessibility through its free web and API tools.

Interfaces

ChatGPT and DeepSeek look quite similar and simple to use when it comes to platforms. Their interface is clean and well-organized, but ChatGPT offers a bit more control. We can change things like memory, tone, and even personality settings, but DeepSeek doesn’t currently allow it. OpenAI says,

“Tools should feel like a natural extension of ChatGPT, fitting seamlessly into the conversational flow and UI.”

ChatGPT makes it easy to share our chats with others through different platforms. But DeepSeek lacks this cross-device syncing or detailed customization compared to ChatGPT. It focuses more on function than design. 

AI Models

ChatGPT and DeeSeek have launched their upgraded models back-to-back to stay in the race. ChatGPT has launched o3-mini, o1, GPT-4o mini, GPT-4o, and GPT-5 till 2025. Each version has become sharper, faster, and better at understanding our prompts and generating answers.

GPT-5 is the latest model of ChatGPT, and it can handle longer conversations without forgetting previous chats. We can ask “what do you know about me,” and it provides us with a detailed answer according to our queries so far. It also has tools like DALL·E, Code Interpreter, and Browser Access.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman stated on the release of GPT-5,

“It feels very fast. While testing GPT5, I got scared looking at it, thinking: ‘What have we done like in the Manhattan Project? ‘

He explained, there are moments in the history of science, where you have a group of scientists look at their creation and just say, you know: ‘What have we done? But DeepSeek was not the one to be left behind. They released their first R1 model and spent much less ($294,000) than the figures reported for U.S. rivals  to train this model.

The competition got intense when they launched an updated version called R1-0528 on May 28, 2025. DeepSeek even launched a model DeepSeek-V3.1 in August 2025.  This model supports a “hybrid” mode and has a larger context window (128K tokens). Additionally, they have also released an experimental version V3.2-Exp at the end of September 2025.

Reddit users shared in a thread,

“The model is absolutely Rock solid. As we got further through the process. We were after the race, as once again.”

But many people are complaining that DeepSeek V3 has been giving false information recently. They pointed out that it’s a sign of the R2 model, but nothing has been confirmed yet. GPT-4o, GPT-4o mini, and DeepSeek V3 models are standard AI language models.

They are good at writing text, answering questions, and chatting naturally. But o1, o3-mini, and DeepSeek R1 are called reasoning models. These models think more deeply before answering, so they take a little longer. The chart below shows how well different AI models perform in various tests. These tests measure their reasoning, accuracy, coding ability, and writing quality.

Multimodal Capabilities

AI tools are not just limited to simple plain texts because they are also generating photos and videos now. We can upload pictures, graphs, or screenshots, and it helps us understand what it is. It also helps to identify objects, analyze charts, or help fix code from a screenshot.

The DALL·E 3 integration in ChatGPT allows us to create realistic images. But this is not the end because there is also Sora. It’s a video generation tool for paid users and turns our prompts into moving objects. ChatGPT also has the voice chat feature, so we can also share our commands through audio instead of typing for hours.

But the worst part is that DeepSeek is still catching up with these multi-model capabilities. DeepSeek has released Janus-Pro, an image generation model on Hugging Face to create detailed and artistic visuals from text prompts. People are expecting to have this in DeepSeek-V3.1, but it’s not yet as integrated or fluid as ChatGPT.

ChatGPT is leading the multimodal industry right now, but we can expect that DeepSeek will be at the same level in the years to come.  

Web & Deep Search

Although DeepSeek and ChatGPT have many features in common, but ChatGPT stands out here. ChatGPT has a built-in web browsing feature that allows it to fetch the latest information directly from the internet. It means we can ask it about trending news, new research, or the latest updates on a topic, and it will search the web for reliable sources and include them in its responses.

ChatGPT also automatically includes pictures in its responses when relevant. It is one of the best things yet because it used to provide us with outdated data first.

According to OpenAI

“ChatGPT can now search the web in a much better way. Ask a question in a more natural, conversational way, and ChatGPT can choose to respond with information from the web.”

A Reddit user has also shared that It’s much better/faster at it, and more accurate. He added that the web basically supplements its base knowledge and cuts down on hallucinations or incorrect information. But there is no deep search and web images in DeepSeek, but it uses retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) to fetch data from external databases, research papers, or internal files. 

DeepSeek R1 gets data from documents and mixes it with reasoning to give us a clear and evidence-based answer. ChatGPT is best if you want something that behaves more like a smart search engine within our chat. Whereas DeepSeek’s RAG-oriented search framework goes well for writing specialized documents.

File Processing

Many of us often get lazy when it comes to reading lengthy PDFs. But these AI tools extract key points and even analyze research papers to break them down.  We can upload PDFs, images, or even screenshots, and ChatGPT instantly recognizes and interprets the content. 

But DeepSeek also supports file processing. It can read and analyze our text files or documents, but doesn’t handle images or complex visuals. So it’s reliable only for extracting and understanding written content, but many people have reported that it’s slower compared to ChatGPT. DeepSeek often requires us to upload documents one by one, which feels irritating when we are running out of time.

James Martin, Research Journalist at ExploringTopics, tested both ChatGPT and DeepSeek to see who answered well after sharing the file of a famous legal case, Donoghue vs Stevenson. ChatGPT interpreted the uploaded file and provided him with a detailed explanation of the case. But the best part is that it offered him to draw a picture to help visualize the case. But there was a noticeable delay before the diagram appeared, and it looked more like formatted text than an actual visual.

Whereas DeepSeek immediately recognized that James had uploaded the original ruling itself. Its summary was slightly more detailed. According to James, “It also gave a slightly better summary from a legal perspective, including brief details of the dissenting judgment.” DeepSeek had a small advantage in recognizing and summarizing the actual text of the ruling, but ChatGPT stood out for its interactive approach to creating visuals.

Creative Writing

ChatGPT and DeepSeek can write creative pieces like poems, stories, and short plays. Ruben Circelli tested these tools with a similar prompt. He asked them to write a free verse poem with attention to punctuation, line breaks, and rhythm, without any rhyme scheme or familiar meter. They provide a better response, but DeepSeek’s version was very similar to ChatGPT’s, especially in its opening lines and tone. 

Although AI models often generate somewhat similar content, but this similarity was quite noticeable. It somehow put us in a spot if the claims of OpenAI that DeepSeek has reused parts of ChatGPT’s technology were right. We cannot conclude anything because ChatGPT’s poem was more expressive, and DeepSeek’s was more structured.

Privacy

When it comes to privacy, both ChatGPT and DeepSeek raise important concerns. ChatGPT collects a lot of our data, including the messages we type and even the files we upload. According to OpenAI’s privacy policy, this data can be used to train future models unless users turn off chat history or opt out in the settings. It means our chats will become a part of the AI’s learning material if we don’t manually disable this option.

A Reddit user explained,

“It’s nice that we can opt out, but by default, OpenAI still collects prompts and responses.”

OpenAI has made improvements, and it allows business users to keep their data private.. But there are still concerns about how long data is stored and whether it fully meets international privacy standards like GDPR. Some reports even note that ChatGPT can retain user data indefinitely in certain cases.

ChatGPT retains deleted screenshots and browsing histories for 90 days. But DeepSeek’s situation is more serious. Multiple reports claim that DeepSeek causes national security risks. A recent U.S. government investigation called DeepSeek

 “the CCP’s latest tool for spying and stealing U.S. technology.” 

The report alleges that user data from the U.S. is being transferred to Chinese servers and that DeepSeek’s results may align with Chinese government narratives. Wired’s report also confirmed that DeepSeek sends U.S. user data to servers based in China.

But the worst part is that cybersecurity experts have also warned that the app uses weak encryption and might expose device information to third parties. This is the main reason that agencies like the Commerce Department have banned DeepSeek on government devices.

IT raises concerns about privacy with all the AI tools. These tools tell us to avoid sharing sensitive or personal information unless we’re certain how that data will be used online.

Which One Should You Choose?

The final decision depends on the need and the output you want to get. Choose ChatGPT if you want a tool for everyday tasks like answering queries or getting suggestions. It also works best if you want to generate images or videos of thoughts.

DeepSeek is a great choice if your work is related to analyzing massive datasets and extracting information. It’s especially useful for industries that demand high precision and accuracy, like finance, healthcare, or research. 

Conclusion

ChatGPT and DeepSeek have many similarities, but they are also quite different. DeepSeek focuses on data accuracy, analytics, and research, but ChatGPT is creative, communicative, and convenient. It helps users write, brainstorm, and automate everyday tasks easily. DeepSeek meets the needs of a data analyst, researcher, or someone who needs deep technical information.

These AI tools have been competing against each other over teh past two years, and still ChatGPT is leading the way. They have launched multiple models, and there’s no doubt that DeepSeek is good at many. But privacy concerns hold us back. This AI race is not going to slow down in the coming years, and only time will tell who the winner is. 

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