Last updated: October 2026. Prices are in USD unless marked CAD. Canadian cards are usually charged in USD and converted by your bank, plus GST/HST.
DeepSeek is a free Chinese AI chatbot with strong reasoning and open-weight models. ChatGPT is OpenAI’s all-in-one assistant with images, voice, memory and a huge feature set. Short answer: ChatGPT is the better everyday assistant, while DeepSeek is the best completely free option for text, maths and code, as long as you are comfortable with where your data goes.
ChatGPT
More features, better privacy controls and a polished app. The free plan is enough for most users; Go ($8) and Plus ($20) remove the limits.
| Category | DeepSeek | ChatGPT |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free (web and app) | Free, Go $8, Plus $20, Pro from $100 |
| Reasoning and maths | Excellent (thinking modes) | Excellent (Plus and above) |
| Coding help | Very good | Very good, plus Codex agent |
| Image generation | No | Yes |
| Voice mode | Basic | Advanced voice |
| Memory and projects | Limited | Yes |
| Data storage | China | US (opt-out of training available) |
| Open weights | Yes (MIT licence) | No |
What is DeepSeek?
DeepSeek is an AI lab based in Hangzhou, China. Its chatbot runs on the DeepSeek V4 family (a fast “Flash” model and a larger “Pro” model) with selectable thinking levels. The web and mobile app are free with no visible message limit, and web search is built in. The model weights are published under an MIT licence, so developers can run them on their own servers.
What is ChatGPT?
ChatGPT is OpenAI’s assistant. Beyond chat, it creates images, analyses files and spreadsheets, browses the web, remembers your preferences, runs deep research and includes the Codex coding agent. See our ChatGPT pricing guide for every plan.
Answer quality
For maths, logic puzzles and step-by-step reasoning, DeepSeek’s thinking mode is genuinely close to ChatGPT’s paid models, and it costs nothing. For writing, research and anything that mixes text with files, images or the web, ChatGPT gives more polished and more reliable results.
Coding
Both are strong coding helpers. DeepSeek is popular with developers because its API is among the cheapest on the market. ChatGPT wins for real projects: Codex can work inside your repository, run tests and open pull requests. For dedicated coding tools, see best AI for coding.
Privacy: the big difference
DeepSeek’s privacy policy says it stores personal data in the People’s Republic of China, and your chats may be used for training. That is why many governments restricted it:
| Where | Restriction |
|---|---|
| Canada (federal) | Blocked on government-managed phones since February 2025 |
| British Columbia | Banned for public-sector staff; UBC banned it on its devices and networks |
| Italy | Removed from app stores |
| Australia, Taiwan | Banned on government devices |
| South Korea | New downloads blocked for a period in 2025 |
Pricing compared
| Plan | DeepSeek | ChatGPT |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Unlimited chat, web search, thinking mode | Everyday chat, limited images, uploads and deep research (with ads) |
| Budget | — | Go: $8/month |
| Standard | — | Plus: $20/month (about CA$28 + tax) |
| Power user | — | Pro: from $100/month |
| API | Very low per-token prices | Higher per-token prices |
Pros
- Completely free with no visible limits
- Excellent reasoning, maths and code
- Open-weight models you can self-host
- Cheapest API for developers
Cons
- Data stored in China; banned on Canadian government phones
- No image generation
- Fewer features than ChatGPT
- Censors politically sensitive topics about China
Which should you choose?
- Choose ChatGPT if you want one app that does everything: chat, images, files, voice and research, with clearer privacy controls.
- Choose DeepSeek if you only need text, maths or coding help, want it free, and never share sensitive data.
- Developers: test the DeepSeek API for cheap bulk tasks; keep sensitive workloads on providers with Canadian or US data handling.
FAQ
Is DeepSeek better than ChatGPT?
For free maths and coding help, DeepSeek is very close. Overall, ChatGPT is better because it has images, voice, memory, file analysis and stronger privacy controls.
Is DeepSeek free?
Yes. The DeepSeek website and app are free. Only the developer API is paid, and it is very cheap.
Is DeepSeek safe to use in Canada?
It is legal for personal use, but the federal government blocked it on government phones over privacy concerns. Do not share personal or work data with it.
Does DeepSeek have an app?
Yes, on iOS and Android, plus the web version at chat.deepseek.com.