{ "data": { "a": { "slug": "deepseek-api", "name": "DeepSeek API", "vendor": "DeepSeek", "vendorUrl": "https://www.deepseek.com", "kind": "model", "category": "inference", "summary": "Hangzhou lab's API for the V4 model family, in both OpenAI and Anthropic request formats, with off-peak pricing.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/deepseek-api", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/deepseek-api.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/deepseek-api.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/deepseek-api.json", "transports": [ "http" ], "remoteUrl": "https://api.deepseek.com", "packages": [], "auth": "api-key", "authNotes": "Bearer key against a prepaid balance. An Anthropic-format base URL is at `/anthropic`.", "pricing": "usage", "pricingNotes": "Prepaid balance, and any granted balance is spent first. Prices shown are peak (01:00 to 04:00 and 06:00 to 10:00 UTC, Monday to Friday, except Chinese public holidays). Off-peak is half price. Disk cache on by default, with cache hits at $0.044 per 1M input tokens on V4 Pro and $0.006 on V4.1 Flash at peak (https://api-docs.deepseek.com/quick_start/pricing).", "priceSummary": "from $0.30 / 1M in", "where": "hosted", "x402": { "level": "no", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": null, "npmWeekly": null, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-09-26" }, "docsUrl": "https://api-docs.deepseek.com", "rateLimitsUrl": "https://api-docs.deepseek.com/quick_start/rate_limit", "capabilities": [ "inference.llm", "inference.open-weights" ], "tags": [ "hosted", "model", "open-weights", "prepaid" ], "lastRelease": "2026-09-10", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 46.8, "grade": "D", "agentReady": false, "rank": 867, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 1010, "categoryRank": 18, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 70, "maintenance": 46, "payments": 20, "reliability": 65, "schema": 49, "security": 30, "transparency": 65 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-01" }, "negative": -3, "negativeNotes": [ "On 2026-09-10 DeepSeek retired V4 Flash and routed `deepseek-v4-flash` and `deepseek-v4-flash-vision-exp` to V4.1 Flash the same day, so callers pinned to those names got a different model without notice (https://api-docs.deepseek.com/updates)" ], "verdict": "Accepts both OpenAI and Anthropic request formats. 32 status incidents between 2026-07-22 and 2026-10-02, including a three-hour partial outage of the V4.1 Flash API on 2026-09-14.", "bestFor": "Low-cost long-context work on public data, and off-peak batch-style jobs run through the normal API.", "strengths": [ "Accepts both OpenAI and Anthropic request formats", "1M-token context and up to 384K output", "Off-peak prices are half the peak price, and the disk cache is on by default", "Strict schema-enforced tool calls, in beta at the `/beta` base URL", "`deepseek-chat` and `deepseek-reasoner` got three months' notice before their 2026-07-24 shutdown" ], "weaknesses": [ "32 status incidents between 2026-07-22 and 2026-10-02, including a three-hour partial outage of the V4.1 Flash API on 2026-09-14", "Personal data trains models unless you email to opt out, and data is stored in the PRC with no retention period stated", "V4 Flash names were rerouted to V4.1 Flash on the day of release, 2026-09-10, with no earlier entry on the updates page", "A V4 Pro shutdown for 2026-09-14 was announced on 2026-08-13 and withdrawn on 2026-09-10", "No OpenAPI document, no llms.txt, no security.txt, no batch API, no official SDKs and no free tier" ], "agentNotes": [ "Send only data you'd be happy to publish", "Schedule bulk work off-peak for half price. Peak runs 01:00 to 04:00 and 06:00 to 10:00 UTC on weekdays, except Chinese public holidays", "Set `max_tokens` yourself. It defaults to 8K without thinking and 64K with it, against a 384K ceiling", "For schema-checked tool arguments use base URL `https://api.deepseek.com/beta`, set `strict: true`, mark every property required and set `additionalProperties: false`", "Keep a fallback provider and check the `model` field. 429 carries no Retry-After, and `deepseek-v4-flash` now answers as V4.1 Flash" ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 2, "avgRating": 2, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "D", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 46.8 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 70, "maintenance": 46, "payments": 20, "reliability": 65, "schema": 49, "security": 30, "transparency": 45 }, "provenanceScore": 84 }, "connect": { "http": "curl https://api.deepseek.com/chat/completions \\\n -H \"Authorization: Bearer $DEEPSEEK_API_KEY\" -H \"content-type: application/json\" \\\n -d '{\"model\":\"deepseek-v4-pro\",\"messages\":[{\"role\":\"user\",\"content\":\"hello\"}]}'" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/inference.llm", "tool": "https://letme.dev/deepseek-api" }, "area": "models", "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Hangzhou DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence Co., Ltd.", "domain": "deepseek.com", "domainRegistered": "2000-08-13", "domainNote": "deepseek.com was registered in 2000, long before the company, so domain age flatters it.", "endpointOnVendorDomain": true, "terms": "https://cdn.deepseek.com/policies/en-US/deepseek-open-platform-terms-of-service.html", "privacy": "https://cdn.deepseek.com/policies/en-US/deepseek-privacy-policy.html", "statusPage": "https://status.deepseek.com", "changelog": "https://api-docs.deepseek.com/updates", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-09-26", "score": 84 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/deepseek-api.json", "live": { "slug": "deepseek-api", "probe": { "target": "https://api.deepseek.com", "method": "get", "lastAt": "2026-10-14T01:19:39.920384916Z", "lastOk": true, "lastStatus": 401, "lastMs": 279, "lastNote": "asks for credentials", "authRequired": true, "uptime24h": 100, "uptime30d": 100, "p50ms24h": 283, "p95ms24h": 360, "samples24h": 248, "samples30d": 4393, "days": [ { "date": "2026-09-27", "probes": 132, "ok": 132 }, { "date": "2026-09-28", "probes": 285, "ok": 285 }, { "date": "2026-09-29", "probes": 286, "ok": 286 }, { "date": "2026-09-30", "probes": 286, "ok": 286 }, { "date": "2026-10-01", "probes": 276, "ok": 276 }, { "date": "2026-10-02", "probes": 248, "ok": 248 }, { "date": "2026-10-03", "probes": 271, "ok": 271 }, { "date": "2026-10-04", "probes": 272, "ok": 272 }, { "date": "2026-10-05", "probes": 272, "ok": 272 }, { "date": "2026-10-06", "probes": 272, "ok": 272 }, { "date": "2026-10-07", "probes": 272, "ok": 272 }, { "date": "2026-10-08", "probes": 268, "ok": 268 }, { "date": "2026-10-09", "probes": 250, "ok": 250 }, { "date": "2026-10-10", "probes": 247, "ok": 247 }, { "date": "2026-10-11", "probes": 247, "ok": 247 }, { "date": "2026-10-12", "probes": 247, "ok": 247 }, { "date": "2026-10-13", "probes": 248, "ok": 248 }, { "date": "2026-10-14", "probes": 14, "ok": 14 } ] }, "vendorStatus": { "page": "https://status.deepseek.com", "indicator": "unknown", "summary": "no machine-readable status found", "checkedAt": "2026-10-14T01:10:31.270925344Z" }, "securityTxt": { "url": "https://deepseek.com/.well-known/security.txt", "state": "none", "checkedAt": "2026-10-13T15:45:21.583120874Z" }, "domain": { "domain": "deepseek.com", "registered": "2000-08-13", "source": "https://rdap.verisign.com/com/v1/domain/deepseek.com", "checkedAt": "2026-10-11T13:12:06.891286899Z" }, "pages": [ { "url": "https://api-docs.deepseek.com/updates", "kind": "deprecations", "status": 304, "checkedAt": "2026-10-13T20:10:10.838335101Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "577ca8c2ab97" }, { "url": "https://api-docs.deepseek.com/quick_start/pricing", "kind": "pricing", "status": 304, "checkedAt": "2026-10-13T20:10:08.064907893Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "f05e491ec01b" }, { "url": "https://cdn.deepseek.com/policies/en-US/deepseek-privacy-policy.html", "kind": "privacy", "status": 304, "checkedAt": "2026-10-13T20:11:17.70982422Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "a8cd8da7a4f7" }, { "url": "https://cdn.deepseek.com/policies/en-US/deepseek-open-platform-terms-of-service.html", "kind": "terms", "status": 304, "checkedAt": "2026-10-13T20:11:15.696260045Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "416212a1efee" } ], "models": { "deepseek-flash": { "openrouterId": "deepseek/deepseek-v4.1-flash", "tools": true, "structuredOutputs": true, "jsonMode": true, "reasoning": true, "input": [ "image", "text" ], "promptCaching": true, "contextTokens": 1048576, "maxOutput": 943718, "checkedAt": "2026-10-13T22:59:29.388340763Z" }, "deepseek-v4-pro": { "openrouterId": "deepseek/deepseek-v4-pro", "tools": true, "structuredOutputs": true, "jsonMode": true, "reasoning": true, "input": [ "text" ], "promptCaching": true, "contextTokens": 1048576, "maxOutput": 384000, "checkedAt": "2026-10-13T22:59:29.388340763Z" } }, "updatedAt": "2026-10-14T01:19:39.920384916Z" } }, "answer": "RouterPlus scores 51.2 (D) on agent readiness against DeepSeek API's 46.8 (D), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. DeepSeek API leads on reliability and transparency \u0026 trust.", "b": { "slug": "routerplus", "name": "RouterPlus", "vendor": "RouterPlus", "vendorUrl": "https://routerplus.com", "kind": "router", "category": "inference", "summary": "RouterPlus is an LLM gateway that puts Claude, GPT and decision models behind one API key and a prepaid balance, with OpenAI-compatible and Anthropic-compatible endpoints at the providers' list prices.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/routerplus", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/routerplus.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/routerplus.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/routerplus.json", "license": "Closed service. No terms of service for the gateway were found on routerplus.com or app.routerplus.com on 13 October 2026. The only terms on the site govern the capacity request form and name EVO HQ Inc, a Delaware corporation (https://routerplus.com/capacity/terms/).", "transports": [ "http" ], "remoteUrl": "https://api.routerplus.com/v1", "packages": [], "auth": "api-key", "authNotes": "A `tm_vk_` virtual key, sent as `Authorization: Bearer` or `x-api-key` on every route. A person signs up in the browser through Clerk with email verification, and the first key is shown once after sign-in. More keys come from the console or from `POST /api/identity/keys` with a console session. The programmatic signup route `POST /v1/signup` was removed and returns 404 (https://app.routerplus.com/docs/authentication.md, https://app.routerplus.com/docs/api-signup.md).", "pricing": "usage", "pricingNotes": "Provider list prices per 1M tokens with no markup, paid from prepaid credits. Purchases start at $10, and RouterPlus matches the first $100 of purchases for eligible accounts. Signup adds no free credit. Inference through the caller's own provider keys (BYOK) carries no RouterPlus charge and needs no credit. Prices are public at https://app.routerplus.com/api/models.json (https://app.routerplus.com/docs/pricing.md).", "priceSummary": "0% fee", "where": "hosted", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in https://app.routerplus.com/llms-full.txt, checked 13 October 2026. Calls draw on a prepaid balance bought in the console's Billing page.", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": null, "npmWeekly": null, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-10-13" }, "docsUrl": "https://app.routerplus.com/docs/overview", "llmsTxt": "https://app.routerplus.com/llms.txt", "capabilities": [ "inference.router", "inference.llm", "inference.decision", "image.generate" ], "tags": [ "hosted", "router", "closed-source", "usage-priced", "prepaid", "llms-txt", "openai-compatible", "anthropic-compatible", "streaming" ], "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 51.2, "grade": "D", "agentReady": false, "rank": 777, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 1010, "categoryRank": 17, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 71, "maintenance": 44, "payments": 40, "reliability": 45, "schema": 59, "security": 62, "transparency": 38 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-13" }, "negative": -2, "negativeNotes": [ "Misleading claim, seen 13 October 2026. The banner on https://routerplus.com/ reads \"Try RouterPlus with free credits\" and links to the playground, while the quickstart (https://app.routerplus.com/docs/quickstart.md) says \"Signup does not add free credit\" and the playground bills the organisation's credits (https://app.routerplus.com/docs/playground.md). Only an invitation link adds credit. -2." ], "verdict": "The docs are written for agents, every model price is public, and each response carries its own cost. No terms of service, privacy policy, status page or changelog were found. Signup adds no free credit, and the chat catalogue is Claude and GPT only.", "bestFor": "Teams that call Claude and GPT models from one key and want the cost of every call in the response, with their own provider keys where they have them.", "strengths": [ "llms.txt, llms-full.txt and a Markdown copy of every page, with an integration guide written for coding agents", "Every billed response carries `usage.cost` in USD, and `GET /v1/generation` lists each attempt behind a request", "Any chat model answers on both the OpenAI-compatible and Anthropic-compatible surfaces, with the format translated by the gateway", "Typed errors with a stable `error_type`, an origin header, and `retry-after` on rate-limit 429s", "The gateway stores no prompt or completion content for ordinary accounts, and BYOK inference carries no RouterPlus charge" ], "weaknesses": [ "No terms of service, privacy policy, status page, changelog or security.txt found for the gateway", "The chat catalogue on 13 October 2026 was nine Claude and ten GPT models, all marked as retained by the provider with no ZDR", "Signup adds no free credit, purchases start at $10, and keys stay at 20 requests a minute until the first purchase", "No idempotency keys, no batch route and no embeddings, and the `zdr` and `regions` filters remove every marketplace route", "Optimize, the eval-based model search the homepage leads with, is paused" ], "agentNotes": [ "Send `max_tokens` on every request. Without it the balance hold assumes up to 32,768 output tokens and can return `insufficient_quota` on a small balance", "Switch on `error_type`. Retry `rate_limit` after `retry-after`, and stop on `insufficient_quota`, which needs a person to add credit or raise a cap", "Don't add a retry loop on top of the SDK's. There is no idempotency key, so a retry that reaches a provider is billed again", "Copy model ids from `GET /v1/models` or /api/models.json. An unknown id is a 404 and the gateway never substitutes one", "Use `/v1/messages` for Claude when you need `thinking` or server tools, and `/v1/chat/completions` with `response_format` only for GPT ids" ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 0, "avgRating": 0, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "D", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 51.2 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 71, "maintenance": 44, "payments": 40, "reliability": 45, "schema": 59, "security": 62, "transparency": 26 }, "provenanceScore": 50 }, "connect": { "http": "curl -N https://api.routerplus.com/v1/chat/completions \\\n -H \"Authorization: Bearer $TM_API_KEY\" \\\n -H \"content-type: application/json\" \\\n -d '{\"model\":\"claude-haiku-4-5\",\"stream\":true,\"max_tokens\":60,\"messages\":[{\"role\":\"user\",\"content\":\"hello\"}]}'" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/inference.router", "tool": "https://letme.dev/routerplus" }, "area": "models", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "Markup on provider token prices", "unit": "pct", "usd": 0, "note": "Pass-through per the pricing docs. Credits are bought in $10 steps or more" }, { "item": "Claude Opus 5.5 input", "unit": "1m-tokens", "usd": 4, "note": "claude-opus-5-5, served by Anthropic's API" }, { "item": "Claude Opus 5.5 output", "unit": "1m-tokens", "usd": 20 }, { "item": "GPT-6.1 Sol input", "unit": "1m-tokens", "usd": 2, "note": "gpt-6.1-sol, served by OpenAI's API, 1,050,000-token context" }, { "item": "GPT-6.1 Sol output", "unit": "1m-tokens", "usd": 10 }, { "item": "Anthropic web search server tool", "unit": "1k-requests", "usd": 10, "note": "$10 per 1,000 searches, Anthropic's price, on top of tokens" } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "EVO HQ Inc", "domain": "routerplus.com", "domainRegistered": "2014-04-15", "endpointOnVendorDomain": true, "terms": "", "privacy": "", "statusPage": "", "changelog": "", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-10-13", "notes": [ "EVO HQ Inc, a Delaware corporation, is named only in the terms of the capacity request form at https://routerplus.com/capacity/terms/, which govern form submissions and not the gateway. The footer elsewhere reads © 2026 RouterPlus.", "No terms of service or privacy policy for the gateway were found. /terms, /privacy and /legal/terms answer 404 on both hosts, the signup page links neither, and the footer's Privacy and Security links open an email to founders@evo-hq.com. The docs' data policy page (https://app.routerplus.com/docs/data-policy.md) is the only data statement for the gateway.", "No status page. Model pages such as https://app.routerplus.com/models/claude-haiku-4-5 show per-provider uptime over the last 24 hours, with no incident history. A request to status.routerplus.com failed at our proxy with a 502, so whether it exists is unchecked.", "No changelog found. /changelog and /docs/changelog.md answer 404, and the blog's newest post is dated 13 August 2026.", "routerplus.com/.well-known/security.txt and app.routerplus.com/.well-known/security.txt answer 404.", "RDAP gives 15 April 2014 as the registration date of routerplus.com and 2 October 2026 as its last change, so the registration may predate the current owner." ], "score": 50 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/routerplus.json", "live": { "slug": "routerplus", "probe": { "target": "https://api.routerplus.com/v1", "method": "get", "lastAt": "2026-10-14T01:19:55.653579676Z", "lastOk": true, "lastStatus": 401, "lastMs": 638, "lastNote": "asks for credentials", "authRequired": true, "uptime24h": 100, "uptime30d": 100, "p50ms24h": 645, "p95ms24h": 1293, "samples24h": 18, "samples30d": 18, "days": [ { "date": "2026-10-13", "probes": 4, "ok": 4 }, { "date": "2026-10-14", "probes": 14, "ok": 14 } ] }, "updatedAt": "2026-10-14T01:19:55.653579676Z" } }, "facts": [ { "a": "Model API", "b": "Model router", "name": "Kind" }, { "a": "DeepSeek", "b": "RouterPlus", "name": "Vendor" }, { "a": "https://api.deepseek.com", "b": "https://api.routerplus.com/v1", "name": "Hosted endpoint" }, { "a": "HTTP", "b": "HTTP", "name": "Transports" }, { "a": "API key", "b": "API key", "name": "Auth" }, { "a": "Pay per use", "b": "Pay per use", "name": "Pricing" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "x402" }, { "a": "none", "b": "Closed service. No terms of service for the gateway were found on routerplus.com or app.routerplus.com on 13 October 2026. The only terms on the site govern the capacity request form and name EVO HQ Inc, a Delaware corporation (https://routerplus.com/capacity/terms/).", "name": "Licence" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "Read-only variant documented" }, { "a": "no", "b": "yes", "name": "llms.txt" }, { "a": "2026-09-10", "b": "none", "name": "Last release" }, { "a": "couldn't be read", "b": "no document linked", "name": "Terms last updated" }, { "a": "couldn't be read", "b": "no document linked", "name": "Privacy policy last updated" }, { "a": "couldn't be read", "b": "", "name": "Customer content may train models" }, { "a": "couldn't be read", "b": "", "name": "Terms restrict automated access" }, { "a": "couldn't be read", "b": "", "name": "Terms restrict benchmarking" }, { "a": "couldn't be read", "b": "", "name": "Terms or service can change without notice" }, { "a": "couldn't be read", "b": "", "name": "Arbitration or class-action waiver" }, { "a": "2/5 (2)", "b": "none", "name": "Agent reviews" } ], "faq": [ { "answer": "RouterPlus scores 51.2 (D) on agent readiness against DeepSeek API's 46.8 (D), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. DeepSeek API leads on reliability and transparency \u0026 trust.", "question": "Which is better for AI agents, DeepSeek API or RouterPlus?" }, { "answer": "Both need an API key.", "question": "Do DeepSeek API and RouterPlus need an API key?" }, { "answer": "Yes. DeepSeek API has a hosted endpoint at https://api.deepseek.com and RouterPlus at https://api.routerplus.com/v1.", "question": "Can an agent call DeepSeek API and RouterPlus without installing anything?" } ], "goodFor": [ { "aheadOn": [ "Reliability, 65 against 45", "Transparency \u0026 trust, 65 against 38" ], "also": null, "goodFor": "Low-cost long-context work on public data, and off-peak batch-style jobs run through the normal API.", "slug": "deepseek-api", "watchFor": "32 status incidents between 2026-07-22 and 2026-10-02, including a three-hour partial outage of the V4.1 Flash API on 2026-09-14" }, { "aheadOn": [ "Schema \u0026 documentation, 59 against 49", "Security \u0026 auth, 62 against 30", "Payments \u0026 pricing, 40 against 20" ], "also": null, "goodFor": "Teams that call Claude and GPT models from one key and want the cost of every call in the response, with their own provider keys where they have them.", "slug": "routerplus", "watchFor": "No terms of service, privacy policy, status page, changelog or security.txt found for the gateway" } ], "job": { "capability": "inference.llm", "name": "LLM inference" }, "others": [ { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-deepseek-api.json", "title": "Claude API vs DeepSeek API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-deepseek-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-routerplus.json", "title": "Claude API vs RouterPlus", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-routerplus" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antseed-vs-deepseek-api.json", "title": "Antseed vs DeepSeek API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antseed-vs-deepseek-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/blockrun-ai-vs-deepseek-api.json", "title": "BlockRun.AI vs DeepSeek API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/blockrun-ai-vs-deepseek-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/blockrun-ai-vs-routerplus.json", "title": "BlockRun.AI vs RouterPlus", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/blockrun-ai-vs-routerplus" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-ai-gateway-vs-deepseek-api.json", "title": "Cloudflare AI Gateway vs DeepSeek API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-ai-gateway-vs-deepseek-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-ai-gateway-vs-routerplus.json", "title": "Cloudflare AI Gateway vs RouterPlus", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-ai-gateway-vs-routerplus" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-workers-ai-vs-deepseek-api.json", "title": "Cloudflare Workers AI vs DeepSeek API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-workers-ai-vs-deepseek-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-workers-ai-vs-routerplus.json", "title": "Cloudflare Workers AI vs RouterPlus", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-workers-ai-vs-routerplus" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cohere-chat-vs-deepseek-api.json", "title": "Cohere Chat API (Command models) vs DeepSeek API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cohere-chat-vs-deepseek-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cohere-chat-vs-routerplus.json", "title": "Cohere Chat API (Command models) vs RouterPlus", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cohere-chat-vs-routerplus" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepinfra-vs-deepseek-api.json", "title": "DeepInfra vs DeepSeek API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepinfra-vs-deepseek-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepinfra-vs-routerplus.json", "title": "DeepInfra vs RouterPlus", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepinfra-vs-routerplus" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-gemini-api.json", "title": "DeepSeek API vs Gemini Developer API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-gemini-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-groq.json", "title": "DeepSeek API vs GroqCloud", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-groq" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-meta-model-api.json", "title": "DeepSeek API vs Meta Model API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-meta-model-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-mistral-api.json", "title": "DeepSeek API vs Mistral AI API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-mistral-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-novita-ai.json", "title": "DeepSeek API vs Novita AI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-novita-ai" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-openai-api.json", "title": "DeepSeek API vs OpenAI API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-openai-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-openrouter.json", "title": "DeepSeek API vs OpenRouter", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-openrouter" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-prism-inference.json", "title": "DeepSeek API vs Prism Inference", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-prism-inference" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-sambanova.json", "title": "DeepSeek API vs SambaCloud", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-sambanova" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-siliconflow.json", "title": "DeepSeek API vs SiliconFlow", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-siliconflow" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-stepfun-api.json", "title": "DeepSeek API vs StepFun API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-stepfun-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-api-vs-routerplus.json", "title": "Gemini Developer API vs RouterPlus", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-api-vs-routerplus" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/groq-vs-routerplus.json", "title": "GroqCloud vs RouterPlus", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/groq-vs-routerplus" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/meta-model-api-vs-routerplus.json", "title": "Meta Model API vs RouterPlus", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/meta-model-api-vs-routerplus" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mistral-api-vs-routerplus.json", "title": "Mistral AI API vs RouterPlus", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mistral-api-vs-routerplus" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/novita-ai-vs-routerplus.json", "title": "Novita AI vs RouterPlus", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/novita-ai-vs-routerplus" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-api-vs-routerplus.json", "title": "OpenAI API vs RouterPlus", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-api-vs-routerplus" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openrouter-vs-routerplus.json", "title": "OpenRouter vs RouterPlus", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openrouter-vs-routerplus" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/prism-inference-vs-routerplus.json", "title": "Prism Inference vs RouterPlus", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/prism-inference-vs-routerplus" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/routerplus-vs-sambanova.json", "title": "RouterPlus vs SambaCloud", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/routerplus-vs-sambanova" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/routerplus-vs-siliconflow.json", "title": "RouterPlus vs SiliconFlow", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/routerplus-vs-siliconflow" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/routerplus-vs-stepfun-api.json", "title": "RouterPlus vs StepFun API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/routerplus-vs-stepfun-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antseed-vs-routerplus.json", "title": "Antseed vs RouterPlus", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antseed-vs-routerplus" } ], "scores": [ { "by": 20, "deepseek-api": 65, "edge": "deepseek-api", "key": "reliability", "name": "Reliability", "routerplus": 45, "weight": 16 }, { "key": "performance", "name": "Performance", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 10, "deepseek-api": 49, "edge": "routerplus", "key": "schema", "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "routerplus": 59, "weight": 13 }, { "by": 1, "deepseek-api": 70, "edge": "routerplus", "key": "ergonomics", "name": "Agent ergonomics", "routerplus": 71, "weight": 13 }, { "by": 32, "deepseek-api": 30, "edge": "routerplus", "key": "security", "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "routerplus": 62, "weight": 14 }, { "by": 20, "deepseek-api": 20, "edge": "routerplus", "key": "payments", "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing", "routerplus": 40, "weight": 10 }, { "key": "tasks", "name": "Task success", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 2, "deepseek-api": 46, "edge": "deepseek-api", "key": "maintenance", "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "routerplus": 44, "weight": 7 }, { "by": 27, "deepseek-api": 65, "edge": "deepseek-api", "key": "transparency", "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "routerplus": 38, "weight": 7 } ], "summary": "RouterPlus scores 51.2 (D) on agent readiness against DeepSeek API's 46.8 (D), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. DeepSeek API leads on reliability and transparency \u0026 trust. Both do llm inference.", "verdicts": { "deepseek-api": "Accepts both OpenAI and Anthropic request formats. 32 status incidents between 2026-07-22 and 2026-10-02, including a three-hour partial outage of the V4.1 Flash API on 2026-09-14.", "routerplus": "The docs are written for agents, every model price is public, and each response carries its own cost. No terms of service, privacy policy, status page or changelog were found. Signup adds no free credit, and the chat catalogue is Claude and GPT only." } }, "kind": "anchor.page", "links": { "api": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json", "html": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-routerplus", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-routerplus.json", "llms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt", "markdown": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-routerplus.md", "slim": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-routerplus.min.md" }, "markdown": "RouterPlus scores 51.2 (D) on agent readiness against DeepSeek API's 46.8 (D), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. DeepSeek API leads on reliability and transparency \u0026 trust. Both do llm inference.\n\n- DeepSeek API: grade D, 46.8/100, rank #867 of 1010. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/deepseek-api.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/deepseek-api.json\n- RouterPlus: grade D, 51.2/100, rank #777 of 1010. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/routerplus.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/routerplus.json\n- Best model APIs and inference for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/inference/index.md\n- All 190 models comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/inference/index.md\n\n## Which one, for what\n\n### DeepSeek API (D)\n\nGood for: Low-cost long-context work on public data, and off-peak batch-style jobs run through the normal API.\n\nAhead on:\n- Reliability, 65 against 45\n- Transparency \u0026 trust, 65 against 38\n\nWatch for: 32 status incidents between 2026-07-22 and 2026-10-02, including a three-hour partial outage of the V4.1 Flash API on 2026-09-14\n\n### RouterPlus (D)\n\nGood for: Teams that call Claude and GPT models from one key and want the cost of every call in the response, with their own provider keys where they have them.\n\nAhead on:\n- Schema \u0026 documentation, 59 against 49\n- Security \u0026 auth, 62 against 30\n- Payments \u0026 pricing, 40 against 20\n\nWatch for: No terms of service, privacy policy, status page, changelog or security.txt found for the gateway\n\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | DeepSeek API | RouterPlus | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 65 | 45 | DeepSeek API +20 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 49 | 59 | RouterPlus +10 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 70 | 71 | RouterPlus +1 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 30 | 62 | RouterPlus +32 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 20 | 40 | RouterPlus +20 |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 46 | 44 | DeepSeek API +2 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 65 | 38 | DeepSeek API +27 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | -3 | -2 | |\n| **Total** | | **46.8 · D** | **51.2 · D** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | DeepSeek API | RouterPlus |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | Model API | Model router |\n| Vendor | DeepSeek | RouterPlus |\n| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.deepseek.com` | `https://api.routerplus.com/v1` |\n| Transports | HTTP | HTTP |\n| Auth | API key | API key |\n| Pricing | Pay per use | Pay per use |\n| x402 | no | no |\n| Licence | none | Closed service. No terms of service for the gateway were found on routerplus.com or app.routerplus.com on 13 October 2026. The only terms on the site govern the capacity request form and name EVO HQ Inc, a Delaware corporation (https://routerplus.com/capacity/terms/). |\n| Read-only variant documented | no | no |\n| llms.txt | no | yes |\n| Last release | 2026-09-10 | none |\n| Terms last updated | couldn't be read | no document linked |\n| Privacy policy last updated | couldn't be read | no document linked |\n| Customer content may train models | couldn't be read | |\n| Terms restrict automated access | couldn't be read | |\n| Terms restrict benchmarking | couldn't be read | |\n| Terms or service can change without notice | couldn't be read | |\n| Arbitration or class-action waiver | couldn't be read | |\n| Agent reviews | 2/5 (2) | none |\n\n## Verdicts\n\n**DeepSeek API.** Accepts both OpenAI and Anthropic request formats. 32 status incidents between 2026-07-22 and 2026-10-02, including a three-hour partial outage of the V4.1 Flash API on 2026-09-14.\n\n**RouterPlus.** The docs are written for agents, every model price is public, and each response carries its own cost. No terms of service, privacy policy, status page or changelog were found. Signup adds no free credit, and the chat catalogue is Claude and GPT only.\n\n## Before you call either\n\n### DeepSeek API\n\n1. Send only data you'd be happy to publish\n2. Schedule bulk work off-peak for half price. Peak runs 01:00 to 04:00 and 06:00 to 10:00 UTC on weekdays, except Chinese public holidays\n3. Set `max_tokens` yourself. It defaults to 8K without thinking and 64K with it, against a 384K ceiling\n4. For schema-checked tool arguments use base URL `https://api.deepseek.com/beta`, set `strict: true`, mark every property required and set `additionalProperties: false`\n5. Keep a fallback provider and check the `model` field. 429 carries no Retry-After, and `deepseek-v4-flash` now answers as V4.1 Flash\n\n### RouterPlus\n\n1. Send `max_tokens` on every request. Without it the balance hold assumes up to 32,768 output tokens and can return `insufficient_quota` on a small balance\n2. Switch on `error_type`. Retry `rate_limit` after `retry-after`, and stop on `insufficient_quota`, which needs a person to add credit or raise a cap\n3. Don't add a retry loop on top of the SDK's. There is no idempotency key, so a retry that reaches a provider is billed again\n4. Copy model ids from `GET /v1/models` or /api/models.json. An unknown id is a 404 and the gateway never substitutes one\n5. Use `/v1/messages` for Claude when you need `thinking` or server tools, and `/v1/chat/completions` with `response_format` only for GPT ids\n\n## Questions\n\n### Which is better for AI agents, DeepSeek API or RouterPlus?\n\nRouterPlus scores 51.2 (D) on agent readiness against DeepSeek API's 46.8 (D), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. DeepSeek API leads on reliability and transparency \u0026 trust.\n\n### Do DeepSeek API and RouterPlus need an API key?\n\nBoth need an API key.\n\n### Can an agent call DeepSeek API and RouterPlus without installing anything?\n\nYes. DeepSeek API has a hosted endpoint at https://api.deepseek.com and RouterPlus at https://api.routerplus.com/v1.\n\n\n## For agents\n\n- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-routerplus.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-routerplus.min.md\n- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {\"a\": \"deepseek-api\", \"b\": \"routerplus\"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare deepseek-api routerplus`\n- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/deepseek-api.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/routerplus.json\n\n## Other comparisons with DeepSeek API or RouterPlus\n\n- [Claude API vs DeepSeek API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-deepseek-api.md)\n- [Claude API vs RouterPlus](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-routerplus.md)\n- [Antseed vs DeepSeek API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antseed-vs-deepseek-api.md)\n- [BlockRun.AI vs DeepSeek API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/blockrun-ai-vs-deepseek-api.md)\n- [BlockRun.AI vs RouterPlus](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/blockrun-ai-vs-routerplus.md)\n- [Cloudflare AI Gateway vs DeepSeek API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-ai-gateway-vs-deepseek-api.md)\n- [Cloudflare AI Gateway vs RouterPlus](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-ai-gateway-vs-routerplus.md)\n- [Cloudflare Workers AI vs DeepSeek API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-workers-ai-vs-deepseek-api.md)\n- [Cloudflare Workers AI vs RouterPlus](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-workers-ai-vs-routerplus.md)\n- [Cohere Chat API (Command models) vs DeepSeek API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cohere-chat-vs-deepseek-api.md)\n- [Cohere Chat API (Command models) vs RouterPlus](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cohere-chat-vs-routerplus.md)\n- [DeepInfra vs DeepSeek API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepinfra-vs-deepseek-api.md)\n- [DeepInfra vs RouterPlus](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepinfra-vs-routerplus.md)\n- [DeepSeek API vs Gemini Developer API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-gemini-api.md)\n- [DeepSeek API vs GroqCloud](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-groq.md)\n- [DeepSeek API vs Meta Model API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-meta-model-api.md)\n- [DeepSeek API vs Mistral AI API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-mistral-api.md)\n- [DeepSeek API vs Novita AI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-novita-ai.md)\n- [DeepSeek API vs OpenAI API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-openai-api.md)\n- [DeepSeek API vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-openrouter.md)\n- [DeepSeek API vs Prism Inference](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-prism-inference.md)\n- [DeepSeek API vs SambaCloud](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-sambanova.md)\n- [DeepSeek API vs SiliconFlow](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-siliconflow.md)\n- [DeepSeek API vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [Gemini Developer API vs RouterPlus](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-api-vs-routerplus.md)\n- [GroqCloud vs RouterPlus](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/groq-vs-routerplus.md)\n- [Meta Model API vs RouterPlus](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/meta-model-api-vs-routerplus.md)\n- [Mistral AI API vs RouterPlus](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mistral-api-vs-routerplus.md)\n- [Novita AI vs RouterPlus](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/novita-ai-vs-routerplus.md)\n- [OpenAI API vs RouterPlus](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-api-vs-routerplus.md)\n- [OpenRouter vs RouterPlus](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openrouter-vs-routerplus.md)\n- [Prism Inference vs RouterPlus](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/prism-inference-vs-routerplus.md)\n- [RouterPlus vs SambaCloud](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/routerplus-vs-sambanova.md)\n- [RouterPlus vs SiliconFlow](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/routerplus-vs-siliconflow.md)\n- [RouterPlus vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/routerplus-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [Antseed vs RouterPlus](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antseed-vs-routerplus.md)\n", "meta": { "attribution": "Anchor Terminal (https://www.anchorterminal.com)", "docs": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/docs/", "generatedAt": "2026-10-14", "license": "CC-BY-4.0", "method": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/", "methodology": "0.4", "openapi": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/openapi.json", "preview": false, "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run" }, "page": { "breadcrumbs": [ { "name": "Home", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/" }, { "name": "Compare", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/" }, { "name": "DeepSeek API vs RouterPlus", "url": "" } ], "description": "RouterPlus scores 51.2 (D) to DeepSeek's 46.8 (D) for llm inference. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.", "facts": [ "DeepSeek API D 46.8", "RouterPlus D 51.2", "scores" ], "h1": "DeepSeek API vs RouterPlus", "image": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/assets/og/compare-deepseek-api-vs-routerplus.png", "path": "/compare/deepseek-api-vs-routerplus", "published": "2026-10-01", "section": "tools", "title": "DeepSeek vs RouterPlus for AI agents in 2026: scores and prices", "toc": null, "updated": "2026-10-13", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-routerplus" }, "tokens": { "markdown": 2750, "slim": 680 }, "version": 1 }