{ "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": 852, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 965, "categoryRank": 16, "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": "2026-10-12T04:37:17.036062117Z", "lastOk": true, "lastStatus": 401, "lastMs": 278, "lastNote": "asks for credentials", "authRequired": true, "uptime24h": 100, "uptime30d": 100, "p50ms24h": 283, "p95ms24h": 363, "samples24h": 247, "samples30d": 3931, "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": 47, "ok": 47 } ] }, "vendorStatus": { "page": "https://status.deepseek.com", "indicator": "unknown", "summary": "no machine-readable status found", "checkedAt": "2026-10-12T03:24:12.288090003Z" }, "securityTxt": { "url": "https://deepseek.com/.well-known/security.txt", "state": "none", "checkedAt": "2026-10-11T15:42:58.961184336Z" }, "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": "2026-10-11T19:21:13.321764666Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "577ca8c2ab97" }, { "url": "https://api-docs.deepseek.com/quick_start/pricing", "kind": "pricing", "status": 304, "checkedAt": "2026-10-11T19:21:10.556759257Z", "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": "2026-10-11T19:22:19.423633073Z", "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": "2026-10-11T19:22:17.409945001Z", "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": "2026-10-11T22:59:28.731564938Z" }, "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": "2026-10-11T22:59:28.731564938Z" } }, "updatedAt": "2026-10-12T04:37:17.036062117Z" } }, "answer": "DeepSeek API scores 46.8 (D) on agent readiness against StepFun API's 44.4 (E), and leads in 3 of 7 scored categories. StepFun API leads on security \u0026 auth.", "b": { "slug": "stepfun-api", "name": "StepFun API", "vendor": "StepFun", "vendorUrl": "https://platform.stepfun.ai", "kind": "model", "category": "inference", "summary": "The StepFun API is StepFun's paid model API for its Step language, vision and speech models, including the flagship Step 5 Preview, through OpenAI-style Chat Completions and Responses endpoints and an Anthropic-style Messages endpoint.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/stepfun-api", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/stepfun-api.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/stepfun-api.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/stepfun-api.json", "license": "Closed service under the StepFun Open Platform Terms of Service (STEPFUN TECHNOLOGY (HK) LIMITED, Hong Kong law).", "transports": [ "http" ], "remoteUrl": "https://api.stepfun.ai/v1", "packages": [], "auth": "api-key", "authNotes": "A bearer API key created in the StepFun Open Platform console after sign-up. Organisations can create one key per project, billed to the organisation's credit and deletable at once. No key scopes were found. Individual accounts must complete identity verification before tiered rate limits apply.", "pricing": "usage", "pricingNotes": "Step 5 Preview is $1.00 per million input tokens on a cache miss, $0.10 on a cache hit and $2.70 per million output tokens, reasoning included (checked 2026-10-12). Prepaid top-ups. No free API allowance was found. A Step Plan subscription covers coding tools separately.", "priceSummary": "Pay per use", "where": "hosted", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the international docs index, the pricing page or the Chat Completions reference, checked 12 October 2026. Calls draw on a prepaid balance.", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": null, "npmWeekly": null, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-10-12" }, "docsUrl": "https://platform.stepfun.ai/docs/en/guides/models/step-5-preview", "llmsTxt": "https://platform.stepfun.ai/docs/llms.txt", "capabilities": [ "inference.llm" ], "tags": [ "official", "hosted", "model", "usage-priced", "closed-source", "llms-txt", "multimodal", "streaming" ], "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 44.4, "grade": "E", "agentReady": false, "rank": 889, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 965, "categoryRank": 18, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 68, "maintenance": 50, "payments": 20, "reliability": 28, "schema": 53, "security": 41, "transparency": 58 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-12" }, "negative": 0, "verdict": "StepFun's API serves Step 5 Preview with a 1M-token context, video input, strict JSON Schema output and published per-token prices, documented in Markdown with an llms.txt. The model is a preview with no release date found, there's no free allowance or SLA, and the terms and privacy policy leave room to train on customer data.", "bestFor": "Long-context agent and coding work over text, screenshots and video at a low per-token price, where a preview model is acceptable.", "strengths": [ "Step 5 Preview takes text, images and video with a 1M-token context and up to 64k output tokens", "Strict JSON Schema output and tool calls on Step 5 Preview, per the structured-output guide", "Per-token prices with cache-hit rates published without a login, and rate-limit tiers published with numbers", "OpenAI-style Chat Completions and Responses endpoints and an Anthropic-style Messages endpoint", "llms.txt and a Markdown copy of every docs page" ], "weaknesses": [ "Step 5 Preview is labelled a preview, and no release date or support commitment was found", "No free API allowance found, and individual accounts need identity verification for tiered limits", "No OpenAPI file, no official SDK and no batch endpoint found", "The privacy policy allows training on user data where law and program terms permit, with no zero-retention option found", "No SLA, security.txt or certification found" ], "agentNotes": [ "Set `max_tokens` yourself. It defaults to unlimited on Step 5 Preview, and reasoning tokens are billed as output", "Use `response_format` with `type: json_schema` and `strict: true` when the shape matters. JSON Mode alone isn't schema-checked", "Back off and retry on 429, 500, 503 and 504. The docs give no Retry-After header or backoff schedule", "Expect HTTP 451 or `finish_reason: content_filter` when content fails StepFun's review, and don't retry the same input", "Use api.stepfun.ai for the international platform. api.stepfun.com is the China platform with yuan pricing" ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 0, "avgRating": 0, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "E", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 44.4 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 68, "maintenance": 50, "payments": 20, "reliability": 28, "schema": 53, "security": 41, "transparency": 51 }, "provenanceScore": 65 }, "connect": { "http": "curl https://api.stepfun.ai/v1/chat/completions \\\n -H \"Content-Type: application/json\" \\\n -H \"Authorization: Bearer $STEPFUN_API_KEY\" \\\n -d '{\"model\":\"step-5-preview\",\"messages\":[{\"role\":\"user\",\"content\":\"Hello\"}]}'" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/inference.llm", "tool": "https://letme.dev/stepfun-api" }, "area": "models", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "Step 5 Preview input, cache miss", "unit": "1m-tokens", "usd": 1, "note": "Includes writing new content to the cache." }, { "item": "Step 5 Preview input, cache hit", "unit": "1m-tokens", "usd": 0.1 }, { "item": "Step 5 Preview output", "unit": "1m-tokens", "usd": 2.7, "note": "Reasoning and final answer tokens." } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "STEPFUN TECHNOLOGY (HK) LIMITED", "domain": "stepfun.ai", "domainRegistered": "", "endpointOnVendorDomain": true, "terms": "https://platform.stepfun.ai/docs/en/agreement/userservice", "privacy": "https://platform.stepfun.ai/docs/en/agreement/userprivacy", "statusPage": "", "changelog": "https://platform.stepfun.ai/docs/en/guides/model-migration", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-10-12", "notes": [ "The terms and the privacy policy name STEPFUN TECHNOLOGY (HK) LIMITED. Disputes go to HKIAC arbitration under Hong Kong law.", "platform.stepfun.ai/.well-known/security.txt returned 404, and stepfun.ai/.well-known/security.txt redirects to the platform home page.", "status.stepfun.ai refused our reader by robots.txt, and the shell couldn't connect, so whether it is a status page wasn't established.", "The X handle comes from the QR code labelled X account on the platform home page, which decodes to https://x.com/StepFun_ai.", "Domain registration date was not checked." ], "score": 65 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/stepfun-api.json", "live": { "slug": "stepfun-api", "probe": { "target": "https://api.stepfun.ai/v1", "method": "get", "lastAt": "2026-10-12T04:37:36.182148739Z", "lastOk": true, "lastStatus": 404, "lastMs": 267, "authRequired": false, "uptime24h": 100, "uptime30d": 100, "p50ms24h": 275, "p95ms24h": 492, "samples24h": 21, "samples30d": 21, "days": [ { "date": "2026-10-12", "probes": 21, "ok": 21 } ] }, "updatedAt": "2026-10-12T04:37:36.182148739Z" } }, "facts": [ { "a": "Model API", "b": "Model API", "name": "Kind" }, { "a": "DeepSeek", "b": "StepFun", "name": "Vendor" }, { "a": "https://api.deepseek.com", "b": "https://api.stepfun.ai/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 under the StepFun Open Platform Terms of Service (STEPFUN TECHNOLOGY (HK) LIMITED, Hong Kong law).", "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": "", "name": "Terms last updated" }, { "a": "couldn't be read", "b": "", "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": "DeepSeek API scores 46.8 (D) on agent readiness against StepFun API's 44.4 (E), and leads in 3 of 7 scored categories. StepFun API leads on security \u0026 auth.", "question": "Which is better for AI agents, DeepSeek API or StepFun API?" }, { "answer": "Both need an API key.", "question": "Do DeepSeek API and StepFun API need an API key?" }, { "answer": "Yes. DeepSeek API has a hosted endpoint at https://api.deepseek.com and StepFun API at https://api.stepfun.ai/v1.", "question": "Can an agent call DeepSeek API and StepFun API without installing anything?" } ], "goodFor": [ { "aheadOn": [ "Reliability, 65 against 28", "Transparency \u0026 trust, 65 against 58" ], "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": [ "Security \u0026 auth, 41 against 30" ], "also": [ "No incidents deducted, where DeepSeek API loses 3 points for them" ], "goodFor": "Long-context agent and coding work over text, screenshots and video at a low per-token price, where a preview model is acceptable.", "slug": "stepfun-api", "watchFor": "Step 5 Preview is labelled a preview, and no release date or support commitment was found" } ], "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-stepfun-api.json", "title": "Claude API vs StepFun API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-stepfun-api" }, { "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/antseed-vs-stepfun-api.json", "title": "Antseed vs StepFun API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antseed-vs-stepfun-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-stepfun-api.json", "title": "BlockRun.AI vs StepFun API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/blockrun-ai-vs-stepfun-api" }, { "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-stepfun-api.json", "title": "Cloudflare AI Gateway vs StepFun API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-ai-gateway-vs-stepfun-api" }, { "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-stepfun-api.json", "title": "Cloudflare Workers AI vs StepFun API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-workers-ai-vs-stepfun-api" }, { "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-stepfun-api.json", "title": "Cohere Chat API (Command models) vs StepFun API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cohere-chat-vs-stepfun-api" }, { "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-stepfun-api.json", "title": "DeepInfra vs StepFun API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepinfra-vs-stepfun-api" }, { "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-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/gemini-api-vs-stepfun-api.json", "title": "Gemini Developer API vs StepFun API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-api-vs-stepfun-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/groq-vs-stepfun-api.json", "title": "GroqCloud vs StepFun API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/groq-vs-stepfun-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mistral-api-vs-stepfun-api.json", "title": "Mistral AI API vs StepFun API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mistral-api-vs-stepfun-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/novita-ai-vs-stepfun-api.json", "title": "Novita AI vs StepFun API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/novita-ai-vs-stepfun-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-api-vs-stepfun-api.json", "title": "OpenAI API vs StepFun API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-api-vs-stepfun-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openrouter-vs-stepfun-api.json", "title": "OpenRouter vs StepFun API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openrouter-vs-stepfun-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/prism-inference-vs-stepfun-api.json", "title": "Prism Inference vs StepFun API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/prism-inference-vs-stepfun-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/sambanova-vs-stepfun-api.json", "title": "SambaCloud vs StepFun API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/sambanova-vs-stepfun-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/siliconflow-vs-stepfun-api.json", "title": "SiliconFlow vs StepFun API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/siliconflow-vs-stepfun-api" } ], "scores": [ { "by": 37, "deepseek-api": 65, "edge": "deepseek-api", "key": "reliability", "name": "Reliability", "stepfun-api": 28, "weight": 16 }, { "key": "performance", "name": "Performance", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 4, "deepseek-api": 49, "edge": "stepfun-api", "key": "schema", "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "stepfun-api": 53, "weight": 13 }, { "by": 2, "deepseek-api": 70, "edge": "deepseek-api", "key": "ergonomics", "name": "Agent ergonomics", "stepfun-api": 68, "weight": 13 }, { "by": 11, "deepseek-api": 30, "edge": "stepfun-api", "key": "security", "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "stepfun-api": 41, "weight": 14 }, { "by": 0, "deepseek-api": 20, "edge": "", "key": "payments", "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing", "stepfun-api": 20, "weight": 10 }, { "key": "tasks", "name": "Task success", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 4, "deepseek-api": 46, "edge": "stepfun-api", "key": "maintenance", "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "stepfun-api": 50, "weight": 7 }, { "by": 7, "deepseek-api": 65, "edge": "deepseek-api", "key": "transparency", "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "stepfun-api": 58, "weight": 7 } ], "summary": "DeepSeek API scores 46.8 (D) on agent readiness against StepFun API's 44.4 (E), and leads in 3 of 7 scored categories. StepFun API leads on security \u0026 auth. 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.", "stepfun-api": "StepFun's API serves Step 5 Preview with a 1M-token context, video input, strict JSON Schema output and published per-token prices, documented in Markdown with an llms.txt. The model is a preview with no release date found, there's no free allowance or SLA, and the terms and privacy policy leave room to train on customer data." } }, "kind": "anchor.page", "links": { "api": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json", "html": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-stepfun-api", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-stepfun-api.json", "llms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt", "markdown": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-stepfun-api.md", "slim": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-stepfun-api.min.md" }, "markdown": "DeepSeek API scores 46.8 (D) on agent readiness against StepFun API's 44.4 (E), and leads in 3 of 7 scored categories. StepFun API leads on security \u0026 auth. Both do llm inference.\n\n- DeepSeek API: grade D, 46.8/100, rank #852 of 965. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/deepseek-api.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/deepseek-api.json\n- StepFun API: grade E, 44.4/100, rank #889 of 965. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/stepfun-api.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/stepfun-api.json\n- Best model APIs and inference for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/inference/index.md\n- All 153 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 28\n- Transparency \u0026 trust, 65 against 58\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### StepFun API (E)\n\nGood for: Long-context agent and coding work over text, screenshots and video at a low per-token price, where a preview model is acceptable.\n\nAhead on:\n- Security \u0026 auth, 41 against 30\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- No incidents deducted, where DeepSeek API loses 3 points for them\n\nWatch for: Step 5 Preview is labelled a preview, and no release date or support commitment was found\n\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | DeepSeek API | StepFun API | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 65 | 28 | DeepSeek API +37 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 49 | 53 | StepFun API +4 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 70 | 68 | DeepSeek API +2 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 30 | 41 | StepFun API +11 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 20 | 20 | even |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 46 | 50 | StepFun API +4 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 65 | 58 | DeepSeek API +7 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | -3 | 0 | |\n| **Total** | | **46.8 · D** | **44.4 · E** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | DeepSeek API | StepFun API |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | Model API | Model API |\n| Vendor | DeepSeek | StepFun |\n| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.deepseek.com` | `https://api.stepfun.ai/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 under the StepFun Open Platform Terms of Service (STEPFUN TECHNOLOGY (HK) LIMITED, Hong Kong law). |\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 | |\n| Privacy policy last updated | couldn't be read | |\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**StepFun API.** StepFun's API serves Step 5 Preview with a 1M-token context, video input, strict JSON Schema output and published per-token prices, documented in Markdown with an llms.txt. The model is a preview with no release date found, there's no free allowance or SLA, and the terms and privacy policy leave room to train on customer data.\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### StepFun API\n\n1. Set `max_tokens` yourself. It defaults to unlimited on Step 5 Preview, and reasoning tokens are billed as output\n2. Use `response_format` with `type: json_schema` and `strict: true` when the shape matters. JSON Mode alone isn't schema-checked\n3. Back off and retry on 429, 500, 503 and 504. The docs give no Retry-After header or backoff schedule\n4. Expect HTTP 451 or `finish_reason: content_filter` when content fails StepFun's review, and don't retry the same input\n5. Use api.stepfun.ai for the international platform. api.stepfun.com is the China platform with yuan pricing\n\n## Questions\n\n### Which is better for AI agents, DeepSeek API or StepFun API?\n\nDeepSeek API scores 46.8 (D) on agent readiness against StepFun API's 44.4 (E), and leads in 3 of 7 scored categories. StepFun API leads on security \u0026 auth.\n\n### Do DeepSeek API and StepFun API need an API key?\n\nBoth need an API key.\n\n### Can an agent call DeepSeek API and StepFun API without installing anything?\n\nYes. DeepSeek API has a hosted endpoint at https://api.deepseek.com and StepFun API at https://api.stepfun.ai/v1.\n\n\n## For agents\n\n- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-stepfun-api.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-stepfun-api.min.md\n- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {\"a\": \"deepseek-api\", \"b\": \"stepfun-api\"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare deepseek-api stepfun-api`\n- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/deepseek-api.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/stepfun-api.json\n\n## Other comparisons with DeepSeek API or StepFun API\n\n- [Claude API vs DeepSeek API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-deepseek-api.md)\n- [Claude API vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [Antseed vs DeepSeek API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antseed-vs-deepseek-api.md)\n- [Antseed vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antseed-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [BlockRun.AI vs DeepSeek API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/blockrun-ai-vs-deepseek-api.md)\n- [BlockRun.AI vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/blockrun-ai-vs-stepfun-api.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 StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-ai-gateway-vs-stepfun-api.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 StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-workers-ai-vs-stepfun-api.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 StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cohere-chat-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [DeepInfra vs DeepSeek API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepinfra-vs-deepseek-api.md)\n- [DeepInfra vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepinfra-vs-stepfun-api.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 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- [Gemini Developer API vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-api-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [GroqCloud vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/groq-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [Mistral AI API vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mistral-api-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [Novita AI vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/novita-ai-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [OpenAI API vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-api-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [OpenRouter vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openrouter-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [Prism Inference vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/prism-inference-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [SambaCloud vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/sambanova-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [SiliconFlow vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/siliconflow-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n", "meta": { "attribution": "Anchor Terminal (https://www.anchorterminal.com)", "docs": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/docs/", "generatedAt": "2026-10-12", "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 StepFun API", "url": "" } ], "description": "DeepSeek scores 46.8 (D) to StepFun's 44.4 (E) for llm inference. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.", "facts": [ "DeepSeek API D 46.8", "StepFun API E 44.4", "scores" ], "h1": "DeepSeek API vs StepFun API", "image": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/assets/og/compare-deepseek-api-vs-stepfun-api.png", "path": "/compare/deepseek-api-vs-stepfun-api", "published": "2026-10-01", "section": "tools", "title": "DeepSeek vs StepFun for AI agents in 2026: scores and prices", "toc": null, "updated": "2026-10-12", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-stepfun-api" }, "tokens": { "markdown": 2600, "slim": 630 }, "version": 1 }