Versus comparison
Grok vs Deepseek
Coding and agentic work on the newest models, real-time X data answers, always-on Grok Bot agents, and building apps/sites in Build Mode · Reasoning, coding, and cost-conscious model evaluation
| Decision point | Grok | DeepSeek |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Coding and agentic work on the newest models, real-time X data answers, always-on Grok Bot agents, and building apps/sites in Build Mode | Reasoning, coding, and cost-conscious model evaluation |
| Category | General AI Assistant | General AI Assistant |
| Price | Free tier; SuperGrok $30/mo; SuperGrok Plus $100/mo; API from $1–$6 per 1M tokens | Free + API pricing |
| AIToolsEssentials editorial score | 4.5/5 | 4.3/5 |
Scores are editorial product assessments of job fit, likely output quality, ease of adoption, and operational cost. They are not lab benchmarks, and no tool here has a published hands-on result. How we score.
Evidence status
Grok Free is $0. SuperGrok is $30/month and SuperGrok Plus is $100/month, with higher tiers above. API (docs.x.ai, checked 2026-10-01): grok-4.7 is the current flagship model at $2.00 input and $6.00 output per 1M tokens with a 500k-token context. Voice API: Agent $0.08/min, TTS $15.00 per 1M characters, batch STT $0.10/hour and streaming STT $0.20/hour. Imagine API image generation starts at $0.02/image and video at $0.05/second.
Official sources checked 2026-10-01Open verification questions
- Enterprise prices are not published and require a sales quote.
- Pricing or entitlements for Grok accessed through an X subscription were not treated as equivalent to standalone SuperGrok plans.
- The consumer terms require attribution under xAI's Brand Guidelines when using Output or xAI brand elements; applicability to a specific commercial use requires case-specific review.
- Legacy xAI API models (including Grok 4.6 and 4.3) were not re-priced on 2026-10-01; only the currently published flagship rate was verified.
- Re-checked 2026-10-13: the SuperGrok tiers above are now also reachable through The X Subscription (a 2026-10-12 bundle of Cursor, Grok and X Premium) at Free $0, Plus $8/mo, Premium $30/mo, Super $100/mo and Ultra $200/mo. xAI documentation states existing SuperGrok plans continue and switching is optional, so the standalone figures recorded on 2026-10-01 remain the standalone list prices.
xAI's consumer terms, effective June 26, 2026, state that users retain ownership rights in User Content to the extent permitted by law. Logged-in users can choose whether User Content is used for product improvement and model training; logged-out use may grant broader training rights where permitted. The standalone Grok service and Grok accessed through X are governed by different privacy policies. Re-verified 2026-10-01 against x.ai/pricing and the official model documentation. Consumer plan prices are unchanged, but the API section is superseded: grok-4.7 is now the flagship at $2.00/$6.00 per 1M tokens, and the 2026-08-25 record's Grok 4.6 and Grok 4.3 ($1.25/$2.50) figures no longer appear in the official model overview. The recorded voice figure of '$0.05/min' was also superseded by the published Voice API rates above.
DeepSeek's official website describes its consumer web chat as free. No official paid consumer or team subscription schedule was located. API access is separately usage-priced, with current model and peak/off-peak rates published in DeepSeek's API pricing documentation.
Official sources checked 2026-10-01Open verification questions
- No official consumer team subscription or enterprise-seat price was found.
- Current API prices are model-, token-, cache-, and peak/off-peak-dependent and are not summarized as a single price.
- Output ownership does not establish that every output is copyrightable or free of third-party rights.
DeepSeek's privacy policy says Inputs and related personal data may be used to improve services and train machine-learning models and that collected personal data is directly processed and stored in the People's Republic of China. Its terms state that users retain any rights in Inputs and that DeepSeek assigns to users any rights it may have in Outputs, subject to applicable law and the terms; the terms expressly mention lawful uses including personal use, research, derivative-product development, and training other models. Re-verified 2026-10-01: The official site still publishes no paid consumer or team subscription; API pricing remains published separately in the API documentation.
External benchmark context
- grok-4.1 — rank #62, 1459±3 (68,204 votes; snapshot 2026-11-08).
- deepseek-v4-pro — rank #64, 1458±4 (56,904 votes; snapshot 2026-11-08).
Benchmark records apply only to the exact model/configuration shown—not the whole product. Independent same-task hands-on comparison: not yet published. See the testing protocol.
How you should decide
Run one job you already do in each finalist before you pay. Write down the time, the edits, and the monthly bill.
Before you commit
Use the trial checklist on each review and the free scorecard. Record time, corrections, and the monthly cost at the volume you actually expect.
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