Google Gemini vs DeepSeek: monthly cost for a 10k-user chatbot from live prices.
Bottom line: cheapest is DeepSeek: DeepSeek V4 Flash 0423 at about $32.68/month; the median model costs $276.51/month; the most expensive, Google: Gemini 4 Argon, costs $1,077/month. That is a 33× spread for the same workload.
Scenario: 10,000 monthly users × 30 messages, 600 words in / 150 words out per message.
| Vendor | Model | In $/1M | Out $/1M | Est. monthly cost | Source / check |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DeepSeek | DeepSeek: DeepSeek V4 Flash 0423 | $0.091 | $0.182 | $32.68 | source 2026-10-16 ℹ vs market median ($0.14/$0.28) |
| DeepSeek | DeepSeek: DeepSeek V4 Flash 0731 | $0.0111 | $0.64 | $40.96 | source 2026-10-16 ℹ vs market median ($0.14/$0.4785) |
| DeepSeek | DeepSeek: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash | $0.018 | $0.684 | $45.25 | source 2026-10-16 ⚠ differs from lab price ($0.15/$0.6) |
| DeepSeek | DeepSeek: DeepSeek V3.2 Exp | $0.27 | $0.41 | $89.18 | source 2026-10-16 ⚠ differs from lab price ($0.28/$0.42) |
| DeepSeek | DeepSeek: DeepSeek V4 Flash Vision Exp | $0.2156 | $0.6468 | $90.33 | source 2026-10-16 ℹ vs market median ($0.3321/$0.9963) |
| DeepSeek | DeepSeek: DeepSeek V3.2 | $0.259 | $0.8 | $109.88 | source 2026-10-16 ⚠ differs from lab price ($0.28/$0.42) |
| Google: Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite | $0.25 | $1.5 | $149.62 | source 2026-10-16 ✔ matches | |
| Google: Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite | $0.3 | $2.5 | $221.44 | source 2026-10-16 ✔ matches | |
| DeepSeek | DeepSeek: DeepSeek V4 Pro 0813 | $0.66 | $1.98 | $276.51 | source 2026-10-16 ✔ matches |
| DeepSeek | DeepSeek: DeepSeek V4 Pro 0423 | $0.9553 | $1.9105 | $343.04 | source 2026-10-16 ⚠ differs from lab price ($0.66/$1.98) |
| Google: Gemini 3.7 Flash | $0.75 | $3.75 | $403.99 | source 2026-10-16 ✔ matches | |
| Google: Gemini 3.6 Flash | $0.75 | $3.75 | $403.99 | source 2026-10-16 ✔ matches | |
| Google: Gemini 3.8 Flash | $0.825 | $4.125 | $444.39 | source 2026-10-16 ⚠ differs from lab price ($0.75/$3.75) | |
| Google: Nano Banana 2.1 | $1.5 | $7.5 | $807.98 | source 2026-10-16 no 2nd source | |
| Google: Gemini 3.5 Flash | $1.5 | $9.0 | $897.75 | source 2026-10-16 ✔ matches | |
| Google: Gemini 4 Argon | $2.0 | $10.0 | $1,077 | source 2026-10-16 no 2nd source |
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