DeepSeek vs PrivOS
DeepSeek and PrivOS are both AI assistants tools. DeepSeek is aimed at developers and small businesses, while PrivOS is aimed at small businesses and enterprise. Both have a free plan.
Free AI chat app and low-cost API built on open-weight models
Self-hostable team chat, lists, docs and sandboxed AI agents
| Pricing | Freemium | Freemium · $20 |
| Starting price | Not published | $20/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Built for | Developers, Small businesses, Enterprise, Freelancers | Small businesses, Enterprise, Developers |
| Platforms | web, ios, android | web, linux |
| Country | CN · 2023 | — |
| Rating | — | — |
Choose DeepSeek if
Developers and cost-conscious teams who want strong reasoning and coding models at very low API prices or as open weights.
- Consumer chat is completely free
- Among the cheapest frontier-class API token prices
- Open weights allow self-hosting and fine-tuning
Look elsewhere if: Organisations with strict data residency or public-sector rules (Mistral Le Chat, Claude, ChatGPT Enterprise).
Choose PrivOS if
Small and mid-sized teams that want chat, lists, files and AI agents on infrastructure they control.
- Free self-hosted Community edition for up to 10 users
- Agents do not count toward the free user limit
- Bring your own or locally hosted LLMs
Look elsewhere if: Teams that want a proven, widely adopted chat or project tool with large ecosystems (Mattermost, ClickUp).
DeepSeek vs PrivOS pricing
DeepSeek
- Chat app$0Web, iOS and Android; no paid consumer tier
- deepseek-flash API$0.30/1M input tokensPeak cache-miss rate; output $1.20/1M; off-peak rates are half
- deepseek-v4-pro API$1.32/1M input tokensPeak cache-miss rate; output $3.96/1M; off-peak rates are half
- Search & Fetch API$0.75/1,000 requestsBilled per successful request
PrivOS
- Community$0Self-hosted, free up to 10 users, bring your own LLM keys
- Starter$20/user/mo5,000 LLM credits/user, shared cloud; 10% off annually
- Professional$30/user/mo10,000 credits/user, workflow engine, audit log
- Enterprise$45/user/mo20,000 credits/user, min 50 users, DLP, SIEM, SCIM
- Custom EnterpriseCustomOn-prem or air-gap, $4/user licence plus services
DeepSeek · Key features
- Free chat app with thinking and instant modes on web and mobile
- 1M-token context window on V4 models
- API compatible with OpenAI and Anthropic request formats
- Automatic context caching with much cheaper cache-hit pricing
- Off-peak API rates at half the peak price
- Tool calls, JSON output and FIM completion for coding tools
Cons
- Hosted service stores user data on servers in China
- Banned on government devices in several countries
- Answers on politically sensitive Chinese topics are censored
PrivOS · Key features
- Rooms with channels, threads, direct messages and calls
- Smart Lists with Kanban and table views, 16 field types, XLSX import
- Versioned file storage on S3-compatible object storage
- Room-scoped AI agents in sandboxed containers with approval gates
- Bots reacting to 18 workspace event types, plus webhooks
- Connect no-code builder for multi-step AI workflows
Cons
- Community install supports Linux x86_64 only, no arm64
- Each extra custom agent is billed like a user seat
- Shown prices are a discounted rate below list price
DeepSeek vs PrivOS: FAQ
Do DeepSeek and PrivOS have a free plan?
Yes, both DeepSeek and PrivOS have a free plan; paid plans add more usage and features.