DeepSeek vs SKI
DeepSeek and SKI are both AI assistants tools. DeepSeek is aimed at developers and small businesses, while SKI is aimed at developers and freelancers. Both have a free plan.
Free AI chat app and low-cost API built on open-weight models
Voice-first Mac harness for running several coding agents at once
| Pricing | Freemium | Freemium · $20 |
| Starting price | Not published | $20/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Built for | Developers, Small businesses, Enterprise, Freelancers | Developers, Freelancers, Small businesses |
| Platforms | web, ios, android | macos |
| Country | CN · 2023 | IN |
| 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 SKI if
Mac developers who already run Claude Code, Codex or Cursor and want to manage several agents by voice.
- Uses the agent subscriptions you already have instead of reselling models
- Free plan includes the full harness with two concurrent sessions
- Projects, code and chats stay on your Mac
Look elsewhere if: Developers who want a single AI editor with built-in models and no extra layer (Cursor).
DeepSeek vs SKI 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
SKI
- Free$0/mo2 concurrent sessions, 300 credits/mo, full harness on your Mac
- Pro$20/mo12 concurrent sessions, 2,000 credits/mo
- EnterpriseCustomBetter rates for teams; contact sales
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
SKI · Key features
- Spoken instructions and spoken status updates for coding agents
- Runs Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, OpenCode, Antigravity and pi side by side
- Alerts you when an agent is waiting for input
- SKI Hub tracks projects, branches and chats across agents
- Separate git branch and worktree per chat with live diffs
- Agent chains, for example one agent plans and another builds
Cons
- macOS only; Windows and Linux are on a waiting list
- Voice is processed in the cloud, so it needs a connection
- Credit cost per action is shown only inside the app
DeepSeek vs SKI: FAQ
Do DeepSeek and SKI have a free plan?
Yes, both DeepSeek and SKI have a free plan; paid plans add more usage and features.