DeepSeek vs GPT-4o mini: cost & margin
DeepSeek (DeepSeek) and GPT-4o mini (OpenAI) sit at different price points. At a typical 500k/150k token mix per customer, GPT-4o mini is cheaper ($0.16 vs $0.33 per customer), and GPT-4o mini has the lower output-token price — the part that usually drives an AI SaaS bill.
| DeepSeek | GPT-4o mini | |
|---|---|---|
| Input $/Mtok | $0.3 | $0.15 |
| Output $/Mtok | $1.2 | $0.6 |
| Cost / customer (typical) | $0.33 | $0.16 |
| Margin at $49/mo | 99.3% | 99.7% |
Cost per customer as usage grows
Monthly LLM cost per customer at four usage levels — the gap widens the more your customers use.
| Usage / mo | DeepSeek | GPT-4o mini |
|---|---|---|
| Light | $0.07 | $0.03 |
| Typical | $0.33 | $0.16 |
| Heavy | $1.32 | $0.66 |
| Power user | $5.40 | $2.70 |
Which should you pick?
DeepSeek
Worth it when its quality justifies the higher token cost — price your plans to cover the difference.
GPT-4o mini
Best when cost is the priority: cheaper on both input and output, so it keeps more customers profitable at any plan price.
Verdict: at a typical token mix, GPT-4o mini is the cheaper choice per customer. Heavier or output-heavy workloads can change the picture — check yours below.
FAQ
- Which is cheaper, DeepSeek or GPT-4o mini?
- At a typical 500k / 150k token mix, GPT-4o mini is cheaper — $0.16 vs $0.33 per customer per month, a $0.17 gap that widens as usage grows.
- Does DeepSeek ever make more sense than GPT-4o mini?
- Yes — token price isn't everything. If DeepSeek needs fewer retries or shorter outputs to finish the job, or its quality lifts conversion, it can be the better margin call despite the higher per-token price. Model it on your own usage.
Per-model details
Other comparisons