If you only read one line: pick by workload, not by benchmark charts.
For Heavy Google Workspace users; Multimodal and video generation work, Gemini is the more direct fit. For Budget-sensitive developers; Chinese writing and translation, DeepSeek gets there with less fighting.
Both have free tiers, so cost only separates them once you hit the limits. They're in the same context range (1M tokens (Gemini 4 Argon unified context; Pro models take 1M input and 64K output) (checked 2026-10-29)), so document size won't be what decides it.
| Dimension | Gemini | DeepSeek |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Pricing | Google AI Pro $19.99/mo ($199.99/yr); Google AI Ultra $99.99/mo; Google AI Plus $7.99/mo (third-party figure) (checked 2026-10-29) | Web and app free; API list price deepseek-flash CNY 1 / 2 per million input tokens (off-peak / peak) and CNY 4 / 8 output; deepseek-v4-pro CNY 4.5 / 9 input and CNY 13.5 / 27 output (checked 2026-10-29) |
| Context window | 1M tokens (Gemini 4 Argon unified context; Pro models take 1M input and 64K output) (checked 2026-10-29) | 1M tokens of context; up to 384K tokens of output (checked 2026-10-29) |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android, macOS, Windows | Web, iOS, Android, macOS, Windows |
| Best for | Heavy Google Workspace users; Multimodal and video generation work; Very long source material | Budget-sensitive developers; Chinese writing and translation; Private or on-premise deployment |
| Availability | Personal accounts are not open in mainland China, where only Workspace accounts work, and there is no China edition (checked 2026-10-29). | Directly reachable inside mainland China with no proxy, and a China edition exists (checked 2026-10-29). |
Heavy Google Workspace users; Multimodal and video generation work; Very long source material. Its strongest point: Cites source links you can open and check yourself. Watch out for: Plan names get renamed often enough to be hard to track.
Budget-sensitive developers; Chinese writing and translation; Private or on-premise deployment. Its strongest point: Publishes open weights you can download and self-host. Watch out for: Almost no multimodal support for images or audio.
Most people I know keep both tabs open — one for finding things, one for producing the final draft — and stop paying for whichever they touch last.
Gemini if you want Heavy Google Workspace users. DeepSeek if Budget-sensitive developers. Neither has a learning curve worth worrying about past the first day.
Yes — both have free tiers, and the pair covers more ground than either alone.
They're in the same context range (1M tokens (Gemini 4 Argon unified context; Pro models take 1M input and 64K output) (checked 2026-10-29)), so document size won't be what decides it.