ChatGPT vs DeepSeek (October 2026): Access in China, Pricing and Which Tasks Suit Each
In mainland China, for Chinese Q&A and writing, start with free DeepSeek; for images, voice or the Codex coding agent, ChatGPT does more. Compares pricing (ChatGPT Go from $8), availability in China, task-by-task strengths and a zero-cost way to use both.
If you are in mainland China and mostly ask questions and write in Chinese, start with DeepSeek: the web and mobile apps are free and work without any network or account workarounds. If you need image generation, voice conversations or the Codex coding agent, or you live where OpenAI operates, ChatGPT offers more features, with a usable free plan and paid plans from $8 a month for Go. The biggest difference is not answer quality but whether you can use the service reliably at all. excludes mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau, while DeepSeek is a Chinese product that works there directly.
Chat, writing, deep-thinking mode, web search, image understanding
Current model
GPT-6 family
DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash, per the homepage announcement
Platforms
Web, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android
Web, iOS, Android
ChatGPT prices above are US prices. Other countries see local currency and taxes, so check the upgrade page in your own account for the exact amount.
Which is better for which task
Both companies ship new models every few months, so any head-to-head quality test goes stale quickly. Splitting by task is more durable.
Chinese Q&A, writing and summaries. Both handle these well. DeepSeek costs nothing and needs no subscription decisions, while ChatGPT's free plan caps access to its stronger models and some features. If this is all you need, DeepSeek is enough.
Reasoning-heavy questions. DeepSeek's deep-thinking mode reasons before it answers, which suits maths, logic puzzles and problems you want broken into steps. ChatGPT's paid plans include stronger reasoning models too, with limited access on the free plan.
Images, spreadsheets and long files. This is where ChatGPT is clearly ahead. DeepSeek's homepage describes image understanding, meaning it can read a picture you upload, and says nothing about generating images. For social graphics, illustrations or analysing a stack of uploaded files, ChatGPT is the better fit.
Coding. Both answer programming questions. ChatGPT plans include Codex, an agent that edits code and runs tests from the desktop app, the terminal and IDEs; OpenAI says Free and Go users get the desktop app as it rolls out. DeepSeek's chat is good for questions and code snippets, and connecting it to an editor usually means using the API.
Web research. Both can search the web. For users in mainland China, DeepSeek is the easiest way to research in Chinese because it simply works; ChatGPT search is only dependable where OpenAI supports access.
Can you use ChatGPT in China?
OpenAI's supported countries page warns that accessing or offering its services outside the listed countries and territories may get an account blocked or suspended. Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau are not on the list. In practice that means three things:
Signing up for and using ChatGPT from mainland China is outside the service OpenAI offers.
Accounts used there risk suspension, and a paid account that gets suspended is hard to appeal.
OpenAI's pages do not mention Alipay or WeChat Pay. Users in China report that mainland-issued dual-currency cards are often declined at web checkout and that subscribing through an overseas App Store account is the more common route. This is community experience, not official policy.
If you are elsewhere, including Taiwan, none of this applies and you can choose purely on features.
DeepSeek is the reverse. Its web chat opens directly in mainland China, and its app launch announcement says the app is on the App Store, Google Play and major Android app stores. For users in China, this access gap matters more than any feature difference.
ChatGPT vs DeepSeek pricing
DeepSeek chat is free. The app launch announcement describes it as free to use, with no ads and no in-app purchases. Only developers calling the API pay. The current deepseek-flash API model costs $0.30 per million input tokens on a cache miss and $1.20 per million output tokens at peak hours, and half that off-peak.
ChatGPT has four personal plans.
Plan
US price
Who it suits
Free
$0
Occasional use, fine with limits
Go
$8/month
More usage without the strongest models
Plus
$20/month
Daily use, stronger models, Codex on the web and in the CLI
Pro
$100, $200 or $500/month
Heavy users who rely on the top model and Codex all day
If you only need Chinese chat and writing, DeepSeek covers it for free. For the same needs on ChatGPT, most people are fine on Free or Go and do not need Plus straight away.
Using both: how to split the work
Many people use both, and it does not have to cost anything: DeepSeek is free, and ChatGPT can start on its free plan.
A simple split:
Default to DeepSeek for Chinese writing, everyday questions and research in Chinese.
Switch to ChatGPT for images, voice, large-file analysis, or when you want Codex to edit code for you.
For answers that matter, such as numbers, dates or policy details, ask both, and check the original source when they disagree.
After a month, look at how often ChatGPT's free limits actually got in your way. If it happened regularly, consider Go or Plus. If it rarely did, stay on the free plan.
It depends on where you are and what you do. In mainland China, for Chinese Q&A and writing, DeepSeek is free and works directly, so it is the better choice. If you need image generation, voice or the Codex coding agent, or you are in a region OpenAI supports, ChatGPT offers more.
Is DeepSeek free?
Yes, chatting on the web and in the app is free, and DeepSeek says the app has no ads or in-app purchases. Developers pay per token for the API.
Can you use ChatGPT in China?
Not officially. OpenAI's supported countries list does not include mainland China, Hong Kong or Macau, and using the service from those places can lead to account suspension.
Can DeepSeek generate images?
DeepSeek describes image understanding, meaning it can analyse pictures you upload, but it does not mention image generation. For generated images, use ChatGPT or Chinese tools such as Jimeng or Kling.
