DeepSeek Search API costs $0.75 per 1,000 requests, free in Claude Code and Codex for two weeks

What DeepSeek's pricing page now shows

As of October 16, 2026, DeepSeek's Models & Pricing page has a new Search & Fetch Pricing section. It describes Search and Fetch as standalone APIs billed per request, not per token.

Both APIs are listed at $0.75 per 1,000 successful requests. The page's deduction rules now also cover these charges. Model usage still costs the number of tokens times the price, and Search and Fetch are charged per successful request at the listed rates.

Sources: Models & Pricing

Web search in Claude Code and Codex

Developers who run Claude Code or Codex on DeepSeek's API get a temporary exemption. DeepSeek says searches made through Claude Code's built-in Web Search tool or Codex's web_search feature will not incur Search API request fees during the first two weeks after the Search API launch.

After that, standard Search API pricing applies. DeepSeek says it will announce the billing start date separately. The page does not give the Search API launch date, so it does not say exactly when the free period ends.

Sources: Models & Pricing

How the charges hit your balance

Search and Fetch fees come out of the same DeepSeek balance as token usage. They are deducted from your topped-up balance or your granted balance, and the granted balance is used first when you have both. Once billing starts, an agent that searches often will spend prepaid credit on requests as well as on tokens. DeepSeek points to its Search & Fetch guide for the full billing rules.

Sources: Models & Pricing