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DeepSeekLegal

DeepSeek for the legal profession

Open-weight (MIT) Chinese language model with a 1M context window and a built-in reasoning mode, at very low API costs.

Not specifically recommended

DeepSeek is not on our list for legal services. Usable for general work, but first look at the options we recommend for legal services.

GDPR profileOur summary of what the provider itself publishes about your data: EU hosting possible, no training on your data for business use, and self-hosting available. Caution applies to a model with a documented problem, such as an investigation by a regulator. How we measure
GDPR: Caution
QualityQuality from blind duels on LMArena: users choose between two anonymous answers. A difference of about 20 points is noticeable, a few points is noise. How we measure
1475Elo, independent
Editorial scoreOur own assessment on 10 of suitability for professional work, price and privacy. This is a judgement, not a measurement; that is why it always sits alongside the Elo. How we measure
7,4
Entry price
Free
Full GDPR check

What DeepSeek does in legal

Core tasks in legal practice
Where DeepSeek is strong
  • Very low API costs
  • Open weights (MIT), self-hostable
  • Strong at reasoning, maths and code
  • Large context window (1M tokens)

DeepSeek has a concrete GDPR concern. The DeepSeek service stores personal data in China and was blocked by the Italian regulator in January 2025. Not advisable for regulated sectors unless you host the model yourself within the EU. Weigh this heavily before deploying it in legal.

Confidentiality and GDPR

GDPR: Caution

Professional secrecy is mandatory. Only enter client data into a business/EU variant with a data processing agreement, where input is not used for training. Always keep a lawyer in the loop.

The DeepSeek service stores data in China and uses it for training by default (with an opt-out). Only an EU self-hosted variant of the open weights is defensible for sensitive data.

Rule of thumb Use the business variant with a data processing agreement, and keep a human in the loop for decisions that matter.
Caution the DeepSeek service stores personal data in China and was blocked in January 2025 by the Italian regulator. Advised against for regulated sectors, unless you host the model yourself within the EU.

Prices

Chat / appFreeOn chat.deepseek.com
Self-hostingFreeOpen weights, your own compute costs
API (V4.1-Flash)$0.15 / 1M in$0.60 / 1M out (off-peak rate); peak hours (Mon–Fri 01–04 and 06–10 UTC) at double the price; cache-hit input $0.003 per 1M
API (V4-Pro)$0.66 / 1M in$1.98 / 1M out (off-peak rate); peak hours at double the price; cache-hit input $0.022 per 1M

Other models for legal practice

Claude for legal practiceAnthropic · editorial 9.01506Copilot for legal practiceMicrosoft · editorial 8.31485Le Chat (Mistral) for legal practiceMistral AI · editorial 8.41427Perplexity for legal practicePerplexity AI · editorial 8.0–
All options for legal practice
Professional tools on DeepSeek

We are not aware of a professional tool for legal that runs publicly on DeepSeek.

Questions about DeepSeek for legal

Is DeepSeek suitable for legal?
Not specifically. DeepSeek is not on our list for legal services; it is broadly applicable, but first look at the options we recommend for legal services. Keep a professional in the loop for every use.
May I put confidential data into DeepSeek?
Confidentiality is mandatory. Only enter client data into a business/EU variant with a data processing agreement, where input is not used for training. Always keep a lawyer in the loop. The DeepSeek service stores data in China and uses it for training by default (with opt-out). Only an EU self-hosted variant of the open weights is defensible for sensitive data.
What does DeepSeek cost?
There is Chat / app (Free), Self-hosted (Free), API (V4.1-Flash) ($0.15 / 1M in), API (V4-Pro) ($0.66 / 1M in). Check current prices on the official site.
Next stepAll 45 options for legal servicesProfessional tools and general assistants side by side, compared on GDPR profile, price and quality.

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