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DeepSeekResearch & science

DeepSeek for research & science

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 isn't on our list for research & science. It's usable for general work, but first look at the options we recommend for research & science.

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 research & science

Core tasks in research & science
  • Literature search and exploration with semantic search and citation networks
  • Screening titles, abstracts and full texts for systematic reviews
  • Extracting and summarising data and study characteristics from papers
  • Writing and editing manuscripts, abstracts and research proposals
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 2025 January. Not advisable for regulated sectors unless you host the model yourself within the EU. Weigh this heavily before deploying it in research & science.

Confidentiality and GDPR

GDPR: Caution

Never use AI as a source: every reference must be traceable to the original article, as fabricated or wrongly attributed citations are the most common error. Unpublished data, research proposals and peer-review manuscripts are confidential or commercially sensitive, so do not enter them into a consumer account without a data processing agreement, and check whether the provider stores your input or uses it for training (publishers usually prohibit this explicitly for peer review). If you work with personal data from research participants, the GDPR and your own ethics review apply: running models locally or using an EU-hosted tool with data minimisation is then the safe route. Finally, document your search strategy and your AI use: journals and funders increasingly ask for this, and a review must remain reproducible.

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 research & science

Claude for research & scienceAnthropic · editorial 9.01506Gemini for research & scienceGoogle · editorial 8.61527ChatGPT for research & scienceOpenAI · edition 8.91485Le Chat (Mistral) for research & scienceMistral AI · editorial 8.41426
All options for research & science
Professional tools on DeepSeek

We don't know of a professional tool for research & science that runs publicly on DeepSeek.

Questions about DeepSeek for research & science

Is DeepSeek suitable for research & science?
Not specifically. DeepSeek isn't on our list for research & science; it's broadly applicable, but first look at the options we recommend for research & science. Keep a professional in the loop for every use.
May I put confidential data into DeepSeek?
Never use AI as a source: every reference must be traceable to the original article, as invented or wrongly attributed quotations are the most common error. Unpublished data, research proposals and peer review manuscripts are confidential or commercially sensitive, so do not enter them into a consumer account without a data processing agreement, and check whether the provider stores your input or uses it for training (publishers usually prohibit this explicitly for peer review). If you work with personal data from research participants, the GDPR and your own ethics review apply: running the model locally or using an EU-hosted tool with data minimisation is the safe route. Finally, record your search strategy and your AI use: journals and funders increasingly ask for this, and a review must remain reproducible. The DeepSeek service stores data in China and by default uses it for training (with opt-out). Only a self-hosted EU 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 30 options for research & scienceProfessional tools and general assistants side by side, on GDPR profile, price and quality.

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