DeepSeek API key setup

Get your key

1. Open the DeepSeek API keys page: platform.deepseek.com/api_keys
2. Create an account and generate an API key.
3. Paste it into the Dracon BYOK provider keys — stored encrypted (AES-256-GCM), used browser-direct, works in every Dracon tool.

Free tier

Yes. One-time 5M-token grant for new accounts (30 days, no card); free web chat is consumer-side, no recurring free API tier. Aggressive paid-tier pricing (V4 Flash from $0.14/$0.28 per M tokens as of the 2026-07-31 public beta). no credit card required

Rate limits: See platform.deepseek.com; paid tiers advertise quota per 5h window.

Connection details

Base URL

https://api.deepseek.com/v1

API shape

OpenAI-compatible

Env var

DEEPSEEK_API_KEY

Models

deepseek-chat, deepseek-reasoner

Model lineup

DeepSeek V3, DeepSeek R1, DeepSeek V4 Pro, DeepSeek V4 Flash

Our verdicts on this kind of provider

Independent comparisons we keep current as pricing and free tiers shift. A guide is setup; a verdict is whether it's worth setting up.

• The AI price war — who cut what in July 2026
• 22 of the 45 AI providers have a free tier. Only 7 are actually useful.
• Free AI rate limits, compared — which free tiers can do real work