Noometry

Alternatives

Cheaper DeepSeek Alternatives in October 2026

The strongest lower-cost alternative to DeepSeek as of October 2026 is MiMo-V2.6-Flash from Xiaomi: 5.8 points behind DeepSeek V4 Pro, 5.7× cheaper per token; open weights. Compared against DeepSeek V4 Pro, DeepSeek's current top model.

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  1. MiMo-V2.6-Flash Xiaomi

    5.8 points behind DeepSeek V4 Pro, 5.7× cheaper per token; open weights.

    Score 48.5, $0.18 per M tokens blended.Compare with DeepSeek V4 Pro

  2. GPT-6 Luna OpenAI

    about as strong as DeepSeek V4 Pro, 4.9× cheaper per token.

    Score 53.3, $0.20 per M tokens blended.Compare with DeepSeek V4 Pro

  3. Claude Haiku 5.5 Anthropic

    4.8 points behind DeepSeek V4 Pro, 4.9× cheaper per token.

    Score 49.5, $0.20 per M tokens blended.Compare with DeepSeek V4 Pro

  4. GLM-5.3-Flash Z.ai (Zhipu)

    2.5 points behind DeepSeek V4 Pro, 4.2× cheaper per token; open weights.

    Score 51.8, $0.24 per M tokens blended.Compare with DeepSeek V4 Pro

  5. Inkling-Small Thinking Machines Lab

    7.8 points behind DeepSeek V4 Pro, 1.6× cheaper per token; open weights.

    Score 46.5, $0.64 per M tokens blended.Compare with DeepSeek V4 Pro

  6. Kimi K2.5 Moonshot AI

    6.3 points behind DeepSeek V4 Pro, 1.1× cheaper per token; open weights.

    Score 48.1, $0.90 per M tokens blended.Compare with DeepSeek V4 Pro

More: All alternatives, Open-source, For coding

Frequently asked questions

What is the best alternative to DeepSeek?

The strongest lower-cost alternative to DeepSeek as of October 2026 is MiMo-V2.6-Flash from Xiaomi: 5.8 points behind DeepSeek V4 Pro, 5.7× cheaper per token; open weights. Compared against DeepSeek V4 Pro, DeepSeek's current top model.

How were these alternatives chosen?

Each is the highest-ranked model from a different provider that costs less per token and scores within 8 points, compared on the Noometry Index against DeepSeek V4 Pro.