---
id: blog-top-10-cheapest-providers-deepseek-v3-2
slug: top-10-cheapest-providers-deepseek-v3-2
date: 2026-03-28
title: "Top 10 Cheapest Providers for DeepSeek V3.2 in 2026"
summary: "We compared DeepSeek V3.2 pricing across every major API provider. Here's the definitive ranking — and how our Token Cost Calculator can help you estimate exact savings."
categories: ["Guides"]
image:
  src: "/blog/top-10-cheapest-providers-deepseek-v3-2.png"
  alt: "Top 10 Cheapest Providers for DeepSeek V3.2 in 2026"
  width: 1408
  height: 768
---

DeepSeek V3.2 has quickly become one of the most popular open-weight models in production. It replaced both V3 and R1 with a unified model that handles chat and reasoning at a single price point, ships a 163K context window, and scored gold on the 2025 IMO and IOI benchmarks — all for under $0.50 per million tokens.

But where you access V3.2 matters just as much as the model itself. Depending on the provider, you could pay anywhere from **$0.18/M to $0.57/M** for input tokens. Over millions of daily requests, that difference adds up fast.

We pulled pricing from every major provider and ranked them so you don't have to.

## The Ranking

| Rank | Provider                                        | Input (per 1M) | Output (per 1M) | Cached Input | Notes                                            |
| ---- | ----------------------------------------------- | -------------- | --------------- | ------------ | ------------------------------------------------ |
| 1    | [**LLM Gateway**](https://llmgateway.io/signup) | **$0.182**     | **$0.28**       | $0.036       | Auto-routed via Canopywave, 30% discount applied |
| 2    | GMI                                             | $0.20          | $0.32           | —            | Lowest blended price on Artificial Analysis      |
| 3    | LLM Gateway (Alibaba cn-beijing)                | $0.23          | $0.345          | $0.046       | 20% Alibaba Cloud discount applied               |
| 4    | OpenRouter                                      | $0.26          | $0.38           | —            | Multi-provider routing, free tier available      |
| 5    | DeepInfra                                       | $0.26          | $0.38           | —            | Serverless, pay-per-token                        |
| 6    | Novita AI                                       | $0.269         | $0.40           | $0.135       | High-throughput serverless                       |
| 7    | SiliconFlow (FP8)                               | $0.27          | $0.42           | —            | Budget FP8 quantized endpoint                    |
| 8    | DeepSeek (Official)                             | $0.28          | $0.42           | $0.028       | Direct API, 90% cache discount                   |
| 9    | Volcengine (Bytedance)                          | $0.28          | $0.42           | $0.056       | Asia-optimized, reasoning mode                   |
| 10   | Fireworks AI                                    | $0.30+         | $0.45+          | —            | Fastest output speed (211 t/s)                   |

_Pricing as of March 2026. "Cached Input" refers to prompt cache hit pricing where available._

## Why LLM Gateway Tops the List

LLM Gateway doesn't host models — it **routes your requests to the cheapest available provider** for each model, automatically. For DeepSeek V3.2, that currently means Canopywave with an exclusive **30% discount** we've negotiated on your behalf.

Here's what that looks like in practice:

- **Input tokens**: $0.26/M base → **$0.182/M** after 30% discount
- **Output tokens**: $0.40/M base → **$0.28/M** after 30% discount
- **Cached input**: $0.052/M base → **$0.036/M** after 30% discount

That's **35% cheaper than the official DeepSeek API** and **9% cheaper than GMI** (the next lowest provider). If Canopywave ever goes down, your requests automatically fail over to the next cheapest provider — Novita, Alibaba, Bytedance, or DeepSeek direct — with zero configuration.

## Real Cost at Scale

Cheap per-token pricing only matters if you can quantify the actual savings for your workload. That's why we built the **[Token Cost Calculator](https://llmgateway.io/token-cost-calculator)**.

Here's a quick example. Say you're running a production chatbot doing **10M input tokens and 1M output tokens per day**:

| Provider            | Daily Cost | Monthly Cost | Annual Cost |
| ------------------- | ---------- | ------------ | ----------- |
| DeepSeek (Official) | $3.22      | $96.60       | $1,175.30   |
| OpenRouter          | $2.98      | $89.40       | $1,087.70   |
| GMI                 | $2.32      | $69.60       | $846.80     |
| **LLM Gateway**     | **$2.10**  | **$63.00**   | **$766.50** |

That's **$408.80 saved per year** compared to the official DeepSeek API — just on one model. If you're using multiple models across providers, the savings compound.

## How to Calculate Your Exact Savings

Our **[Token Cost Calculator](https://llmgateway.io/token-cost-calculator)** lets you:

1. **Select any model** from 100+ options across all major providers
2. **Set your token volumes** — choose from presets (Light, Medium, Heavy, Intensive) or enter custom numbers
3. **Compare side-by-side** — see official provider pricing vs. LLM Gateway's cheapest route
4. **Add multiple models** — building with GPT-4o, Claude, and DeepSeek? Add all three and see your total savings
5. **Share your results** — export your cost breakdown to X, LinkedIn, or clipboard

The calculator pulls pricing directly from our live model registry, so it's always up to date. No sign-up required.

**[Try the Token Cost Calculator](https://llmgateway.io/token-cost-calculator)**

## Factors Beyond Price

Price isn't everything. Here's what else to consider when choosing a DeepSeek V3.2 provider:

- **Speed**: Fireworks leads at 211 tokens/second output. Google Vertex and Azure follow at ~207 t/s. If latency matters more than cost, pay the premium.
- **Reliability**: The official DeepSeek API can have variable availability during peak hours. Third-party providers typically offer better uptime SLAs.
- **Cache discounts**: DeepSeek's official API offers a 90% discount on cached input tokens ($0.028/M vs $0.28/M). If your workload has high prompt reuse, this can offset higher base pricing.
- **Context window**: Most providers offer the full 163K context. Alibaba and Bytedance cap at 131K.
- **Feature support**: Not all providers support tool calling or JSON output mode. LLM Gateway's smart routing only sends requests to providers that support the features you're using.

## Getting Started

Switch to the cheapest DeepSeek V3.2 pricing in under a minute:

1. **[Sign up free](https://llmgateway.io/signup)** — no credit card required
2. Use our **OpenAI-compatible API** — just change your base URL:

```bash
curl https://api.llmgateway.io/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "model": "deepseek/deepseek-v3.2",
    "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Hello!"}]
  }'
```

3. **[Calculate your savings](https://llmgateway.io/token-cost-calculator)** with our Token Cost Calculator

No vendor lock-in. No platform fees. Just the cheapest path to every model.

---

**[Calculate your costs](https://llmgateway.io/token-cost-calculator)** | **[Try DeepSeek V3.2 in the Playground](https://chat.llmgateway.io/?model=deepseek/deepseek-v3.2)** | **[Get started free](https://llmgateway.io/signup)**
