一句话总结
As of October 19, 2026, DeepSeek's web-search API charges CNY 5 per 1,000 successful calls (free until November 1, 2026), OpenAI Web Search charges USD 10 per 1,000 calls with free search content tokens, and Google Grounding (Gemini 3 and newer) includes 5,000 free searches per month then USD 14 per 1,000 — all priced per search request, with DeepSeek the lowest-priced option.
Model Overviews
- DeepSeek Search / Fetch (opened October 18, 2026): DeepSeek's in-house search API adds two interfaces — Search (web retrieval) and Fetch (page fetching), each priced at CNY 5 per 1,000 successful requests. Calls through Server-side tools in DeepSeek Harness, Claude Code and Codex are free until November 1, 2026.
- OpenAI Web Search (Responses API tool): OpenAI's web-search tool available across all models, returning up-to-date web information.
- Google Grounding with Google Search (Gemini API): Google's search-grounding feature in which the model runs search queries and returns answers with inline citations; supports Gemini 4 Argon, Gemini 3.8 Flash and other Gemini 3 and newer models.
Core Parameter Comparison
| Dimension | DeepSeek Search/Fetch | OpenAI Web Search | Google Grounding (Gemini 3+) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Billing unit | 1,000 successful requests | 1,000 calls | Search queries executed by the model (per 1,000) |
| Unit price | CNY 5 / 1,000 | USD 10.00 / 1,000 | 5,000 free per month, then USD 14.00 / 1,000 |
| Free quota | Free until 2026-11-01 (Server-side tool calls) | None | 5,000 per month (shared across Gemini 3+ models) |
| Search content tokens | Not separately disclosed | Free | Billed as normal model tokens |
| Supported models | DeepSeek V4.1-Flash (Server-side tool calls) | All models | Gemini 3 series and newer |
| Output | Search results + Fetch page content | Real-time web results | Google results + inline citations |
| Interface | Two separate interfaces: Search / Fetch | web_search tool in Responses API | google_search built-in tool |
| Announced | 2026-10-18 | Current official pricing page | Current official pricing page |
Key Differences
- Price tier: DeepSeek at CNY 5 per 1,000 calls (about USD 0.7 per 1,000), OpenAI at USD 10 per 1,000, and Google at USD 14 per 1,000 beyond the free quota; DeepSeek has the lowest per-call cost.
- Free strategy: DeepSeek offers a time-limited free period until 2026-11-01; OpenAI offers none; Google provides a recurring 5,000 free searches per month (shared across Gemini 3+ models).
- Billing object: DeepSeek bills per successful request, OpenAI per call, and Google per search query actually executed by the model (multiple searches in one prompt are billed multiple times).
- Content billing: OpenAI explicitly makes search content tokens free; DeepSeek and Google bill retrieved content as normal model input tokens (DeepSeek has not separately disclosed retrieval-content billing).
How to Choose
- For low-cost batch web retrieval within the DeepSeek ecosystem, choose DeepSeek Search/Fetch (CNY 5 per 1,000; free before November 1, 2026).
- For model-agnostic web search with transparent billing, choose OpenAI Web Search (USD 10 per 1,000 calls, free search content tokens).
- For high-frequency grounded Q&A on Gemini 3 models (below 5,000 searches per month), choose Google Grounding (USD 0 within the free quota, USD 14 per 1,000 beyond).
Data Sources & References
- DeepSeek announcement (2026-10-18, via NetEase 21 Morning News): link
- OpenAI API pricing page: https://openai.com/api/pricing/
- Google search grounding documentation: https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/google-search