DeepSeek Launches Search and Fetch APIs at 5 Yuan per 1,000 Requests, Free for Select Tools Until Nov 1
DeepSeek officially released its self-developed search engine-powered APIs for web retrieval, detailing pricing, rate limits, and a temporary free tier for Claude Code and Codex users.
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DeepSeek officially announced the launch of its Search and Fetch APIs on October 17. Both interfaces utilize DeepSeek's proprietary search engine to provide real-time web content for Agent and RAG applications. The Search interface returns structured results based on queries, while the Fetch interface retrieves single web pages and returns titles and body text in Markdown format.
Regarding pricing, both services charge per successful request at a rate of 5 yuan per 1,000 requests. Fees are incurred only when Search returns a non-empty result list or Fetch successfully returns page content with an HTTP 200 status code; failed requests, empty results, and timeouts are not billed. Each account is limited to 5 queries per second (QPS) for Search and Fetch independently.
Notably, DeepSeek offers a clear transition incentive: until November 1, 2026, searches triggered via Claude Code's Web Search tool or Codex's web_search functionality will not incur Search fees. This strategy lowers the initial integration cost for developers incorporating DeepSeek's search capabilities into existing workflows.