Last refreshed 2026-05-22. Next refresh: weekly.
Why use DeepSeek R1 on Vercel AI Gateway?
Vercel AI Gateway offers DeepSeek R1 with pay-as-you-go pricing at $1.35/1M input tokens. Vercel AI Gateway is a unified AI proxy providing a single OpenAI-compatible API endpoint to 275+ models from 25+ providers including Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Meta, Mistral, DeepSeek, xAI, Alibaba, Amazon, ByteDance, Cohere, MiniMax, MoonshotAI, KwaiPilot, Black Forest Labs, Recraft, Voyage AI, NVIDIA, and more.
Compare DeepSeek R1 across 14 providers to find the best fit for your use caseSetup recipe
Python + curlpip install openaiexport AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY=...import os
from openai import OpenAI
client = OpenAI(
api_key=os.environ["AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY"],deepseek/deepseek-r1Request example
import os
from openai import OpenAI
client = OpenAI(
api_key=os.environ["AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY"],
base_url="https://ai-gateway.vercel.sh/v1"
)
response = client.chat.completions.create(
model="deepseek/deepseek-r1",
messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"}]
)
print(response.choices[0].message.content)Gotchas
- Use provider model ID "deepseek/deepseek-r1", not the LLMReference slug "deepseek-r1".
- creator/model-name e.g. kwaipilot/kat-coder-pro-v2
- The examples expect AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY; rename it only if your application config maps the new variable.
Compare DeepSeek R1 Across Providers
| Provider | Input (per 1M) | Output (per 1M) |
|---|---|---|
| DeepSeek Platform | $0.55 | $2.19 |
| OpenRouter | $0.70 | $2.50 |
| Together AI | $3.00 | $7.00 |
| Fireworks AI | $0.56 | $1.68 |
| NVIDIA NIM | — | — |
Pricing
| Type | Price (per 1M) |
|---|---|
| Input tokens | $1.35 |
| Output tokens | $5.40 |
Capabilities
About DeepSeek R1
DeepSeek R1: Reasoning-optimized model with extended thinking capabilities. 128K context.
FAQ
What does DeepSeek R1 cost on Vercel AI Gateway?
On Vercel AI Gateway, DeepSeek R1 costs $1.35 per 1M input tokens and $5.4 per 1M output tokens.
What is the context window for DeepSeek R1 on Vercel AI Gateway?
DeepSeek R1 supports a 128,000 token context window on Vercel AI Gateway.
How does Vercel AI Gateway compare to other DeepSeek R1 providers?
DeepSeek R1 is available from 14 providers. The cheapest input pricing is $0.1/1M tokens from Bitdeer AI.
What API model ID do I use for DeepSeek R1 on Vercel AI Gateway?
Use the model ID deepseek/deepseek-r1 when calling Vercel AI Gateway's API.
Who created DeepSeek R1?
DeepSeek R1 was created by DeepSeek as part of the DeepSeek R1 model family.
Is DeepSeek R1 open source?
DeepSeek R1 is open source according to the seed data.