DeepSeek opens web tools for AI agents at $0.75 for each 1,000 calls

On October 17, 2026, DeepSeek opened its Search API and Fetch API (software links) to all developers. Each API has a price of $0.75 for each 1,000 calls. The Search API finds web pages for a question. The Fetch API reads one web page and gives its text. DeepSeek says that tool calls from Claude Code, Codex and DeepSeek Harness are free at this time. From October 31, these tool calls have a price.

What it is

The Search API finds web pages for a query and gives structured results. The Fetch API gets one web page and gives its content as Markdown (a plain text format).

The two APIs use the same API key as the DeepSeek model API. A developer does not get a new API key.

The numbers

DeepSeek says its engine for the web serves hundreds of millions of requests each day. The company gave no test results on the quality of the results.

Each result has a score from 0 to 3. The documents say that a score of 1.5 or more is high quality.

What is not known

An app can send the first question from the user and an IP address (a number that names a computer) with each query. The documents do not say how DeepSeek stores or uses them.

In 2025, the regulator in Italy banned the DeepSeek app. The Berlin regulator said its operations are unlawful. For each, one cause was the movement of personal data to China.

What to do

• Find which of your tools use DeepSeek models.
• Count the tool calls that they make each month.
• Add the cost to your budget.