AILaboxDeepSeek Introduces Peak-Hour Pricing: 2x Off-Peak Rates
Starting 2026-08-17, DeepSeek charges 2x during peak hours (9:00-12:00 / 14:00-18:00 Beijing time) while also raising base model prices.
DeepSeek updated its pricing on August 17, 2026, introducing time-based (peak/off-peak) billing: prices during peak hours (9:00-12:00 and 14:00-18:00 Beijing time) are 2x the off-peak rates.
In addition to time-based pricing, DeepSeek raised base prices across models. DeepSeek-V4-Flash input went from ¥1 to ¥1.5 per million tokens (+50%) and output from ¥2 to ¥4.5 per million tokens (+125%), with peak hours charged at 2x the off-peak price.
AILabox has adapted to this pricing structure: model detail pages and channel lists now show both off-peak and peak prices with a note explaining the peak-hour window, so developers can estimate real costs by call time.
For batch or offline workloads that can tolerate delayed execution, scheduling requests during off-peak hours cuts token costs by 50%. Real-time interactive services should factor peak rates into their budgets.