Pricing

Chinese AI tools are aggressively priced compared to Western alternatives, often offering 50-90% cost savings while matching or exceeding quality.

LLM API Pricing (per million tokens)

• DeepSeek: $0.07 input / $0.25 output
• Qwen: $0.10 input / $0.30 output
• Kimi: $0.12 input / $0.60 output
• OpenAI GPT-4: $2.50 input / $10.00 output
• Anthropic Claude 3.5: $3.00 input / $15.00 output

Video Generation

• Kling: Free tier (5 videos/day) + Pro $15/mo (unlimited)
• Hailuo: Credit-based, ~$0.10-0.50 per video
• OpenAI Sora: $20/mo (limited access)

Image Generation

• HiDream: ¥0.5-2 ($0.07-0.30) per image
• Midjourney: $10-60/mo
• DALL-E 3: $0.04-0.08 per image

Free Tiers

Most Chinese AI tools offer generous free tiers: DeepSeek (unlimited web chat), Kimi (200K context free), Qwen (open source, self-hostable). This makes them attractive for developers and small teams.