How to Complete Your DeepSeek Account Setup the Right Way

You want to try DeepSeek, but you are not sure which “DeepSeek” site is the real one, how the chatbot relates to the developer console, or what the free tier actually covers. A clean DeepSeek account setup answers all three questions in a few minutes, and this guide walks through every step on web, mobile, and the API platform, based on DeepSeek’s own documentation, Terms of Use and Privacy Policy as of October 2026.

You will get the official URLs, the documented sign-in options, the difference between the chat side and the developer console, and a short checklist for keeping the account secure.

The short answer: two sign-in surfaces, one company

DeepSeek runs two distinct sign-in surfaces, and getting them confused is the most common setup mistake. The chat side at chat.deepseek.com gets you into the consumer chatbot and the mobile app. The developer console at platform.deepseek.com is where you create API keys, top up a balance, and read usage logs. Each has its own sign-up page, and DeepSeek’s public docs do not say whether a chat login also opens the developer console, so plan to sign up on each surface you need.

If you only want to chat with the model, you need the chat account. If you plan to call the API from code or build a product, you need the developer console too (you can use the same email address for both).

Official entry points (October 2026)

• Web chat: chat.deepseek.com — the sign-up page is chat.deepseek.com/sign_up.
• Developer platform: platform.deepseek.com/sign_up — the DeepSeek API platform, where API keys and billing live.
• Mobile app: install only from the Apple App Store, Google Play, or DeepSeek’s official download page at deepseek.com/en/download, which links its Android button to an APK on download.deepseek.com. APKs from third-party mirrors that claim to be DeepSeek are a known phishing vector.

Anything else — lookalike domains that put “deepseek” in front of a different ending — is a third-party site, not DeepSeek. Some are useful independent guides; none of them can manage your real account, password, or API keys. If you have any doubt, our verify official DeepSeek app guide lists every legitimate domain.

Step 1 — Create the chat account

1. Open chat.deepseek.com/sign_up in a current browser (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, or Safari).
2. Choose a sign-in method. DeepSeek’s Terms of Use (updated 27 March 2026) say you register with an email address or a third-party account, and its Privacy Policy (updated 10 February 2026) names Apple and Google sign-in “where available” and mentions a telephone number as an alternative to email. Use the same method each time you log in.
3. Confirm the verification code if you registered with email or phone.
4. Accept the Terms and Privacy Policy. DeepSeek’s Terms of Use say you must confirm your agreement to them when you register.
5. You are now in the chat interface. Use the mode options it shows; DeepSeek’s 13 August 2026 notes said V4 Pro is available on the web and app via Expert Mode.

That’s the entire consumer flow. No payment details are required. For more on what the chatbot can do once you are in, see our walk-through on how to use DeepSeek.

What “V4” means in the chat UI

DeepSeek’s naming has moved on since the April 2026 V4 preview, which DeepSeek invited users to try at chat.deepseek.com “via Expert Mode / Instant Mode”. On 13 August 2026 DeepSeek rolled out the official DeepSeek-V4-Pro release on the app, web and API, reachable in the chat via Expert Mode. On 17 October 2026 its Change Log said the official web and app models had been updated to DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017. DeepSeek’s docs do not describe today’s mode selector in more detail, so treat the labels in the chat as the reference. For a deeper look at the family, see DeepSeek V4 and DeepSeek V4-Pro.

Step 2 — Create the developer (API) account

If you want to call the API from code, register at platform.deepseek.com. The flow is similar:

1. Open platform.deepseek.com/sign_up.
2. Register with email or one of the offered sign-in options.
3. Verify the address.
4. If the console’s security settings offer two-factor authentication, turn it on — any account that will hold an API key deserves it.
5. Open the API keys page, create a new key, copy the secret as soon as it is displayed, and store it in a password manager.

For a full annotated walkthrough including key naming conventions and rotation, see our get a DeepSeek API key page.

The smallest possible test call

Once you have a key and a balance (Step 3), the simplest way to confirm everything works is a short call with the OpenAI Python SDK. Chat requests hit POST /chat/completions, the OpenAI-compatible endpoint at https://api.deepseek.com. DeepSeek also offers an Anthropic-compatible interface at https://api.deepseek.com/anthropic, so the Anthropic SDK works too.

import os
from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI(
    api_key=os.environ.get("DEEPSEEK_API_KEY"),  # the key you just created
    base_url="https://api.deepseek.com",
)

resp = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="deepseek-flash",
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Say hello in one sentence."}],
)
print(resp.choices[0].message.content)

If that prints a sentence, your account, billing, and key are all working. A 401 error means the key is wrong; a 402 Insufficient Balance error means you still need to top up. Thinking mode is on by default on both API models (deepseek-flash and deepseek-v4-pro), so the response also carries reasoning_content. The API is stateless — every call must resend the full conversation history if you want multi-turn context, which is the main behaviour difference from the chatbot.

Step 3 — Add billing (developer account only)

The chatbot is free; the API is pay-as-you-go. Open the billing or top-up page on the developer console and top up a starting balance ($5–$10 is plenty for a first trial). DeepSeek deducts fees from your topped-up balance or granted balance, using the granted balance first when both exist. DeepSeek may show a granted balance — a small promotional credit that can expire — in the same view; check the billing console for current offers rather than assuming one is available.

API usage is billed per million tokens, and off-peak hours cost half the peak rate; current rates for deepseek-flash and deepseek-v4-pro are on our DeepSeek API pricing page.

Step 4 — Lock the account down

Before you do anything else, treat the developer account like a payment account, because it is one. A leaked API key can run up real charges before you notice.

• Turn on two-factor authentication if the console offers it — DeepSeek’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy do not mention it, so do not count on it.
• Use a password manager. Reusing a password between DeepSeek and a breached site is the most common way accounts get hijacked.
• Name your API keys by environment (e.g. local-dev, staging, prod) so you can revoke one without breaking the others.
• Never commit keys to Git. Use environment variables or a secret manager.
• Rotate keys on a schedule — quarterly is a sensible baseline for live keys.

If the worst happens and you lose access, our reset DeepSeek password guide covers the recovery flow on both surfaces.

Step 5 — Pick the right surface for your workflow

The web and app keep conversation history on the server for your account, so you can return to past chats. The API does not — your application is responsible for storing and replaying the message array. If you are deciding between surfaces, our DeepSeek browser vs app comparison goes into more depth.

Edge cases and country availability

Sign-up is not uniform worldwide. Several jurisdictions have restricted DeepSeek, including Italy (whose data-protection authority, the Garante, ordered the app blocked in January 2025) and US states such as Texas, New York, and Virginia, which restrict it on government devices. For the US picture, see our US restrictions tracker. App-store availability and corporate policies vary; the full breakdown lives on our DeepSeek availability by country page.

Common edge cases:

• Email address rejected: try your primary mailbox rather than a temporary one.
• Phone verification fails in your region: switch to email or, where available, Apple or Google sign-in.
• App not on your local store: use the web chat at chat.deepseek.com in a browser.
• Corporate firewall blocks api.deepseek.com: open a ticket with IT; do not route through unofficial proxies.

Related guides

Once your account works, the next reading depends on what you are building. The DeepSeek beginner guides hub indexes everything; for specific paths, our DeepSeek API getting started tutorial picks up where this guide ends, and the DeepSeek OpenAI SDK compatibility reference covers the wire-format details.