Chinese AI models win business as US rivals are pricier
Chinese AI models like DeepSeek, MiniMax, and Qwen are quickly becoming favorites for companies worldwide.
With US options like ChatGPT and Claude getting pricey, businesses are switching to these Chinese models for everyday tasks — think customer support or automating simple workflows.
The main appeal? They're much easier on the budget.
Price gap drives Chinese AI adoption
Chinese models like DeepSeek charge less than $1 per million output tokens, while US rivals can cost up to $25.
That big price gap has led to a surge in usage: in February 2026, Chinese AIs processed 4.12 trillion tokens compared to just 2.94 trillion from American models.
By May, they made up over 60% of developer activity, according to OpenRouter data.
Experts say cheaper models will handle routine stuff, while pricier US systems stick with complex jobs, a sign that balancing cost and capability matters more than ever.