Two years ago most people knew only American AI tools. In 2026 Chinese labs release some of the most talked-about models in the world. They are usually cheaper, often published with open weights, and close to the best US models on many tests. Here is how the four best-known families compare.
The four main players
| Family | Company | Known for | Open weights |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kimi | Moonshot AI | Long context, agent swarm, coding | Yes, custom license |
| DeepSeek | DeepSeek | Very low API prices, free app | Yes, MIT |
| Qwen | Alibaba | Many model sizes, from small to large | Yes, for many models |
| GLM | Z.ai (Zhipu) | Coding and agent models | Yes, for many models |
Prices compared
Kimi K3.1 Pro costs $2 per million input tokens and $10 per million output tokens. DeepSeek V4.1 Flash costs $0.30 and $1.20 at peak hours and half that off-peak, while DeepSeek V4 Pro costs $1.32 and $3.96 at peak. Qwen and GLM models are available through Alibaba Cloud, Z.ai and many third-party hosts, and their small open models can run for free on your own hardware.
Why businesses use them
- Lower cost for large volumes of text, such as translations, tagging and summaries.
- Open weights let you run the model on your own server, so your data stays with you.
- Strong coding ability at a fraction of the price of top US models.
Risks to consider
- Hosted versions process data in China, which may conflict with your clients’ privacy expectations.
- Answers on some political topics follow Chinese rules.
- Some US officials and companies have accused Chinese labs of training on outputs from US models, so the legal picture may change.
- Model names and prices change very fast, and older models are retired quickly.
Our advice
Chinese models are worth testing if cost is your main concern or if you want to self-host an open model. For client data and public-facing work, either run the open weights on your own server or use a provider with clear data rules.
Prices and dates in this article were checked on November 10, 2026. AI companies change them often, so always confirm on the official pricing page before you buy.
Frequently asked questions
Which Chinese AI model is the best?
It depends on the task. Kimi K3.1 Pro is strong for coding and long documents, DeepSeek is the cheapest, and Qwen offers the widest range of sizes.
Are Chinese AI models free?
Many have free chat apps and open weights you can download. Using them through an API is paid, but usually cheap.
Can I use Kimi or DeepSeek in Armenia?
Yes, both work in Armenia through their websites and apps. Avoid uploading confidential data to the hosted versions.
Read next
- Kimi AI Review 2026: Kimi K3 and K3.1 Pro, Features and Prices
- DeepSeek Review 2026: V4 Pro, V4.1 Flash and the Cheapest AI API Prices
- Open-Weight AI Models in 2026: DeepSeek, Qwen, Mistral and Others
Want to put the new AI models to work in your business? We build AI agents and automations. AI agents and automation
