Provider	Popular Models	Input	Output	China Available	Free Tier
OpenAI	GPT-4o, GPT-4o-mini	$0.15-15/1M tokens	$0.60-60/1M tokens	❌ Proxy required	$5 free credit (new users)	View Details →
Anthropic	Claude Opus 4, Claude Sonnet 4	$0.80-15/1M tokens	$4-75/1M tokens	❌ Proxy required	Free trial (credit card required)	View Details →
DeepSeek	DeepSeek-V3, DeepSeek-R1	¥1-8/1M tokens	¥2-16/1M tokens	✅ Direct in China	$2 free credit on signup	View Details →
Google AI	Gemini 2.5 Pro, Gemini 2.5 Flash	$0.03-3.5/1M tokens	$0.06-10.5/1M tokens	⚠️ Partially available	Free quota (Gemini 2.0 Flash unlimited)	View Details →
Alibaba Cloud	qwen-plus, qwen-turbo	¥0.004-0.12/1K tokens	¥0.012-0.6/1K tokens	✅ Direct in China	Free API calls available	View Details →
Baidu AI Cloud	ERNIE-4.0-8K, ERNIE-3.5-8K	¥0.012-0.12/1K tokens	¥0.036-0.36/1K tokens	✅ Direct in China	ERNIE-Lite free	View Details →
Moonshot AI	kimi-plus, kimi-turbo	¥0.02-0.12/1K tokens	¥0.06-0.6/1K tokens	✅ Direct in China	15 yuan credit on signup	View Details →
Zhipu AI	GLM-4-0520, GLM-4-Flash	¥0.005-0.1/1K tokens	¥0.01-0.5/1K tokens	✅ Direct in China	GLM-3-Turbo free calls	View Details →
Tencent Cloud	hunyuan-pro, hunyuan-standard	¥0.006-0.12/1K tokens	¥0.024-0.6/1K tokens	✅ Direct in China	Free API calls available	View Details →
ByteDance	doubao-pro-32k, doubao-lite-32k	¥0.0003-0.003/1K tokens	¥0.001-0.01/1K tokens	✅ Direct in China	Generous free quota	View Details →

Frequently Asked Questions

Which AI API is cheapest for Chinese developers? ▼

DeepSeek offers the lowest prices at ¥1/1M tokens input, directly accessible from mainland China without a proxy. Google AI's Gemini 2.5 Flash is also very competitive at $0.016/1M.

Can I use OpenAI's API in China? ▼

OpenAI's API is blocked in mainland China. You need a proxy or VPN service to access it, which adds complexity and reliability concerns.

Which AI API has the best free tier? ▼

Google AI (Gemini 2.0 Flash) offers unlimited free usage. DeepSeek gives $2 signup bonus, and OpenAI offers $5 free credit for new users.

What is the best AI API for production applications in China? ▼

For domestic China applications, DeepSeek is the top choice due to direct access, low pricing, and competitive model quality. For international products, OpenAI or Google AI offer more mature ecosystems.

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