The Blog
Ms Millennial Money Reviews – AI Face-Off: ChatGPT vs DeepSeek
By Sarah Penney, Ms Millennial Money
The Dawn of DeepSeek
DeepSeek, the new kid on the AI block, made quite an entrance this week. Its launch crashed US tech stocks, with Nvidia being the primary victim, it also came with warnings of cyberattacks and slow response times. Still, within a week of its debut, DeepSeek became the most downloaded free app in the US, rivalling OpenAI’s previously dominant offerings.
First Impressions and Teething Problems
Like ChatGPT before it, DeepSeek’s servers buckled under the weight of curious users. This initial stumble highlighted a common challenge for overhyped tech launches: balancing anticipation with infrastructure. Once I managed to start using the bot though, I was impressed. The interface was familiar – a simple text box, mirroring the designs of ChatGPT and Claude and it delivered well.
The Cost Factor
One of DeepSeek’s main selling points is its price tag – or lack thereof. While ChatGPT offers a free version, many users find themselves needing to gravitate towards the $20 per month plus version. DeepSeek, on the other hand, is entirely free. Although, this raises the age-old adage: if a product is free, you must be the product. Data security concerns linger, though it’s worth noting that OpenAI is also facing investigation from the FTC scrutiny over privacy issues.
Performance Comparison
Surprisingly, despite the vast difference in development resources (DeepSeek was apparently developed for just $6million), DeepSeek and ChatGPT perform remarkably similarly. For common tasks like research, idea refinement, and text editing, I found the two almost indistinguishable. Testing by tech experts have however found a few nuances:
- News-based research: DeepSeek takes the lead, drawing from a wider variety of sources.
- Creative writing: ChatGPT edges ahead, particularly in maintaining context and staying on topic.
- Problem-solving: Both excel at tasks like pattern recognition and aiding with personal finance issues, ending in a tie.
A Hands-On Perspective
When the servers calmed down and I managed to put DeepSeek to the test, I was very impressed. It provided more in-depth answers to research-related questions, offering comprehensive sources unprompted. When asked simple questions, it gave much more detailed answers, meaning I could pick and choose what I wanted. In creative tasks, such as poetry writing, the differences were more subtle, with both AIs showing a curious self-awareness and respect for each other. Considering DeepSeek is optomised for the Chinese market, the creative writing in English is impressive and will only improve with use.
The Verdict
While DeepSeek outperforms ChatGPT in some areas, particularly in depth of research and referencing, ChatGPT will remain my go-to for a few reasons:
- Familiarity: Long-term use has allowed ChatGPT to learn my user preferences and tone.
- Data Security: Despite concerns about both platforms, the free nature of DeepSeek raises additional privacy questions. I don’t want to risk it at this point.
An interesting side note though. Claude (Anthropic AI’s offering) is available through a ChatGPT Plus subscription, and for me, this is the best tool for text refinement and generation. It’s adaptation to my tone is superior to both Chat GPT and DeepSeek.
DeepSeek’s emergence into the market is a great thing. All markets need competition, and Sam Altman, Open AI CEO, acknowledged this. Ultimately, it will push generative AI forward. And, depending on your stance on AI, this is a good thing or a bad thing.
For me, these tools are useful aids in my day-to-day work, so I’m all for greater choice!
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