Published: June 6, 2026 | 5 min read
If you're building AI-powered applications, you know that API costs can quickly add up. OpenAI's GPT-4 is powerful but expensive. But what if you could get similar quality at 40-70% less?
| Model | Input (per 1M tokens) | Output (per 1M tokens) |
|---|---|---|
| OpenAI GPT-4 | $30.00 | $60.00 |
| DeepSeek V4 Pro | $0.27 | $1.10 |
| MiMo V2.5 Pro | $0.28 | $0.56 |
| Qwen 3.6 Plus | $0.50 | $2.00 |
Chinese AI companies like DeepSeek, Xiaomi (MiMo), and Alibaba (Qwen) operate with lower infrastructure costs and are competing aggressively for market share. This translates to dramatically lower API prices for developers worldwide.
But are they as good? For most use cases, yes. Independent benchmarks show:
The easiest way to access these cheap models is through an API proxy like TokenProxy. Instead of signing up for each provider separately, you get:
A developer processing 10M tokens per month would pay:
If you're still paying premium prices for AI API access, you're leaving money on the table. Chinese models like DeepSeek and MiMo offer comparable quality at a fraction of the cost. Try them today through TokenProxy and see the difference for yourself.