Can I get a refund for unused balance?

Yes. DeepSeek's help center sends online-payment refunds to **Billing → Refunds** on the API platform, and corporate transfers to support. Approved refunds cover all the unspent money in your account, paid at once, minus 'necessary costs such as handling fees'. You can't withdraw just part of it. Top-up balance doesn't expire, so there's no deadline to request. **Don't delete your account first**, because deletion forfeits whatever balance is left.

Is the DeepSeek app actually free?

Yes. The official DeepSeek app on iOS and Android, and the web chat at chat.deepseek.com, are free with no subscription. The publisher is 杭州深度求索人工智能基础技术研究有限公司 (Hangzhou DeepSeek). If an app called 'DeepSeek' asked you to pay for **Premium**, it's a copycat. Cancel it in your App Store or Google Play subscriptions and ask the store for a refund. DeepSeek can't refund a charge it never made.

How do I cancel a DeepSeek subscription?

The official DeepSeek service has no subscription to cancel. The chat is free and the API is prepaid. If your bank statement shows a recurring 'DeepSeek' charge, it's almost certainly a clone app. On iPhone, go to **Settings → your name → Subscriptions**. On Android, go to **Play Store → Payments & subscriptions → Subscriptions**. Cancel there, then ask the store for a refund. For API users, stopping is simple: revoke your API keys and request a refund of your unused balance.

Will I lose my chats and balance if I delete my DeepSeek account?

Yes, both. DeepSeek's deletion warning says your chat history will be deleted and **any unused balance will be forfeited**, and a deleted account can't be reactivated. Before you delete, export your chats on the web via **Settings → Data → Export data** (the download link lasts 7 days). Request a refund of your API balance at **Billing → Refunds**, and revoke your API keys. If you signed in with Google or Apple, remove that sign-in permission separately in your Google or Apple account settings.

Is there a DeepSeek cancellation fee?

There's no cancellation fee, because there's no contract or subscription. The only cost when you leave is on API balance refunds: the Open Platform Terms let DeepSeek deduct 'necessary costs such as handling fees' from what it pays back. Ask for those fees to be itemised in writing. Bonus or compensation credit is a separate balance that's used before your cash top-ups, and it isn't the same as refundable money.

Does DeepSeek refund for outages?

Sometimes, but as **credit, not cash**. After the 4h52m outage on 15 October 2026, DeepSeek automatically paid every API account its full spend from 8 to 14 October as bonus credit with no expiry date. Bonus credit is used before your top-up balance. It did the same after a cache-billing error from 13 May to 9 June 2026. If you'd rather leave than take credit, ask for your remaining top-up balance to be refunded instead.

How do I contact DeepSeek customer service?

There's no phone line. In the app, tap the **···** next to your avatar, then **Contact Us**, where you can file a complaint or chat with the DeepSeek bot. For email, use **service@deepseek.com** for general and account issues, as listed on DeepSeek's App Store and Google Play pages. Use **api-service@deepseek.com** for API, billing and refund matters; the Open Platform Terms name this as the contact address. Put your account email or phone and your transaction IDs in the first message.

What if DeepSeek ignores my refund request?

First, follow up in the same email thread to **api-service@deepseek.com**. Point to section 6.3 of the Open Platform Terms and attach your Billing screenshots and receipts. If you paid by card and still get no reply after a reasonable wait, you can dispute the charge with your card issuer for services you paid for and didn't receive. For clone-app charges, ask the app store again and then dispute with your card issuer.

Can I pause or downgrade DeepSeek instead of cancelling?

There's nothing to pause or downgrade. The chat is free and the API only charges for what you use. To stop API spending without closing the account, revoke or delete your API keys on the platform. Your top-up balance doesn't expire, so it stays there until you use it or ask for a refund. To stop your chats being used for training, turn off **Help improve the model for everyone** under Settings → Data.

REFUND GUIDE

How to Get a DeepSeek Refund on Unused API Credit.

DeepSeek refunds are per-order, here's what their policy actually says, and how to escalate if they ignore the request.

Last verified today against DeepSeek’s own Terms · UK, US, and EU rights covered below

The short answer

The only thing DeepSeek ever charges you for is prepaid API top-up balance on platform.deepseek.com. The consumer chat app is free. You can ask for a refund of any unspent top-up balance at any time: use Billing → Refunds for card or online payments, or open a ticket or email api-service@deepseek.com for corporate bank transfers. DeepSeek reviews each request, may ask for proof of payment, and pays back the whole remaining balance at once minus handling fees. Spent usage isn't refundable, and you can't withdraw just part of the balance. Outage or billing-error compensation is paid as bonus API credit, not cash. Charges for a 'DeepSeek Premium' subscription in an app store come from copycat apps and must be refunded by Apple, Google or that developer.

Or let yoink chase the refund.

30 seconds to set up. yoink emails DeepSeek, cites the policy, escalates if ignored, and surfaces the win when the money lands.

Get yoink (App Store) →

What DeepSeek actually says

“If approved, we will refund the remaining unspent amount after deducting necessary costs such as handling fees. The refund will be issued in one lump sum for all remaining unspent amounts in your account, partial refunds are not supported, and amounts already spent will not be refunded.”
, verbatim from DeepSeek’s terms

Pro-rata refund: no

How long does a DeepSeek refund take?

Most merchants agree to a straightforward refund within 1 to 3 working days of a well-written email request. Once agreed, the money itself takes another 3 to 5 working days to land, that part is card-network processing and no merchant can skip it. If nothing has arrived 10 working days after a written “refund approved”, reply on the same thread asking for the ARN (acquirer reference number), which your bank can trace.

What you can claim

The law where you live is the strongest hook, lead with it when you contact the company.

United States

Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA)
Dispute any credit-card charge in writing within 60 days.
For US credit-card payments, the FCBA gives you 60 days from the statement date to dispute a DeepSeek charge in writing. Your card issuer is required to investigate and may withhold the disputed amount during the process.

Worldwide

Card-issuer chargeback
Visa/Mastercard chargeback works everywhere they do.
Open a chargeback for “subscription not cancelled” or “services not as described”, your bank initiates, DeepSeek has ~45 days to defend. Works regardless of where DeepSeek is headquartered.
PayPal Buyer Protection
If you paid via PayPal, open a dispute.
PayPal’s Buyer Protection covers “item not as described”, applies to services that didn’t deliver. Resolution typically within 20 days.

Rights in other regions (United Kingdom, European Union)

United Kingdom

Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013
Full refund within the 14-day window.
Inside 14 days of starting any DeepSeek subscription, you’re entitled to a full refund of any payment taken, no questions, no policy override.
Citizens Advice + Trading Standards
For repeated bad-faith refusals.
Free escalation lane: file with Citizens Advice (08082231133), they pass it to Trading Standards. Slow (8-12 weeks) but creates a paper trail DeepSeek can’t ignore.

European Union

Consumer Rights Directive 2011/83/EU
14-day withdrawal across all EU member states.
EU-wide statutory right to withdraw and recover any payment within 14 days of subscription start. Mirrored in local law in every EU country.
ECC-Net cross-border escalation
EU Consumer Centre network mediates against EU sellers.
If DeepSeek is based in another EU country, your local European Consumer Centre will mediate the dispute for free. List of national contacts at commission.europa.eu.

The DeepSeek refund email

Email the right address
Use api-service@deepseek.com, the route yoink has verified actually gets read for DeepSeek.
Use a clear subject line
Subject: Refund Request, [your account email]

Send this body

Hi DeepSeek team,

I'm requesting a refund for my DeepSeek order (reference [order number], placed on [date], for [amount]).

Please process the refund to my original payment method and confirm by reply.

Best,
[your name]

Wait 7-14 days, then escalate
If you haven’t heard back in 14 days, escalate via the regional route above, a card-issuer chargeback works in every market.

Refund FAQ for DeepSeek

Yes, but only for **unspent API top-up balance**. The chat app is free, so there's nothing else to refund. Sign in at platform.deepseek.com, open **Billing → Refunds** and submit a request. Corporate bank-transfer payments need a support ticket, or you can email **api-service@deepseek.com**. Under the Open Platform Terms, DeepSeek reviews the request and pays back the **whole remaining balance at once**, minus handling fees. You can't get a partial refund, and tokens you've already used aren't refunded. Have your payment receipts ready in case DeepSeek asks for proof.