DeepSeek V4 Pro Inside Claude Code = GOD MODE (FREE?)
Chapters18
Overview of seeking the most cost-effective coding setup in 2026, using DeepSeek inside Claude Code to evaluate options.
DeepSeek V4 Pro inside Claude Code shows promise but comes with high cost; Kimmy CLI may be a cheaper alternative for 2026 coding workflows.
Summary
Income stream surfers dives into DeepSeek V4 Pro via Claude Code, showing how to unlock DeepSeek inside Claude Code Router and even setting up Claude Code to use DeepSeek with CCR code. The host demonstrates costs, noting the session can run up quickly and estimating the build cost around $12. He also observes that the model sometimes enters its own planning mode, which affects the workflow and cost tracking. A key comparison emerges as he positions Kimmy CLI and Kimmy 2.6 as potentially cheaper options for those who don’t want to shell out for Claude Max’s $200 plan. Throughout the test, he highlights DeepSeek V4 Pro’s one-million-token context claim and critiques the SVG quality and overall design. The host then assigns a final rating, eventually settling on a 7 out of 10, and teases future tests on non-Pro DeepSeek, GLM, and other competing models. He plugs his Harbor SEO.ai project as a sponsor, framing the content as part review, part gear-diet guidance for cost-conscious developers. Overall, the video blends hands-on testing with cost-conscious analysis, emphasizing practical trade-offs between price, context window, and output quality. It ends with a forward-looking note on upcoming tests like GLM 5.1 and DeepSeek V4 Light.
Key Takeaways
- DeepSeek V4 Pro can be used inside Claude Code via Claude Code Router with the CCR write workflow and a $20 Claude Code subscription.
- Session costs can exceed $7 and the host quotes about $12 for the model run/build, highlighting the high expense of DeepSeek Pro in this setup.
- The model automatically enters a plan mode during testing, which the host notes affects cost tracking and workflow.
- Kimmy CLI and Kimmy 2.6 are proposed as cheaper alternatives for users who don’t want to pay for Claude Max’s $200 subscription.
- The reviewer rates DeepSeek V4 Pro at 7/10 after considering cost, design, and performance, and plans further testing on non-Pro DeepSeek and other models.
- The host references running DeepSeek in a mixed environment (Claude Code, Runescape background, logs) to validate real-world usage and costs.
- Open questions remain about DeepSeek’s long-term efficiency and how future updates may impact cost and performance.
Who Is This For?
This video is essential for developers weighing cost-effective AI coding assistants in 2026, especially those considering Claude Code, Claude Code Router, and DeepSeek versus Kimmy-based workflows.
Notable Quotes
"Okay guys, so let's continue our series that we're doing right now trying to find the best and most cost effective way to code in 2026."
—Opening setup and framing of the cost-focused coding series.
"Deep Seek V4 Pro inside Claude Code."
—Core claim of the demo and the setup motive.
"this is like a a video series trying to show alternatives to the $200 max subscription."
—Rationale for exploring cheaper options beyond Claude Max.
"Deepseek 6 out of 10. Not bad, but I think it could have done better."
—Initial rating before final adjustment.
"I think I'm going to give it a 7 out of 10."
—Final verdict and leaderboard placement.
Questions This Video Answers
- How expensive is using DeepSeek V4 Pro inside Claude Code compared to Kimmy CLI?
- Can Claude Code Router reliably run DeepSeek V4 Pro without breaking costs or plans?
- What are the pros and cons of DeepSeek V4 Pro versus Kimmy 2.6 for 2026 coding tasks?
- Is DeepSeek V4 Pro worth the $20 Claude Code subscription for developers on a budget?
- What should I test first when evaluating AI coding assistants in Claude environments?
DeepSeek V4 ProClaude CodeClaude Code RouterKimmy CLIKimmy 2.6Harbor SEO.aiOpen-source/Chinese modelsLLM efficiencyCost of AI models
Full Transcript
Okay guys, so let's continue our series that we're doing right now trying to find the best and most cost effective way to code in 2026. Okay, so today is the turn of DeepSeek. I'm going to be using it inside Claude Code. You can use something called Claude Code Router. There's Claude Code router. You'll have to work this out for yourselves, guys, but you can get Claude Code to set this up for you, just so you know. Uh it's kind of meta, but the way this works is you can write CC R. So claude code write and then uh code so CCR code and then set the model to DeepSeek and then you're actually going to be using DeepSsee inside quad code which you can do with just the $20 subscription.
Just to show you guys if I go to logs you'll see that the last kind of conversation that I had was with Claude Code uh and Deepseek. So Deep Seek V4 you can see right here. Okay. So yeah, this is going to be Deepseek V4 Pro inside Claude Code. So let's get the test started. Okay, so this is just the normal prompt I do for all of these tests. We're just going to put this here and we'll try and get an overall cost of this as well. Um but it might be kind of hard to get a cost, but I should be able to work it out.
Maybe I can do um model deepseek here and then it'll give me an overall kind of uh idea of the cost. Okay, so he decided to enter plan mode himself or itself, whatever. I just say him. I don't know why. Um, so it's currently reading everything. It's entering plan mode. I did not tell it to do this. Uh, normally I would use the superpowers plugin, but it's decided to enter plan mode itself. So, we'll see how this affects the overall build. Okay, so this is the plan that it came out with. I'm not going to change anything.
I'm just going to say go for it, and we'll see how this does. Really, really interesting that it actually decided to do a plan. I've got a tracker on how much this is going to cost. And yeah, I am playing Runescape in the background. You can ignore that. But yeah, we'll see what happens here. And uh yeah. Okay, guys. So, just for some context, um the video I did yesterday, I gave Kimmy inside uh Kimmy CLI an 8 out of 10. I will probably test this inside Claude Code as well. My basic idea is to test all things in all places.
So, I'll also do an open router video of Deep See V4, for example. I just want to give people kind of an an understanding of what they should be using. But if if I were you and you didn't have the budget to play to pay for the $200 uh Claude Max subscription, this is like an alternative, right? An a alter. Okay, come on. I must be able to spell alternative, right? Uh this is like a a video series trying to show alternatives to the $200 max subscription. So, right now, I would say that your best idea would be Kimmy 2.6 with Kimmy CLA if you're not paying the $200 or $100 Claude Max subscription.
But we'll see how Deep Seat V4 and Claude Code compares to Kimmy CLI and Kimmy 2.6. So, that's kind of where I'm going with these videos just so everyone knows. Okay guys, so this has cost more than $7 just so everyone knows. So, it is actually fairly expensive to use the Deep Seek Pro like this. I guess that's Claude code using these credits. Okay guys, just before we continue and we see the final result here, quick shout out from our sponsor, me. This is harbor SEO.ai, which is a writer and blog content generator, which I created.
I am shipping updates constantly on this thing literally every single day. I read every single message that people write in the bottom right corner here. And if there's an issue or something like that, I fix it immediately. For example, there was an issue with the WordPress connection. People were just struggling to basically connect WordPress so that they couldn't so they could post content automatically. I just fixed this. So now there is a plug-in which you can easily download. And the person that complained about this is now very very happy because it's working. If I just go to billing and plan right here, I'll show you the results that we've got so far.
387 pages published, 180,000 impressions and almost 1.7,000 clicks. I'm extremely happy with how things are going. If you do want founder pricing, guys, feel free to sign up. Use the free trial, which is a 3-day free trial, and then message me again, bottom right corner, I see every message, and just say, "Look, can I have the founder pricing, please?" And I'll make sure that you get that. Like I said, there is a 3-day free trial, so there's really no excuse to not go and give Harbor a try. Okay, guys. So, we are done. Uh, let's have a little look at the result here.
So, first thing I would say, the design is not that good. Another thing is the SVGs are definitely a bit off, but one good thing about this model is it has 1 million context and it was actually quite expensive to build as well. To be honest with you, this cost about 12 bucks. I don't think deepseek is necessarily the best but what I do think is that this is the beginning of the free not free open source or open weight Chinese models starting to have 1 million context and starting to be uh a little bit better and also more efficient.
Right? I think that this is a step forward for these LLMs, but I don't think that it's going to come from Deep Seek V4 Pro. I think it's going to come from whoever builds with Deepseek V4 Pro as their base. Right. I have to say as a technical build, it's pretty good. Um, it it built for a long time as well. I don't know what this is. For some reason, this is not working. Uh, there's like a problem with when you swap to Italian where it doesn't properly swap, but that's okay. Um, I'm going to give this I think, let's see, I think I'll give this a 6 out of 10.
Um, it's actually quite disappointing. I expect this to be better to be honest with you. But if you can run this on your machine, I would probably say that this is one of the better models, but honestly, I'm looking forward to what comes next, right? So, that's specifically why I'm looking here with Deepseek. I have a theory, and I don't know if this is right or not right or whatever. I think these three models are actually based on DeepSeek, like the original V3 Deepseek that, you know, kind of blew up the internet when when that happened.
Um, because then these three models kind of came out of nowhere after that was released. So, if Deep Seek leaps forwards with efficiency, these three models should also leap forward with efficiency. I'll be particularly looking at Kimmy as probably the main one, although people normally talk about GLM as well. And then Miniax for me, I mean, it's very very token efficient, but it's definitely my least favorite uh Chinese model. There are a few other models that I do like to use and that we will test. And also, I will do a test of the nonpro version.
So, the light version of Deep Seek. So, let me just add the word pro here because this is the Pro version uh that we just tested and I do want to do a test on the nonpro version um because it was actually pretty good when I tested it last time. So, however, with that all being said, guys, I think I'll leave the video there. Deepseek 6 out of 10. Not bad, but I think it could have done better. I think we'll try GLM 5.1 next. Um, and then I do want to do Deep Seek V4 Light as well because it does seem like a fairly good model.
But yeah, I mean, I don't know the maybe I'm being a little bit harsh on this model. Maybe this design is better than um actually I might I might change it to to 7 out of 10 to be honest with you. The only problem is some of the technical stuff isn't there, which is a bit of a shame to be honest with you. But overall, it is pretty good. I think I'm going to change it. Actually, guys, I think I'm going to give it a 7 out of 10. Okay, so we have our kind of um leaderboard right uh now.
Like I said in yesterday's video, Opus 4.7 is a 10 out of 10 for me, right? So, we'll do a test with Codeex as well, but yeah, for now, this is what we're looking at, guys. I'll leave the video there. This is a decent model. Uh, it is quite expensive though, so just be wary of that. Uh, thank you so much for watching. If you are watching all the way to the end of the video, you're absolutely legend. Go and check out harbor seo.ai and I'll see you very, very soon with some more content. Peace out.
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