The problem in one sentence: DeepSeek's official API at api.deepseek.com requires a Chinese phone number for registration and only accepts Alipay or WeChat Pay — leaving most developers outside China unable to pay.

The payment wall

If you've tried to use DeepSeek's API directly, you've hit the same wall:

1. Registration: Requires a +86 phone number (mainland China)
2. Top-up: Alipay or WeChat Pay only — both require a Chinese bank account
3. No international cards: Visa, Mastercard, and Amex are not accepted
4. No PayPal, no USDT, no wire transfer

DeepSeek is not alone. Qwen (Alibaba), GLM (Zhipu AI), and most other Chinese model providers have similar restrictions on their official endpoints. The models are excellent — the payment infrastructure isn't built for international users.

The workaround: an OpenAI-compatible gateway

The solution is to use an API gateway that has already done the Chinese-payment integration and exposes an OpenAI-compatible endpoint. You pay the gateway with USDT, or a debit card. The gateway calls DeepSeek upstream.

NovAI is one such gateway. Here's what changes vs calling DeepSeek directly:

*NovAI passes through preview discounts and has lower Seedance video pricing than OpenRouter.

Step-by-step: call DeepSeek with USDT

Step 1: Create an account (no credit card)

Go to aiapi-pro.com/register. Email only — no phone number, no credit card. You get $2 free credit on signup, enough for roughly:

• 7 million input tokens of DeepSeek-V3
• 2 million input tokens of DeepSeek-R1
• 30 seconds of 720p video (Seedance)
• 70 image generations

Step 2: Top up with USDT

1. Log in → Dashboard → Billing
2. Click "Add credit"
3. Select USDT (TRC20)
4. Minimum $5, no maximum
5. Credit appears instantly

Or use USDT (TRC-20) if you prefer crypto. Same flow, same dashboard.

Step 3: Get your API key

Dashboard → API Keys → Create new key. Copy it — you won't see it again.

Step 4: Call DeepSeek

Your existing OpenAI SDK code works unchanged. Just change two things: the base URL and the model name.

Python (openai SDK):

from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI(
    api_key="sk-novai-xxx",
    base_url="https://aiapi-pro.com/v1"
)

# DeepSeek-V3 (chat)
response = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="deepseek-v3",
    messages=[
        {"role": "user", "content": "Explain MoE in one paragraph."}
    ]
)
print(response.choices[0].message.content)

# DeepSeek-R1 (reasoning)
response = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="deepseek-r1",
    messages=[
        {"role": "user", "content": "A train leaves Beijing at 8am at 300km/h..."}
    ]
)
print(response.choices[0].message.content)

Node.js (openai SDK):

import OpenAI from "openai";

const client = new OpenAI({
  apiKey: "sk-novai-xxx",
  baseURL: "https://aiapi-pro.com/v1",
});

const response = await client.chat.completions.create({
  model: "deepseek-v3",
  messages: [{ role: "user", content: "Write a haiku about APIs." }],
});

console.log(response.choices[0].message.content);

curl:

curl https://aiapi-pro.com/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk-novai-xxx" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "model": "deepseek-r1",
    "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "What is 17 * 23? Think step by step."}]
  }'

That's it. Streaming, function calling, JSON mode — all work the same as the official DeepSeek API.

Available DeepSeek models

Both are the latest versions. No version suffixes to track.

What else you get on the same key

The $2 free credit and your USDT top-up isn't limited to DeepSeek. The same API key gives you access to:

Text & chat (34 models): - DeepSeek V3, R1 - Qwen3.8-Max (2.4T params, just released) - GLM-4.7, GLM-4.7-Flash (free) - Doubao Pro, Hunyuan Pro, and more

Image generation (5 models): - CogView-3-Flash (free forever) - Seedream 5.0 / 5.0 Pro - Hunyuan Image Lite / v3.0

Video generation (4 models): - Seedance 2.0 / 2.0-Fast (ByteDance) - CogVideoX-Flash (free forever) - Hunyuan Video 1.5

Full list: aiapi-pro.com/model-marketplace.html

Pricing transparency

NovAI's pricing matches the upstream providers. We publish live pricing on the pricing page and don't hide markup in "credit" conversion rates. What you see is what you pay per million tokens or per second of video.

For DeepSeek specifically: - DeepSeek-V3: $0.27 / $1.10 per million tokens (input / output) - DeepSeek-R1: $0.55 / $2.19 per million tokens (input / output)

These are the same rates as the official DeepSeek API. The only difference is you can actually pay for them.

FAQ

Is this legal?

Yes. NovAI is a registered API gateway based in Hong Kong. We have commercial agreements with upstream providers. You're not bypassing DeepSeek — you're accessing it through a reseller.

Will my data be logged?

We log API request metadata (timestamp, model, token count) for billing. We do not log or store your prompt content or completions. Upstream providers have their own logging policies.

Can I use this in production?

Yes. The endpoint has 99.9% uptime SLA, automatic failover between upstream regions, and rate limits that scale with your plan. Start on the free tier, upgrade when you need higher limits.

What if DeepSeek releases a new model?

We typically add new models within 24 hours of upstream release. Qwen3.8-Max was available on NovAI the same day Alibaba announced it. Follow our blog or check the model marketplace for the latest.

Do I need a VPN?

No. The endpoint is accessible globally. No VPN, no proxy, no special DNS.

Start now

1. Register: aiapi-pro.com/register — email only, $2 free credit
2. Top up: USDT (TRC20) — no credit card
3. Call: Point your OpenAI SDK at aiapi-pro.com/v1, use deepseek-v3 or deepseek-r1

NovAI is an independent API gateway and is not affiliated with DeepSeek. "DeepSeek" is a trademark of DeepSeek (Hangzhou) Technology Co., Ltd. All model names are the property of their respective owners.