# Cheapest Chinese LLM API for coding agents (October 2026)

Source: https://aiapi-pro.com/blog/cheapest-chinese-llm-api-coding-agents-2026

Cost model: 1M input tokens + 200K output tokens per large coding run. All prices are provider list price with a 1.0 multiplier and zero platform markup. Machine-readable feed: https://aiapi-pro.com/china-ai-leaderboard.json

| Model | Input / 1M | Output / 1M | Cost per run | 20 runs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | $0.080 | $0.170 | $0.11 | $2.28 |
| GLM-5.3-Flash | $0.080 | $0.280 | $0.14 | $2.72 |
| Qwen3 Coder Flash | $0.150 | $0.750 | $0.30 | $6.00 |
| MiniMax M3 | $0.300 | $1.200 | $0.54 | $10.80 |
| MiMo V2.5 Pro | $0.427 | $0.855 | $0.60 | $11.96 |
| DeepSeek V4 Pro | $0.570 | $1.150 | $0.80 | $16.00 |
| Doubao-Seed-2.0-Code | $0.448 | $2.240 | $0.90 | $17.92 |
| Kimi K2.7 Code | $0.670 | $3.400 | $1.35 | $27.00 |
| Qwen3.7-Max | $1.160 | $3.475 | $1.86 | $37.10 |
| GLM-5.3 | $1.250 | $4.000 | $2.05 | $41.00 |
| Qwen3.8-Max | $1.840 | $5.515 | $2.94 | $58.86 |
| Kimi K2.7 Code HighSpeed | $2.073 | $8.610 | $3.80 | $75.90 |
| Kimi K3 | $2.900 | $14.500 | $5.80 | $116.00 |

Free option: GLM-4.7-Flash and GLM-4.6V-Flash cost nothing, capped at 10 free-model calls/day and 5 requests/minute on the free tier.

## Why output price dominates

- Doubao-Seed-2.0-Code: cheap input ($0.448) but expensive output ($2.240) -> $0.90 per run.
- DeepSeek V4 Pro: higher input ($0.570) but cheap output ($1.150) -> $0.80 per run.

Coding agents spend most tokens on completions, diffs and test output, so the output rate decides the bill.

## Monthly agent cost (20M input + 4M output)

- DeepSeek V4 Flash: $2.28
- MiniMax M3: $10.80
- DeepSeek V4 Pro: $16.00
- Kimi K3: $116.00

## Endpoint

```
POST https://aiapi-pro.com/v1/chat/completions
Authorization: Bearer $NOVAI_API_KEY
{"model":"deepseek-v4-flash","messages":[{"role":"user","content":"refactor src/app.py"}]}
```

## FAQ

**What is the cheapest model for a coding run?**
DeepSeek V4 Flash at $0.08 per 1M input and $0.17 per 1M output: a 1M-input / 200K-output run costs about $0.11. GLM-4.7-Flash is free but capped at 10 calls/day on the free tier.

**Why is output pricing more important than input pricing for coding?**
Coding agents emit long completions. A model with cheap input but a $2.24 output rate (Doubao-Seed-2.0-Code) costs $0.90 per run, while DeepSeek V4 Pro with higher input ($0.57) but low output ($1.15) costs $0.80.

**Do these prices include a platform fee?**
No. NovAI passes through the provider list price with a 1.0 multiplier and zero markup, so the numbers equal the upstream rate card.

**How much does a month of agent usage cost?**
A heavy agent month of 20M input and 4M output tokens costs about $2.28 on DeepSeek V4 Flash, $10.80 on MiniMax M3, $16 on DeepSeek V4 Pro and $116 on Kimi K3.