AI API FAQ — Everything You Need to Know
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- What is the cheapest AI API in 2026?
- How do I migrate from OpenAI to DeepSeek?
- Do I need a Chinese phone number?
- Which AI model should I choose?
- How much can I save by switching?
- Are Chinese AI models as good as GPT-4o?
- What payment methods are accepted?
- Can I use streaming responses?
- What embedding models are available?
- What happens if the API goes down?
- How do I get started?
- Is there a free tier?
1. What is the cheapest AI API in 2026?
GLM-4-Flash is completely free with no rate limits for standard usage. For paid models, DeepSeek V4 Pro costs $1.37 per million tokens — 90% cheaper than GPT-4o at $12.50/M. In between, Kimi K2.6 at $3.50/M and GLM-5.1 at $4.50/M offer great value for complex tasks. See our full pricing comparison.
2. How do I migrate from OpenAI API to DeepSeek?
It takes 3 minutes and one line of code. DeepSeek uses the same OpenAI-compatible API format. Just change your base_url from https://api.openai.com/v1 to https://aiwave.live/v1 and update your API key. All your existing code — chat completions, embeddings, streaming — works without modification. Full migration guide →
3. Do I need a Chinese phone number to use Chinese AI APIs?
No. Through AIWave, you can access DeepSeek, GLM (Zhipu), Kimi (Moonshot), and 50+ other Chinese AI models without a Chinese phone number, Chinese ID, Alipay, or any KYC verification. Register with email, pay with USD. Step-by-step access guide →
4. Which AI model should I choose for my project?
Free tier: GLM-4-Flash for classification, summarization, simple chat.
Standard: DeepSeek V4 Pro ($1.37/M) for user-facing chat, content, coding.
Complex: GLM-5.1 ($4.50/M) or DeepSeek-R1 for reasoning, legal, math.
Fallback: GPT-4o ($12.50/M) for ~2-5% edge cases.
Full model comparison →
5. How much can I save by switching from OpenAI?
Most startups save 87-92% on their AI API bill. A typical $500/month OpenAI bill drops to $40-60/month. Enterprise users with $10,000/month typically drop to $800-1,200. Real case study: $450 to $41/month →
6. Are Chinese AI models as good as GPT-4o?
Yes — in many cases better. DeepSeek V4 Pro beats GPT-4o on coding (HumanEval 92.7% vs 90.2%). GLM-5.1 matches on reasoning. DeepSeek-R1 matches OpenAI o1 on math (AIME 79.8% vs 79.2%). For English tasks, modern Chinese models are competitive or superior at 1/10th the cost. Real coding benchmarks →
7. What payment methods do you accept?
AIWave accepts Visa, Mastercard, USDT (TRC-20), and other cryptocurrencies. All payments in USD. No Chinese payment methods required.
8. Can I use streaming responses?
Yes. All AIWave models support SSE (Server-Sent Events) streaming, identical to OpenAI's streaming API. Your existing stream=True code works without changes.
9. What embedding models are available?
BGE-M3 at $0.002/M tokens — 65x cheaper than OpenAI's text-embedding-3-large. Supports 100+ languages, 8192-token context, beats OpenAI on multilingual benchmarks. RAG implementation guide →
10. What happens if the API goes down?
AIWave provides 50+ models from independent providers. Implement automatic fallback: DeepSeek → GLM → Kimi → free model. With 4 independent providers, total failure probability is near zero. Production fallback patterns →
11. How do I get started?
Go to aiwave.live, register with email, and get $5 free credit. Your API key is available immediately. Use the same OpenAI SDK — change base_url to https://aiwave.live/v1.
12. Is there a free tier?
Yes. GLM-4-Flash is completely free with no usage limits. It beats GPT-3.5 on 7/9 benchmarks and handles classification, summarization, extraction, and simple chat. Plus $5 free credit for premium models. GLM-4 deep dive →
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