ChatGPT vs DeepSeek V4: Which Is Better in 2026

Last week, I was helping a startup founder set up an automated customer support pipeline. We needed to process thousands of support tickets, categorize them, and draft responses. We started with ChatGPT because it was the default choice, but when I calculated the API costs for processing 50,000 tickets a month, the bill made her wince. So, I pointed her to DeepSeek V4. The cost dropped by over 90%, and the categorization accuracy actually went u