Published: August 26, 2026 | Reading time: 5 minutes
Peak-valley pricing is a dynamic pricing model where API costs vary based on demand periods:
| Period | Input Price | Output Price | Discount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peak (weekday daytime) | $0.80/M | $2.40/M | — |
| Valley (weekday night + weekends) | $0.40/M | $1.20/M | 50% off |
Schedule document processing, data analysis, and batch inference during off-peak hours (typically 22:00-08:00 UTC+8).
Since August 23, 2026, DeepSeek V4 applies valley rates all day Saturday and Sunday. Plan your weekend batch jobs accordingly.
Use TokenEase's unified API to automatically route to valley-priced instances:
# TokenEase handles peak-valley routing automatically
# Your code stays the same — pricing adjusts based on time
curl https://tokenease.io/v1/chat/completions \
-H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_KEY" \
-d '{"model":"deepseek-v4","messages":[{"role":"user","content":"..."}]}'
| Scenario | Peak Cost | Valley Cost | Monthly Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10M tokens/day, 50% valley | $8,000 | $6,000 | $2,000 |
| 100M tokens/weekend batch | $80,000 | $40,000 | $40,000 |
| Startup (1M tokens/day) | $800 | $600 | $200 |
DeepSeek announced on August 22, 2026: Weekends no longer distinguish peak/valley. Both Saturday and Sunday use valley rates exclusively. This is a significant change that makes weekend batch processing even more attractive.
TokenEase provides unified access to DeepSeek V4 with automatic peak-valley pricing awareness:
Last updated: August 26, 2026. Pricing subject to change per DeepSeek official announcements.