Cheapest coding LLM in India (₹)

Low-cost code APIs: free Qwen3.8-27B, and DeepSeek V4 Flash at ₹9.11 / 1M input tokens

DeepSeek V4 Flash is a fast, low-cost way to generate code in India. ₹9.11 per 1M input tokens, ₹18.21 per 1M output tokens — about a twentieth of Claude Sonnet's per-token rates, and it holds its own on competitive programming and systems code. Billed in rupees with a GST tax invoice issued at each top-up, no international card needed.

Code benchmarks

On typical coding workloads — function generation, debugging, refactoring:

Model	Coding strength	Input ₹/M	Speed	Notes
Qwen3.8-27B	Strong	0 (free)	—	Free; open weights
DeepSeek V4 Flash	Strong	9.11	<1s	Low ₹-per-token rate
Qwen3 235B	Strong	9.11	2–3s	Text-only
Claude Sonnet	Very strong	202.46	2–3s	Most reliable on complex refactors
GPT-4o	Very strong	253.07	<2s	Fastest frontier option

DeepSeek is competitive with Claude on straight logic; Qwen3.8-27B (free) can read a screenshot or diagram alongside the code; Claude tends to win on multi-file, complex refactoring where it can hold more context in mind.

Monthly cost for a coding assistant

For an IDE assistant doing ~2M input + 1M output tokens/month (a few hundred completions a day):

Model	₹/month
Qwen3.8-27B	₹0 (free)
DeepSeek V4 Flash	₹36
Qwen3 235B	₹74
Claude Sonnet	₹1,417
GPT-4o	₹1,518

At this volume, DeepSeek V4 Flash costs less per month than a single cup of chai a week — the price difference only starts to matter once you're running it across a whole engineering team.

How to code with DeepSeek V4 Flash

from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI(
  base_url="https://api.unoblox.ai/v1",
  api_key="ub-gw-…"
)

response = client.chat.completions.create(
  model="deepseek-ai/deepseek-v4-flash",
  messages=[{
    "role": "user",
    "content": "Write a function to find the longest substring without repeating characters"
  }]
)

print(response.choices[0].message.content)

3-step setup for coding assistants

1. Generate an API key. unoblox.ai → Playground → Keys.
2. Pick your tool: Use DeepSeek with Cline, Cursor, Continue.dev, or LangChain (all OpenAI-compatible).
3. Set base URL: https://api.unoblox.ai/v1. One key works for all models.

Frequently asked questions

Q: How accurate is DeepSeek V4 Flash at code? Strong on standard coding benchmarks and in day-to-day use — great for production code, debugging, and refactoring. Edge cases like unusual async patterns or security-sensitive code are still worth a manual review, as with any model.

Q: Can I use it in Cursor or Cline? Yes. Paste your unoblox API key; set base URL to https://api.unoblox.ai/v1; pick deepseek-ai/deepseek-v4-flash.

Q: What's the context window? The window depends on the model: DeepSeek V4 Flash supports about 1M tokens, Qwen3.8-27B 262K and Claude Sonnet 1M. A 20KB codebase fits in one request on any of them.

Q: Does it support streaming? Yes. Set stream=True in OpenAI SDK; text appears token-by-token in your IDE.

Q: Should I use V4 Flash or V4.1 Flash? V4 Flash (₹9.11) is faster, cheaper. V4.1 Flash (₹14.17) is 5% stronger on reasoning. Use V4 for most tasks; switch if hitting edge cases.

Get started in rupees → https://unoblox.ai/sign-in