10 Ways to Make Money with DeepSeek (2025)
Here are proven ways to make money using DeepSeek, the powerful open-source AI model. From freelancing to apps, unlock income potential!

DeepSeek is a groundbreaking open-source large language model (LLM) from China that’s taking the AI world by storm. The DeepSeek-R1 model was released in early 2025 and quickly shot to the top of Apple’s App Store, even overtaking the ChatGPT app in downloads.
Unlike many proprietary models, DeepSeek’s code is open and free for commercial use, allowing anyone to harness its power for profit. This combination of high capability and open access has unleashed a wave of entrepreneurial creativity. From freelancers and content creators to small businesses and app developers, people around the world are discovering innovative ways to generate income with DeepSeek’s AI prowess.
In this article, we’ll explore 10 practical ways you can make money using DeepSeek. Each method is explained in everyday English and backed by real-world examples or stats. Whether you’re a writer, marketer, developer, or just an AI enthusiast, there’s an opportunity here for you. Let’s dive into the strategies – and be sure to check out the summary table at the end comparing their income potential.
1. Freelance Content Writing and Copywriting Services
Writing with AI assistance is a gold mine right now. Businesses, blogs, and marketers constantly need fresh content, and DeepSeek can help you deliver it faster. In fact, over 73% of marketing executives say they’ve embraced generative AI in their content workflows.
This means clients are open to AI-assisted writing as long as the quality is high. As a freelance writer, you can use DeepSeek to draft articles, blog posts, marketing copy, or product descriptions and then polish them with your human touch.
How to get started: Offer your writing services on platforms like Upwork, Fiverr, Freelancer or any freelancing platform. You might advertise specialties like blog posts, website copy, or technical articles. When you get a gig, use DeepSeek to generate a solid first draft or outline, saving you hours.
Then edit and refine it so it reads naturally (clients want human quality, not robotic text). This hybrid approach lets you take on more projects than you could by writing everything from scratch. For example, if you normally take 5 hours to write a blog post, DeepSeek might cut that down to 2 hours, meaning you can accept more clients and earn more in the same time.
Earnings example: Freelance writers typically charge anywhere from $50 up to $300+ for a blog article, depending on length and complexity. If DeepSeek helps you double or triple your output, your monthly income could likewise multiply.
Many writers easily earn $1,000+ per month part-time, and top DeepSeek-assisted writers could scale well beyond that. The key is to maintain quality, use the AI as an assistant, not a replacement for good research and editing.
2. SEO Blogging and Niche Affiliate Websites
Running your own content website is another fantastic way to monetize DeepSeek’s capabilities. Rather than writing for clients, you create blogs or niche sites and populate them with AI-generated content that attracts visitors through search engines.
The SEO (Search Engine Optimization) industry is huge, valued around $67 billion globally in 2024, and website owners make money by capturing even a sliver of that traffic. With DeepSeek, you can crank out blog posts on topics from tech gadgets to travel tips, optimized with the right keywords to rank on Google.
Why this works: Normally, building a content-rich site takes a lot of writing or money to pay writers. DeepSeek reduces that barrier by generating articles, listicles, and how-to guides on demand. You can use SEO tools, such as Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, etc., to find popular search terms, then have DeepSeek write an article targeting each term. Be sure to fact-check and tweak the AI content so it’s accurate and engaging, Search Engines reward quality. Over time, as your posts rank in search results, they bring in readers.
Monetization: Once you have traffic, you can earn through ads or affiliate marketing. For instance, one blogger reported that an AI-driven niche site (built with DeepSeek’s help) earned about $21,000 from ads as it grew its audience. Imagine having a few sites like that. It can become a mostly passive income stream.
Keep in mind that success won’t happen overnight; you’ll need to consistently publish content and possibly build backlinks. But using DeepSeek dramatically lowers the time and cost investment to populate a website. Even if a site makes just a few dollars a day, that’s significant over a year, and you can always launch more sites in different niches.
3. Video Scriptwriting for YouTubers and Creators (Youku or other Video platform)
The booming video creator economy needs scriptwriters, and this is a role you can fill with DeepSeek’s assistance. YouTube alone had ad revenues of over $8 billion in Q1 2024, and popular creators are willing to pay for help producing content. If you cannot access YouTube, you can use other platforms; for example, in China, you have Youku.
Many YouTubers (especially those running faceless or animation channels) don’t write their own scripts; they hire freelancers to draft video scripts and ideas. With DeepSeek, you can generate well-structured scripts for videos quickly, then sell them to creators or use them for your own channel.
How to profit: Offer YouTube scriptwriting as a service on freelance marketplaces. You can create tiered packages, for example, a short 2-minute script, a standard 5-minute script, and a 10+ minute detailed script, each with increasing prices. An example from one
DeepSeek user suggests charging around $15–$30 for a short script and up to $100+ for a longer 10-minute script. DeepSeek can help you outline the video, come up with engaging talking points, and even suggest catchy titles. After the AI drafts the script, you’d revise it to ensure it fits the client’s tone and is factually correct.
If you have video editing or production skills, you could also use these scripts yourself. Pair DeepSeek-generated scripts with tools like HeyGen or other AI avatar video generators to create automated video content.
One tutorial noted that an AI-generated video (using a DeepSeek script plus an avatar) earned about $27 in ad revenue in a single day once it gained viewership. That might seem small, but if you upload many videos, the earnings stack up. Whether you are selling scripts to others or publishing your own videos, DeepSeek gives you a shortcut to content creation in the lucrative video space.
4. Self-Publishing AI-Generated E-Books
Have you ever dreamed of authoring a book and earning royalties? With DeepSeek, even non-writers can become ebook creators. Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) platform, for example, is a massive marketplace; a Bloomberg report pegged it as a $1.2 billion industry by itself. People are hungry for knowledge and stories, and you can use DeepSeek to help write and sell those in the form of e-books or print-on-demand books.
What you can do: Pick a topic or niche you’re knowledgeable (or at least interested) in, such as personal finance tips, a beginner’s guide to a hobby, self-help, or even fiction. Use DeepSeek to generate chapters or sections of the book. The model can produce explanations, how-to steps, dialogues, etc., based on your prompts.
For example, you could prompt DeepSeek with “Outline for a beginner’s guide to gardening,” then expand each outline point into a chapter. Of course, you’ll need to edit heavily, ensure the information is correct, add your own insights, and give the writing a consistent voice. Originality and quality are key if you want good reviews.
Once the manuscript is ready, publish it on platforms like Amazon KDP, Gumroad, or Smashwords. These platforms let you sell e-books (and even paperbacks via print-on-demand) to a global audience with no upfront cost. You earn money each time someone buys your book. Some authors using AI assistance have reported making $500 to $5,000 per month from ebook sales.
Success varies widely – it helps if you can market the book on social media or via ads. But even a few sales a week is nice side income, and one breakout hit ebook could generate revenue for years. With DeepSeek speeding up the writing process, you can experiment with multiple titles or quickly update editions to keep content fresh.
In the age of Instagram, TikTok (Douyin), Twitter (X), WeChat, and LinkedIn, content is king on social media, and most brands know it. Over 90% of companies use social media for marketing, yet many struggle to consistently create content that engages their audience.
If you have a knack for social media trends, you can leverage DeepSeek to become a content creator or consultant for businesses and influencers, generating posts, captions, tweets, or even short video scripts as a service.
How to use DeepSeek: The model can help brainstorm catchy captions, craft compelling short-form stories, or repurpose existing content into different formats. For instance, you might feed DeepSeek an outline of a product’s features and ask for an engaging Facebook post about it.
Or take a long blog article from a client and have DeepSeek summarize it into a series of tweet-sized tips. By doing this, you save time while still delivering quality content. You can also generate ideas for visuals (which you or a graphic designer can then create), ensuring each post has something interesting to say.
Monetization approaches: You could offer packaged services such as:
- Caption writing – you can charge $10-$20 per Instagram caption with relevant hashtags.
- Complete post creation – providing text + ideas for an image, perhaps $50+ per set of posts.
- Thread or LinkedIn article writing – Businesses might pay $100-$200 for a well-crafted LinkedIn post or Twitter thread that DeepSeek helps draft.
- Monthly social media management – a bundle where you produce, say, 15 posts per month for a brand’s social channels for a retainer fee. Small businesses might pay several hundred dollars a month for this, which can add up across multiple clients.
Real-world example: freelance marketplaces have gigs where social media content creators offer to manage a company’s profile. With AI assistance, you could outperform competitors by delivering more content ideas quickly.
Just remember to add a human touch – maybe tweak the tone to fit the brand and ensure timely, relevant references (DeepSeek’s training may not include the latest meme or event). If done right, you become the behind-the-scenes voice for brands on social media, and they’ll gladly pay for the growth you drive.
6. AI-Powered Email Marketing Campaigns
Email marketing remains one of the highest-ROI ways for businesses to reach customers; it can famously yield 4,200% ROI (meaning $42 earned for every $1 spent), according to marketing research. However, writing effective sales emails and newsletters is a specialized skill. This is another area to monetize DeepSeek: by offering email copywriting and campaign strategy services to businesses that want to boost their sales or engagement.
With DeepSeek, you can draft persuasive email content faster. For example, you can prompt DeepSeek to write a promotional email for a product launch, given some bullet points about the product, then refine the output into a polished message.
The model can also help generate multiple subject line options, calls-to-action, or even A/B test variants. Since DeepSeek has a large context window, you could feed it information about the brand’s style or past emails to keep the tone consistent.
Services to offer: You might advertise as an “AI-augmented email marketer.” Offer to create:
- Sales sequences – a series of 5-7 emails to nurture leads into customers.
- Newsletter content – engaging stories or tips related to the client’s industry.
- Cold outreach emails – personalized templates for reaching out to potential clients or partners.
Businesses pay well for effective email campaigns because the returns can be huge. It’s not uncommon for skilled email copywriters to charge $300 to $1,000+ for crafting an email sequence for a company. If you use DeepSeek to speed up your writing process, you can take on more clients or spend more time optimizing content for better conversion.
For instance, DeepSeek might draft a 300-word product announcement email in seconds, freeing you to spend time creatively tweaking the headline and ensuring the message will resonate with the target audience.
By delivering results – say, improved open rates or click-through rates, you can build a reputation and client base. Given the high ROI of email, clients who see an uptick in sales due to your AI-enhanced emails will view your fee as a great investment. This means repeat business and referrals for you, translating into steady income.
7. Resume and Career Document Services
Even in the job market, people are turning to AI for help. Surveys indicate that around 40% of job seekers are using AI tools to improve their resumes or cover letters. Writing a compelling resume, cover letter, or LinkedIn profile can be daunting for many, which creates an opportunity for you to offer career document services powered by DeepSeek.
What this entails: You act as a resume writer or career coach who, with the help of AI, can quickly polish someone’s professional documents. For example, a client provides their existing resume and a target job description. You can feed parts of this into DeepSeek and prompt it to rewrite bullets to better highlight relevant skills or draft a persuasive cover letter introduction.
DeepSeek’s large knowledge base can help frame experiences in terms that hiring managers appreciate (leadership, problem-solving, impact, etc.). Of course, you’ll need to review and customize the output for accuracy and personal voice – you don’t want a generic result that looks AI-written. But DeepSeek can definitely handle the heavy lifting of phrasing and editing.
How to monetize: People do pay for quality resume help. You can charge a flat fee per document or a bundle price. For instance, $50-$150 for a resume rewrite is common, possibly more if the client is senior-level. Cover letters might add an extra $20-$50, and LinkedIn profile optimization could be another service ($100+ if standalone). Some providers bundle these into premium packages (resume + cover letter + LinkedIn) for a higher rate. Clients range from new graduates to mid-career professionals seeking a jump to a better job.
By using DeepSeek, you dramatically cut down the time needed to turn around a resume. What might take many hours of wordsmithing can be done in one or two hours, including your final tweaks. This means you can handle more clients in the same amount of time.
Just be sure to keep confidentiality and professionalism in mind – you’re dealing with personal data. Also, note that while AI can draft content, human expertise in what recruiters look for is crucial, so consider training yourself on resume best practices. If you deliver resumes that land interviews, your reputation will grow, leading to more referrals in this line of work.
8. Developing AI Chatbots and Apps for Profit
DeepSeek isn’t just a text generator, as an LLM, it can power all sorts of interactive chatbots, applications, or services. If you have some coding or app development skills (or are willing to learn the basics), you can build an AI-driven product and monetize it. Since DeepSeek’s model can be self-hosted and used freely for commercial projects, you don’t face the typical high API costs that come with proprietary models. This opens the door for indie developers and entrepreneurs to compete with bigger AI companies by offering specialized tools.
Ideas for AI apps: Think of domains where a conversational AI or content-generating AI would be valuable. Some examples:
- Customer service chatbot – Companies might prefer an on-premise chatbot for their website powered by DeepSeek (to avoid subscription fees to SaaS). You could develop and sell a chatbot solution that they can run.
- Personal tutor or coaching bot – An app that helps users learn a language, practice interview questions, or get fitness coaching through an AI chat interface.
- Creative writing assistant – a web app where authors can brainstorm plots or get past writer’s block with DeepSeek’s help, perhaps monetized via subscription.
- Entertainment or advice bots – Believe it or not, people have paid for things like AI fortune tellers! In one case, an influencer in China created a fortune-telling service using DeepSeek to generate readings, charging between 888 and 2,888 yuan (~$125-$400) per session and claiming to have made over 10,000 yuan in a short time. While that particular niche might not be for everyone, it shows the creative possibilities.
Monetization strategies: You can charge users for access to your app (one-time purchase or monthly subscription), serve ads, or offer in-app purchases for premium features. For example, a specialized DeepSeek-powered writing app could have a free tier with basic prompts and a paid tier unlocking longer prompts or priority processing.
Another route is offering custom development – e.g. a business pays you to build them a tailored AI solution (like a chatbot integrated with their internal data). Even major tech companies are integrating DeepSeek into their services, so smaller startups and clients will be looking for help doing the same on a budget.
Real-world case: Shortly after DeepSeek’s release, small vendors in China started selling locally-run versions of the model for a few dollars, appealing to users who wanted faster or offline access. This shows there’s demand for packaged, ready-to-use AI solutions. As an individual developer, if you can wrap DeepSeek’s capabilities into a user-friendly app that solves a real problem or entertains, you could tap into a wide audience. Successful apps or SaaS products can scale to thousands of users, meaning the income potential is high (think thousands of dollars per month or more if you hit on a popular idea).
9. AI Consulting and Automation Services for Businesses
Not everyone has the time or know-how to implement AI in their operations; that’s where AI consultants and automation service providers come in. If you become knowledgeable in DeepSeek’s model (and maybe LLMs in general), you can offer consulting to companies on how to deploy it for their needs.
DeepSeek’s open model allows for on-premises deployment, customization, and integration into workflows, which many businesses find attractive for privacy and cost reasons. They might just need an expert to set it up or to brainstorm use cases.
Opportunities in this area include:
- Chatbot and AI solution development: As mentioned earlier, businesses might pay for a custom chatbot. You can position yourself as a freelance consultant who builds these solutions using DeepSeek under the hood.
- Process automation: Use DeepSeek to automate tasks like report generation, data analysis (text-based), customer support email drafting, etc., in a company’s workflow. Many small/medium businesses want to use AI but don’t know where to start.
- Fine-tuning and training: You could offer to fine-tune DeepSeek on a company’s proprietary data (for example, feeding it past support tickets to make a specialized support assistant). Since you can run the model locally, this addresses data privacy concerns versus sending data to an external API.
Earning potential: Businesses typically have bigger budgets than individual clients. A single AI integration project could pay $500 to several thousand dollars, depending on complexity. Some consultants charge hourly rates (e.g. $50-$150/hour or more for AI expertise) or project-based fees. Others set up a monthly retainer if they continuously maintain and update the AI system for the client. For example, you might manage a company’s AI chatbot and charge a monthly fee to host it, fix issues, and improve it over time. If you secure a few clients like this, it becomes a stable income.
It’s worth noting that credibility and skills are important here. You should be comfortable explaining AI solutions and perhaps have some background in programming or IT to implement them. Starting with small gigs on freelance sites (like writing a simple script using DeepSeek for a client) can build your portfolio.
As you complete successful projects, you can leverage testimonials to get larger contracts. The demand is real – a lot of companies know AI could help them save money or improve customer experience, but there’s a knowledge gap. By filling that gap as a DeepSeek consultant, you essentially monetize your know-how. And since DeepSeek is free to use, you’re mostly selling your expertise and labor, which has a high margin.
10. Creating Courses or Tutorials on Using DeepSeek (Knowledge Monetization)
When a new technology blows up, teaching others how to use it can be as lucrative as using it yourself. DeepSeek’s rise in popularity means many people are searching for guides, courses, and communities to learn about it. You could create educational content – such as a video course, an e-book guide, or even a paid community – to teach skills like prompt engineering with DeepSeek, setting up the model on local hardware, or strategies (like the ones in this article) for making money with it.
Consider that in China, right after DeepSeek launched, there was an explosion of “knowledge-sharing” products around it. Some opportunists packaged generic AI how-to files and sold hundreds of copies to the curious. More legitimately, online groups and coaches sprang up: one top-tier DeepSeek community was charging an entry fee of 62 yuan and even advertising one-on-one coaching for 12,000 yuan per hour (about $1,700/hour)! While that price is extreme, it shows the perceived value of DeepSeek’s expertise. People are willing to pay to learn how to effectively use and monetize this tool.
Your approach can be more straightforward and global: for example, create a comprehensive Udemy course on “Mastering DeepSeek for Business and Profit.” You can include video lectures, demonstrations of using DeepSeek for various tasks, and downloadable cheat sheets or prompt templates. Price it reasonably (say $50, often sold at a discount) and promote it via social media or a personal blog.
If your course gains traction, you could earn thousands of dollars over time from student enrollments. Another angle is writing a step-by-step guidebook (in PDF or as a website) and selling it on platforms like Gumroad. Or you can start a YouTube channel or blog that shares free tips and builds an audience, which you then monetize via ads, sponsorships, or a premium Patreon community where you give personalized advice.
When selling knowledge, remember to provide real value – don’t just repackage what’s freely available. The most successful educators often give some free content to showcase expertise, then charge for deeper insights or direct support. With DeepSeek still relatively new, you could establish yourself as a go-to expert early on. As more people hear about this powerful open-source AI, they’ll search for guidance, and you can have the answer (for a price!). Not only can this generate income, but it also builds your personal brand in the AI space, leading to more opportunities.
Summary: Income Potential of Each Method
To wrap up, here’s a quick overview of these 10 money-making methods with DeepSeek, along with a rough rating of their income potential:
Method | Income Potential |
---|---|
Freelance Content Writing & Copywriting | Medium 💰💰 |
SEO Blogging & Affiliate Sites | High 💰💰💰 |
Video Scriptwriting for YouTubers | Medium 💰💰 |
Self-Publishing AI-Generated E-books | Medium 💰💰 |
Social Media Content Creation | Medium 💰💰 |
Email Marketing Campaigns | High 💰💰💰 |
Resume and Career Services | Low 💰 |
Developing AI Chatbots/Apps | High 💰💰💰 |
AI Consulting & Automation | High 💰💰💰 |
Courses and Tutorials (DeepSeek Training) | Medium 💰💰 |
Key: Low 💰 = modest side income (e.g. a few hundred dollars a month). Medium 💰💰 = solid part-time income or growing full-time income (hundreds to low thousands per month). High 💰💰💰 = high earning potential (could scale to many thousands per month, depending on success). Individual results will vary, but generally methods involving B2B clients or scalable products have higher upside, whereas one-off freelance gigs or smaller tasks yield in the lower range.
Conclusion
DeepSeek has truly lowered the barrier to entry for making money with AI. With its open-source model and strong performance, you don’t need millions of dollars or a PhD in AI to create value – you can start with just a computer and an idea. We’ve covered a spectrum of ways to monetize DeepSeek, from creative endeavors like writing and video production to technical services like chatbot development and AI consulting. The common thread is that DeepSeek can turbocharge your productivity and capabilities in each of these areas.
As with any venture, success won’t happen overnight. Earning money with DeepSeek (or any tool) requires effort, consistency, and a focus on quality. For example, if you’re using it to generate content, the content still needs to truly help or entertain people. If you’re building an app, it needs to solve a real problem or deliver a unique experience. The good news is that early adopters of new tech often have an advantage – and DeepSeek’s popularity is only rising. In the first weeks of its release, it caused such a stir that even tech apt. That momentum means opportunities for individuals are abundant, as illustrated by the many entrepreneurs already earning income with DeepSeek.
In summary, DeepSeek is more than just an AI model; it’s a platform for your next side hustle or startup. Whether you choose one of the methods above or combine a few, the key is to start experimenting and offering value. Keep learning from each project and stay updated as DeepSeek evolves (new versions or tools around it could open even more doors).