Is DeepSeek already down? ChatGPT rival and App Store king struggling to cope with demand

(Image credit: Future)

DeepSeek is now the most popular free app in the US and UK Stores
But the ChatGPT rival appears to be struggling to cope with demand
The Chinese start-up is experiencing server outages and login issues

DeepSeek is the most popular app in the world right now and the AI chatbot might be struggling to meet demand.

The new ChatGPT competitor created by a Chinese start-up is experiencing service outages and the company's status page claims it is investigating possible causes.

The AI chatbot has gained worldwide acclaim over the last week or so for its incredible reasoning model that's completely free and on par with OpenAI's o1 model. According to the company's status page, there's an issue that is preventing users from signing up and accessing DeepSeek and its DeepThink R1 AI model.

While I've not experienced any issues with the app or website on my iPhone, I did encounter issues on my Pixel 8a when writing a DeepSeek vs ChatGPT comparison earlier today. It appears that creating new accounts is causing DeepSeek issues, often showing errors when a user attempts to send a prompt.

The latest incident appears to be resolved as of 9:32pm Chinese local time (8.32am ET / 1.32pm GMT). But considering the huge influx of users, there could be further issues throughout Monday and the rest of the week.

Teething issues

DeepSeek vs ChatGPT — (Image credit: Future)

DeepSeek has taken the world by storm by offering an AI chatbot that's as good, if not better, than OpenAI's class-leading ChatGPT.

While that's excellent for people looking to get their hands on a free AI with immense capability, it could lead to issues and outages more frequently as the servers struggle to cope with demand.

We'll be monitoring this outage and potential future ones closely, so stay tuned to TechRadar for all your DeepSeek news.

John-Anthony Disotto is TechRadar's Senior Writer, AI, bringing you the latest news on, and comprehensive coverage of, tech's biggest buzzword. An expert on all things Apple, he was previously iMore's How To Editor, and has a monthly column in MacFormat. He's based in Edinburgh, Scotland, where he worked for Apple as a technician focused on iOS and iPhone repairs at the Genius Bar. John-Anthony has used the Apple ecosystem for over a decade, and is an award-winning journalist with years of experience in editorial.