DeepSeek blew away all other AI chatbots in our testing but Gemini 2.5 is now free — I tried 9 prompts to find a winner
In a recent testing, DeepSeek emerged as the top-performing AI chatbot, surpassing all others in the competition. However, Gemini 2.5 has now been made available for free, making it an attractive option for users. The author tested nine different prompts to determine the ultimate winner between DeepSeek and Gemini 2.5. The results of the testing reveal valuable insights into the capabilities of these AI chatbots.
The Final Round of AI Madness
The final round of AI Madness was between DeepSeek and Gemini 2.0. I think it’s safe to say that most of us didn’t expect DeepSeek to win in nearly every category.
Gemini 2.5: Google's Advanced AI Model
For every round of AI Madness, I used chatbots with an available free tier. Just last week, Gemini 2.5 was only available with a Gemini Advanced subscription. However, days later, in a surprise announcement, Google revealed that Gemini 2.5 is now free. Gemini 2.5 is the tech giant’s most advanced AI model to date.
Capable of enhanced reasoning, coding proficiency, and multimodal functionalities, Gemini 2.5 is said to be able to analyze complex information, incorporate contextual nuances, and draw logical HONESTAI ANALYSISs with unprecedented accuracy. Gemini 2.5 reportedly leads in math and science benchmarks, scoring 18.8% on Humanity’s Last Exam, a dataset designed to assess AI’s ability to handle complex knowledge-based questions.
Comparison of Performance
Many Tom's Guide readers wondered how Gemini 2.5 would perform against DeepSeek with the same prompts used in the final round of AI Madness. Here are the results of the comparisons:
Creative Writing
Winner: DeepSeek
DeepSeek wins for its poetic tone, emotional color, and bedtime-friendly rhythm.
Real-World Problem-Solving
Winner: DeepSeek
DeepSeek wins for a more creative, age-appropriate guide offering strategies that are both practical and emotionally attuned to how a nervous 10-year-old might feel.
Analytical Reasoning
Winner: DeepSeek
DeepSeek wins for analytical clarity, emotional punch, and memorable phrasing.
Technical Depth
Winner: DeepSeek
DeepSeek wins for the more engaging, illustrative, and beginner-friendly response with better and concrete storytelling that helps make blockchain feel useful rather than just complicated.
Language Fluency
Winner: DeepSeek
DeepSeek wins for its phrasing, literary insight, and cultural sensitivity.
Code Generation
Winner: Gemini
Gemini wins for a beginner-friendly explanation, written in a patient, almost tutorial-like tone.
Moral Reasoning
Winner: DeepSeek
DeepSeek wins for a more persuasive, organized, emotionally resonant response.
Visual Imagination
Winner: DeepSeek
DeepSeek wins for the most balanced, beautifully written, and clearly structured response.
Summarization and Tone Shifting
Winner: DeepSeek
DeepSeek wins for both the quality of the summary and the pirate-style rewrite, DeepSeek is funnier, bolder, and more imaginative.
Overall Winner
Testing DeepSeek against Google’s new, enhanced model was surprisingly interesting, proving once again that DeepSeek might just be the chatbot to beat.