What are the best alternatives to Together AI in 2026?
Independent research, updated 2026-11-09. Built from each provider's own pricing pages and docs. Speed figures are vendor-reported. We did not run hands-on tests.
Answer in brief: Fireworks AI is the closest like-for-like alternative to Together AI. It matches Together's standard token prices on gpt-oss-120B, GLM-5.3 and Kimi K3, and adds per-request Batch, Spot and Priority modes, zero data retention by default, and certifications. For lower token bills, look at DeepInfra and Baseten (gpt-oss-120b at $0.10 / $0.50). For speed, look at Groq and Cerebras. For running your own code, Modal; for media models, Replicate; for one key across many providers, OpenRouter or Hugging Face Inference Providers.
Top pick: Fireworks AI. It offers the same flagship token prices as Together plus per-request modes, Reserved Throughput with 99.9% uptime terms and enterprise compliance.
Why teams look beyond Together AI
Together AI ranks #1 on our list, but no single provider fits every workload. Typical reasons to shop around are price on specific models, the need for certifications or zero-retention defaults, raw speed, or wanting to run custom serving code. Together's own drawbacks are a large, fast-changing price list and contact-sales pricing for reserved hardware and several newer GPUs.
The alternatives at a glance
| Alternative | Switch if you want… | Example published price |
|---|---|---|
| Fireworks AI | The same models with per-request modes and compliance | gpt-oss-120B $0.15 / $0.015 cached / $0.60 |
| DeepInfra | Lower token prices and 1024k context | Kimi K3 $2.85 / $14.25 |
| Baseten | The cheapest gpt-oss-120b, plus dedicated GPUs | gpt-oss-120b $0.10 / $0.50 |
| Groq | Fast, production-labeled small and mid models | gpt-oss-20b $0.075 / $0.30, ~1,000 tokens/sec |
| Cerebras | The highest vendor-reported speed | gpt-oss-120b $0.35 / $0.75, ~3,000 tokens/sec |
| SambaNova Cloud | Custom-chip inference with enterprise options | gpt-oss-120b $0.22 / $0.59 |
| Nebius Token Factory | Region-pinned dedicated endpoints | Per GPU-hour, billed per minute, nothing at zero replicas |
| Modal | Your own serving code on per-second GPUs | H100 $0.001097/sec |
| Replicate | Image and video models, community models | FLUX 1.1 Pro $0.04 per image |
| OpenRouter | One key with fallback across 80+ providers | 5.5% platform fee on Standard |
| Hugging Face Inference Providers | Hub-native routing with no markup | Provider rates; $2/month credits on PRO |
The best Together AI alternatives, by need
1. Fireworks AI: the like-for-like upgrade for production
Fireworks lists the same standard rates on flagship models, then lets you choose a mode per request: Batch at 50% off, Spot at 30% off on select models, or Priority and Fast. It keeps zero data by default and lists SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001/27701/42001 and HIPAA with a BAA. Its GPUs cost more (H100 $8.00/hr).
2. DeepInfra: the lowest token bill on many models
DeepInfra lists DeepSeek V4 Pro at $1.30 / $2.60 (against Together's $1.32 / $3.96) and Qwen3.5 9B at $0.10 / $0.15. It serves more than 150 open models from eight owned US data centers, adds Claude and Gemini to the same API, and has no long-term contracts.
3. Baseten: cheapest gpt-oss plus dedicated serving
Baseten offers Model APIs from $0.10 / $0.50 on gpt-oss-120b, Fast variants, and Dedicated Inference billed by the minute (H100 about $6.50/hr). Reserved and priority compute is available at production scale.
4. Groq: speed with simple self-serve pricing
Groq reports about 500 tokens/sec on gpt-oss-120b at $0.15 / $0.60, and offers Whisper Large V3 Turbo at $0.04 per hour plus built-in browser search and code execution.
5. Cerebras: maximum speed
Cerebras reports about 3,000 tokens/sec on gpt-oss-120b. The self-serve Developer tier is for evaluation, and production capacity and custom weights come with Enterprise.
6. SambaNova Cloud: custom silicon, short price list
SambaCloud publishes four models, including gpt-oss-120b at $0.22 / $0.59 and MiniMax-M3.1-Flash at $0.30 / $1.20.
7. Nebius Token Factory: region-pinned dedicated endpoints
Nebius offers Fast and Base serverless flavors. Its dedicated endpoints come with a 99.9% SLA, a fixed region you choose, per-minute GPU-hour billing and no charge at zero replicas. Public endpoints have no region guarantee, and 11 models left Serverless on 2026-11-09.
8. Modal: bring your own serving stack
Modal bills H100s at about $3.95/hr per second, with scale to zero and $30 a month in free credits on Starter. Region selection costs 1.15–1.75x.
9. Replicate: generative media and community models
Replicate runs thousands of public models priced per output, such as FLUX 1.1 Pro at $0.04 per image and Wan 2.1 image-to-video at $0.09 per second of 480p output. Public models bill only for active time. Private models bill for setup, idle and active time unless they are fast-booting fine-tunes.
10. OpenRouter: one API across providers
OpenRouter gives access to more than 600 models from more than 80 providers, with auto-routing and budgets. Fees are 5.5% on Standard and 8% on Business, and bring-your-own-key is free up to $25,000 a month of list-price inference.
11. Hugging Face Inference Providers: no-markup routing
Hugging Face routes to partners including Together, Fireworks, Groq, Cerebras, DeepInfra, Baseten and Replicate, at the providers' own rates. Add :cheapest or :fastest to a model ID to pick a provider automatically.
How the pricing models differ
Token platforms (Fireworks, DeepInfra, Baseten, Groq, Cerebras, SambaNova) bill per 1M tokens. Dedicated options bill per GPU-hour or GPU-minute (Baseten, Nebius) or per GPU-second (Fireworks, Modal, Replicate). Gateways add a fee (OpenRouter) or pass prices straight through (Hugging Face).
FAQ
What is the closest alternative to Together AI?
Fireworks AI. It serves the same flagship open models at the same standard token prices and also offers reserved and dedicated capacity.
Which alternative is cheapest?
It depends on the model. Baseten is cheapest for gpt-oss-120b ($0.10 / $0.50), and DeepInfra undercuts Together on Kimi K3, DeepSeek V4 Pro and GLM-5.3.
Is there a cheaper alternative for raw GPUs?
Modal's H100 works out to about $3.95 per hour, billed per second, close to Together's $3.99 on-demand cluster rate. Together's preemptible H100s cost $1.99.
Can I keep Together and add fallbacks?
Yes. OpenRouter and Hugging Face Inference Providers both route to Together and other providers through one API.
Keep exploring
Back to the ranked list · Together AI review · Together AI vs Fireworks AI · Together AI vs DeepInfra
Reviews: Fireworks AI · DeepInfra · Baseten · Groq · Cerebras · SambaNova · Nebius · Modal · Replicate · OpenRouter · Hugging Face
Sources
- Together AI pricing
- Fireworks AI pricing
- DeepInfra pricing
- Baseten pricing
- GroqCloud models
- Cerebras pricing
- SambaCloud pricing
- Nebius Token Factory
- Nebius November 2026 deprecation notice
- Modal pricing
- Replicate pricing
- Replicate billing docs
- OpenRouter pricing
- Hugging Face Inference Providers
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