SambaNova review: an AI inference provider for enterprise and on-premises deployments
Answer in brief: SambaNova Cloud ranks #7 among the best AI inference providers. It is our pick for enterprises that may want inference inside their own firewall. It offers a pay-as-you-go cloud API (gpt-oss-120b at $0.22 / $0.59 per 1M tokens) alongside its SN40 and SN50 systems for on-premises deployment. In July 2026 it announced that JPMorganChase selected those systems for secure on-premises inference. The public price list is short, at four models.
Independent research, checked 2026-11-09 against SambaNova Cloud's pricing and plans pages and SambaNova announcements. We did not test the product hands-on.
From cloud API to inside your firewall
SambaNova builds its own AI systems and sells inference two ways: SambaNova Cloud, a self-serve API with Free, Developer and Enterprise plans, and systems deployed on premises. The second path is what sets it apart. On July 8, 2026, SambaNova said JPMorganChase had selected it as an inference infrastructure partner and was deploying SN40 and SN50 systems for secure, on-premises AI inference. By October 23, 2026, SambaNova described its racks as running inference inside JPMorganChase's firewall.
Who SambaNova fits best
SambaNova fits regulated enterprises evaluating on-premises or bring-your-own-cloud inference, and developers who want a straightforward pay-as-you-go API for a handful of popular open models.
Why teams pick SambaNova
- On-premises credibility: a named, announced JPMorganChase deployment.
- Well-capitalized: on July 8, 2026 SambaNova announced the first close of a $1B Series F at an $11B post-money valuation.
- Simple token pricing: gpt-oss-120b $0.22 / $0.59; Llama 3.3 70B $0.60 / $1.20; gemma-4-31B-it $0.38 / $1.15; MiniMax-M3.1-Flash $0.30 ($0.03 cached) / $1.20 per 1M tokens.
- Enterprise add-ons: production rate limits, on-request models, advanced features such as BYOC, and custom rate limits.
- Developer plan access to all Production and Preview models, pay-as-you-go.
The honest drawbacks
- Short public price list: four models.
- The Free plan is not free usage: SambaNova says to add a payment method and purchase credits to run your first requests.
- Production rate limits are Enterprise-only; Developer gets standard rate limits and community support.
- Enterprise uses subscription pricing that is not published.
Pricing at a glance
| Model | Input / output per 1M tokens |
|---|---|
| gpt-oss-120b | $0.22 / $0.59 |
| Meta-Llama-3.3-70B-Instruct | $0.60 / $1.20 |
| gemma-4-31B-it | $0.38 / $1.15 |
| MiniMax-M3.1-Flash | $0.30 ($0.03 cached) / $1.20 |
| Enterprise | Subscription, contact sales |
Best SambaNova alternatives
- Cerebras: custom wafer-scale hardware with the highest vendor-listed speeds.
- Groq: LPU-based cloud inference with cheaper self-serve gpt-oss pricing.
- Nebius Token Factory: dedicated endpoints in EU or US regions with a 99.9% SLA.
SambaNova FAQ
Does SambaNova have a free tier?
Its Free plan gives access to Production models, but SambaNova says you add a payment method and purchase credits to run requests.
Can SambaNova run on premises?
Yes. SambaNova sells SN40 and SN50 systems for on-premises inference, and announced JPMorganChase as a customer in July 2026.
How much is gpt-oss-120b on SambaNova?
$0.22 per 1M input tokens and $0.59 per 1M output tokens, as published on 2026-11-09.
Sources
- SambaNova Cloud pricing
- SambaNova Cloud plans
- SambaNova first close of $1B Series F (July 8, 2026)
- Inference is moving inside the firewall (October 23, 2026)
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