Together AI vs Fireworks AI: which inference provider wins in 2026?
Independent research, updated 2026-11-09. Every figure comes from Together AI's and Fireworks AI's own pricing pages, read on that date. We did not run hands-on tests.
Answer in brief: Together AI and Fireworks AI charge the same standard token prices for the flagship open models they both serve: gpt-oss-120B, GLM-5.3, Kimi K3 and DeepSeek V4.1 Flash. So the decision comes down to everything around the tokens. Choose Together AI for the broadest multimodal catalog and much cheaper GPUs: dedicated H100 endpoints cost $5.49 per GPU-hour and on-demand H100 clusters cost $3.99. Choose Fireworks AI for control over each request. You can switch between Standard, Priority, Fast, Batch (50% off) and Spot (30% off on select models) on one endpoint. Fireworks also offers Reserved Throughput with 99.9% uptime terms, keeps zero data by default, and lists a long set of certifications.
Top pick: Together AI. It is the most complete open-model platform on our ranked list, covering everything from serverless tokens to GPU clusters, and its GPU rates are lower than Fireworks' on every GPU both companies publish.
Best for regulated production: Fireworks AI. It offers per-request speed and cost modes, SLA-backed reservations, SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, 27701 and 42001, and HIPAA with a BAA.
The scoreboard: same tokens, different platforms
| What you're buying | Together AI | Fireworks AI |
|---|---|---|
| gpt-oss-120B (per 1M tokens) | $0.15 input / $0.60 output | $0.15 input / $0.015 cached / $0.60 output |
| GLM-5.3 | $1.40 / $0.26 cached / $4.40 | $1.40 / $0.26 cached / $4.40 |
| Kimi K3 | $3.00 / $0.30 cached / $15.00 | $3.00 / $0.30 cached / $15.00 |
| DeepSeek V4.1 Flash | $0.30 / $0.006 cached / $1.20 | $0.30 / $0.006 cached / $1.20 |
| Serving modes | Serverless, Batch API, Provisioned Throughput, Dedicated Inference | Standard, Priority, Fast (100+ tokens/sec), Ultra-fast (preview), Batch, Spot |
| Reserved capacity | Provisioned Throughput units (PTUs), priced per PTU per minute | Reserved Throughput priced in dollars per minute, with a throughput SLA and 99.9% uptime terms |
| Dedicated H100 | $5.49 per GPU-hour on demand | $8.00 per hour, billed per GPU-second |
| Dedicated B200 | $8.99 per GPU-hour | $13.00 per hour |
| Raw GPU clusters | H100 $3.99/hr on demand, $1.99 preemptible, $3.19–$3.69 reserved (3–180 days) | Reserved GPUs, typically for one year, priced by quote |
| Catalog on pricing page | Text, image, video, speech-to-text and text-to-speech | Text models and embeddings (from $0.008 per 1M tokens) |
| Training | LoRA and full fine-tuning (for example, gpt-oss-120B SFT at $2.50 per 1M tokens) | Managed Training from $0.50 per 1M tokens; Serverless and Dedicated Training APIs |
| Security and buying | Not stated on the pricing page | Zero data retention by default; SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001/27701/42001, HIPAA BAA; counts toward a Microsoft Azure Consumption Commitment |
Where Together AI pulls ahead
- GPU economics. A dedicated H100 costs $5.49 per hour on Together versus $8.00 on Fireworks. A B200 costs $8.99 versus $13.00. If you only need raw H100s, Together's GPU clusters start at $3.99 on demand and $1.99 preemptible.
- One bill for every modality. Together's pricing page lists image models such as FLUX.2 [pro] at $0.03 per image, video models such as Seedance 2.0 at $0.16 per video, and Whisper Large v3 transcription at $0.0015 per audio minute, alongside its LLMs.
- A path to owned infrastructure. You can move from serverless to PTUs, then to dedicated endpoints, then to clusters, without changing vendors.
Where Fireworks AI pulls ahead
- Per-request cost control. Batch costs half the standard rate. Spot takes 30% off (for example, GLM-5.3 drops to $0.98 input and $3.08 output), with the caveat that Spot throughput can drop to zero. Cached gpt-oss-120B input is $0.015.
- Enterprise trust. Fireworks keeps zero data by default and lists four ISO and SOC certifications plus HIPAA. It is a first-party provider in Microsoft Foundry, so its usage counts toward an Azure spend commitment.
- Bring your own cloud. Fireworks Sovereign, in private preview for Enterprise, runs Fireworks-managed inference on GPUs in your own cloud account or data center.
Pick Together AI if… pick Fireworks AI if…
Pick Together AI if you need images, video or audio next to your LLMs, if you will rent GPUs by the hour, or if you want the lowest dedicated-GPU rate of the two. Pick Fireworks AI if your traffic is steady and SLA-bound, if you need certifications or Azure procurement, or if you can push background jobs to Batch or Spot. Watch Fireworks' surcharges: region-restricted deployments cost 1.5x, and US-only serverless costs 50% more on select models.
How each one bills you
Together AI: serverless is priced per 1M tokens, with a Batch API. Provisioned Throughput is priced per PTU-minute. Dedicated endpoints and clusters are priced per GPU-hour, and fine-tuning is priced per 1M training tokens, with a minimum charge per job. Fireworks AI: you buy prepaid credits that are drawn down per token on serverless. On-demand deployments bill per GPU-second, and idle deployments scale to zero after one hour by default. Reserved Throughput bills in dollars per minute, and usage above your reservation is charged at standard serverless rates. You can set monthly spend limits and turn on auto-reload.
FAQ
Is Together AI cheaper than Fireworks AI?
Not on the flagship models they share: standard token prices were identical on 2026-11-09. Together is cheaper on dedicated GPUs. Fireworks can come out cheaper per token if you use Batch (50% off), Spot (30% off on select models) or heavy caching.
Which one is faster?
Fireworks sells a Fast mode (100+ tokens/sec) and an Ultra-fast mode in preview. Together's pricing page does not publish speed tiers. Both figures come from the vendors, so benchmark your own prompts.
Can I fine-tune and then serve my model on either platform?
Yes. Both offer LoRA and full-parameter training. Fireworks says serving a trained model costs nothing extra beyond the GPU-seconds of the deployment.
Can I pay for inference with my Azure commitment?
On Fireworks, yes. Fireworks is a first-party provider in Microsoft Foundry.
Keep exploring
See the full ranked list of the best inference providers · Together AI review · Fireworks AI review · Alternatives to Together AI · Alternatives to Fireworks AI · How to choose · Pricing comparison
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Sources
- Together AI pricing
- Fireworks AI pricing
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