Deep Infra vs Lepton AI: Token Pricing, Speed & Intelligence
Full comparison of Deep Infra and Lepton AI — live token pricing, latency, throughput, context window, strengths, weaknesses, and best use cases. Updated July 2026.
Deep Infra
The cheapest inference API for open-weight models — Llama, Mistral, and more
Deep Infra is an inference-focused API provider specialising in open-weight models at extremely competitive prices. Consistently among the cheapest providers for Llama 3, Mistral, and DeepSeek models, making it the go-to choice for cost-sensitive production inference.
Lepton AI
Serverless LLM inference with a developer-first API
Lepton AI offers serverless inference for popular open-weight models with a clean developer experience. Their platform supports Llama 3.3 and other leading open-source models with competitive per-token pricing and low-latency endpoints. A good choice for developers who want simple, scalable inference without infrastructure management.
Key metrics
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Live token pricing
Strengths & weaknesses
Deep Infra
Lepton AI
Key differentiators
The most price-competitive inference API for open-weight models — often 30–50% cheaper than comparable providers for the same Llama or Mistral model.
The simplest serverless inference API for open-weight models — minimal setup, auto-scaling, and a clean developer experience.
Frequently asked questions
Deep Infra FAQs
How cheap is Deep Infra compared to other providers?
Deep Infra is consistently among the cheapest providers for open-weight models. For example, Llama 3.1 8B is available at $0.02–0.05/1M tokens, and Llama 3.3 70B at around $0.10/1M tokens — often 30–50% below comparable providers.
What models does Deep Infra support?
Deep Infra hosts a wide range of open-weight models including the full Llama 3.x family, Mistral, Mixtral, DeepSeek V3 and R1, Qwen, and many others. The catalog is updated frequently as new models are released.
Is Deep Infra OpenAI-compatible?
Yes. Deep Infra provides an OpenAI-compatible API, so you can use the OpenAI SDK by pointing it at the Deep Infra endpoint. This makes migration straightforward.
Lepton AI FAQs
What models does Lepton AI support?
Lepton AI hosts Llama 3.3 70B and other popular open-weight models. Their catalog is focused on the most widely-used models rather than breadth.
How does Lepton AI pricing compare to competitors?
Lepton AI offers competitive pricing on Llama 3.3 70B, comparable to Together AI and Fireworks AI. Check their pricing page for current rates.
Is Lepton AI good for production workloads?
Lepton AI is suitable for production workloads with auto-scaling and serverless infrastructure. For very high-volume or latency-critical production use cases, Groq or Cerebras may offer better performance.
Provider resources
Deep Infra — The cheapest inference API for open-weight models — Llama, Mistral, and more
Deep Infra is an inference-focused API provider specialising in open-weight models at extremely competitive prices. Consistently among the cheapest providers for Llama 3, Mistral, and DeepSeek models, making it the go-to choice for cost-sensitive production inference.
The most price-competitive inference API for open-weight models — often 30–50% cheaper than comparable providers for the same Llama or Mistral model.
Lepton AI — Serverless LLM inference with a developer-first API
Lepton AI offers serverless inference for popular open-weight models with a clean developer experience. Their platform supports Llama 3.3 and other leading open-source models with competitive per-token pricing and low-latency endpoints. A good choice for developers who want simple, scalable inference without infrastructure management.
The simplest serverless inference API for open-weight models — minimal setup, auto-scaling, and a clean developer experience.
Key strengths compared
Deep Infra
- ▸Consistently lowest prices for open-weight models
- ▸Wide model catalog including Llama, Mistral, DeepSeek
- ▸OpenAI-compatible API
Lepton AI
- ▸Clean developer experience with minimal setup
- ▸Serverless — no infrastructure management
- ▸Competitive pricing on Llama 3.3 models
Provider category context
Deep Infra is a inference api, founded in 2023. Lepton AI is a inference api, founded in 2023. Both are inference api providers — the comparison is primarily about pricing, model selection, and feature differentiation within the same tier.
How to choose between them
Both Deep Infra and Lepton AI host open-weight models. The key differentiators are latency, throughput, and which specific model versions each provider offers. Check the speed metrics above — inference API providers often differ significantly on tokens-per-second for the same model. Pricing is typically competitive between them; availability of specific model versions (e.g., Llama 3.1 405B, DeepSeek V3) may be the deciding factor.