SambaNova Cloud vs Together AI: Token Pricing, Speed & Intelligence
Full comparison of SambaNova Cloud and Together AI — live token pricing, latency, throughput, context window, strengths, weaknesses, and best use cases. Rates sourced from public APIs — verify before use.
SambaNova Cloud
High-throughput inference on SambaNova RDU chips — gpt-oss-120b, GLM-5.3, Llama
SambaNova Cloud runs inference on SambaNova's proprietary Reconfigurable Dataflow Unit (RDU) chips, delivering very high throughput (800+ tokens/sec on gpt-oss-120b). The catalog covers gpt-oss-120b, GLM-5.3, MiniMax-M3, DeepSeek-V3.2, Meta-Llama-3.3-70B, and Gemma 4 31B. Pricing is PAYG with prompt caching on select models.
Together AI
MiniMax M3, Kimi K3, GLM-5.3, DeepSeek V4 Pro, gpt-oss-120B — plus GB200/B200 GPU clusters
Together AI offers hosted inference for open-weight models, GPU clusters, provisioned throughput and fine-tuning. Compare listed rates and check the provider for current models, availability and terms.
Key metric comparison
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Live token pricing
Strengths and weaknesses
SambaNova Cloud
Together AI
Key differentiators
Proprietary RDU chips deliver industry-leading throughput on open-weight models at competitive per-token rates.
An open-weight model catalog — MiniMax M3, Kimi K3, GLM-5.3, DeepSeek V4 Pro, gpt-oss-120B — with GPU clusters (GB200/B200), Provisioned Throughput, and a Serverless Training API.
Frequently asked questions
SambaNova Cloud FAQs
What makes SambaNova Cloud different?
SambaNova runs inference on its own Reconfigurable Dataflow Unit (RDU) chips rather than NVIDIA GPUs. This delivers very high throughput — over 800 tokens/sec on gpt-oss-120b — at competitive per-token rates.
What models does SambaNova Cloud offer?
As of October 2026: gpt-oss-120b ($0.22/$0.59), GLM-5.3 ($1.40/$4.40, cached $0.14), MiniMax-M3 ($0.60/$2.40, cached $0.06), DeepSeek-V3.2 ($3.00/$4.50), Meta-Llama-3.3-70B ($0.60/$1.20), and Gemma 4 31B ($0.38/$1.15). See cloud.sambanova.ai/plans/pricing for current rates.
Does SambaNova offer prompt caching?
Yes, on GLM-5.3 (cached input $0.14/1M vs $1.40/1M standard) and MiniMax-M3 (cached input $0.06/1M vs $0.60/1M standard).
Together AI FAQs
What new models did Together AI add in 2026?
Together AI expanded its catalog with MiniMax M3, Kimi K3, GLM-5.3, DeepSeek V4 Pro 0813, gpt-oss-120B, Muse Glimmer 30B, and the full Qwen3.x family. Check api.together.ai/models for current pricing.
How much does Together AI cost?
Together AI uses per-token pricing across its model catalog. Check api.together.ai/models for current rates on MiniMax M3, DeepSeek V4 Pro, GLM-5.3, Llama 3.3 70B, and other models.
Does Together AI offer GPU compute?
Yes. Together AI offers GPU clusters with H100, H200, B200, and GB200/GB300 NVL72 (contact sales). Check together.ai/pricing for current GPU compute rates.
Provider resources
SambaNova Cloud — High-throughput inference on SambaNova RDU chips — gpt-oss-120b, GLM-5.3, Llama
SambaNova Cloud runs inference on SambaNova's proprietary Reconfigurable Dataflow Unit (RDU) chips, delivering very high throughput (800+ tokens/sec on gpt-oss-120b). The catalog covers gpt-oss-120b, GLM-5.3, MiniMax-M3, DeepSeek-V3.2, Meta-Llama-3.3-70B, and Gemma 4 31B. Pricing is PAYG with prompt caching on select models.
Proprietary RDU chips deliver industry-leading throughput on open-weight models at competitive per-token rates.
Together AI — MiniMax M3, Kimi K3, GLM-5.3, DeepSeek V4 Pro, gpt-oss-120B — plus GB200/B200 GPU clusters
Together AI offers hosted inference for open-weight models, GPU clusters, provisioned throughput and fine-tuning. Compare listed rates and check the provider for current models, availability and terms.
An open-weight model catalog — MiniMax M3, Kimi K3, GLM-5.3, DeepSeek V4 Pro, gpt-oss-120B — with GPU clusters (GB200/B200), Provisioned Throughput, and a Serverless Training API.
Key strengths compared
SambaNova Cloud
- Proprietary RDU chips deliver very high throughput — 800+ tokens/sec on gpt-oss-120b
- Competitive pricing on gpt-oss-120b ($0.22/$0.59 per 1M)
- Prompt caching on GLM-5.3 (cached input at $0.14/1M)
- Smaller model catalog vs OpenRouter or Together AI
- No proprietary frontier models — inference-only platform
Together AI
- Open-model catalog — MiniMax M3, Kimi K3, GLM-5.3, DeepSeek V4 Pro, gpt-oss-120B, Qwen3.x, Llama 4
- GB200/B200/H200/H100 GPU clusters with preemptible and reserved pricing
- Provisioned Throughput (PTUs) for SLA-backed capacity
- No proprietary frontier models
- Throughput lower than Groq/Cerebras for speed-critical apps
Key weaknesses compared
SambaNova Cloud
- Smaller model catalog vs OpenRouter or Together AI
- No proprietary frontier models — inference-only platform
- RDU architecture may behave differently from GPU inference for some workloads
Together AI
- No proprietary frontier models
- Throughput lower than Groq/Cerebras for speed-critical apps
- Fine-tuning adds complexity vs. pure inference providers
Provider category context
SambaNova Cloud is a inference api, founded in 2017. Together AI is a inference api, founded in 2022. 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 SambaNova Cloud and Together 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.