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Anthropic vs Cerebras
Cerebras runs open models near 3,000 tokens per second on a wafer-scale chip; Anthropic runs closed Claude models that think slowly and code well. One sells generation speed, the other sells judgment.
By The Subconscious Team · Updated
Anthropic vs Cerebras: key differences
Cerebras is the fastest public host on the models it serves, with GPT-OSS 120B listed near 3,000 tokens per second at $0.35 in and $0.75 out. The shared catalog is thin, just GPT-OSS 120B and Qwen 3.8 27B, so most other models mean a dedicated endpoint or a sales conversation. Anthropic has the opposite shape: a full closed lineup from Haiku 5.5 to Fable 5.1, top coding results, and 1M context, but Fable's constant thinking makes it the slowest option Anthropic sells.
Raw speed does little when an agent mostly waits on tools or hidden reasoning, which describes many Claude coding runs. Where generation itself is the wait, as in voice, live code autocomplete or streaming UIs, Cerebras is hard to beat. For long agent tasks judged on correctness, Claude is the stronger pick. Teams wanting both closed-model quality and wafer speed can watch OpenAI's Ultrafast GPT-5.6 Sol preview on Cerebras, but that path does not include Claude.
What Anthropic and Cerebras do
Anthropic
Anthropic sells the Claude family of closed models through its own API, Amazon Bedrock, Google Vertex AI and Microsoft Foundry. The public lineup today runs from Claude Fable 5.1 at the top, released September 1, 2026, through Opus 5.5 ($4 in, $20 out) and Sonnet 5.5 ($2 in, $10 out) down to Haiku 5.5. List prices span a hundredfold range, from $10 in and $50 out on Fable to $0.10 in and $0.50 out on Haiku. All four tiers have a 1M token context window. The top three bill it at standard pricing, while Haiku 5.5 charges more past 100K.
Example models: Claude Fable 5.1, Claude Opus 5.5, Claude Haiku 5.5
Full Anthropic profileCerebras
Cerebras builds a single chip the size of a silicon wafer, and its inference cloud is the fastest public host on the models it serves. Its developer table lists GPT-OSS 120B near 3,000 tokens per second, about six times Groq on the same weights, at $0.35 in and $0.75 out per million. The public shared catalog is thin, just GPT-OSS 120B and Qwen 3.8 27B since Gemma 4 31B moved to dedicated-only in September 2026. More model families live on dedicated endpoints and through partners like OpenRouter, Hugging Face, Vercel and AWS Marketplace.
Example models: GPT-OSS 120B, Qwen 3.8 27B
Full Cerebras profileShould you choose Anthropic or Cerebras?
Anthropic
Choose Anthropic for
- Agent runs dominated by reasoning and tool calls, not token output
- Coding quality on closed frontier models
- Contexts past what open models on Cerebras support
Cerebras
Choose Cerebras for
- Streaming UIs and autocomplete where output speed is the bottleneck
- Long outputs on GPT-OSS 120B at low per-token cost
- Voice products that need near-instant generation
Anthropic vs Cerebras at a glance
| Attribute | Anthropic | Cerebras |
|---|---|---|
| Model access | Closed | Open weights |
| Flagship models | Claude Fable 5.1, Opus 5.5, Sonnet 5.5, Haiku 5.5 | GPT-OSS 120B, Qwen 3.8 27B |
| Speed | Fable is the slowest tier | ~3,000 tok/s on GPT-OSS 120B |
| Price | $0.10–$10 in, $0.50–$50 out per 1M | $0.35 in, $0.75 out (GPT-OSS 120B) |
| Customization | N/A | Unknown |
| Deployment | API, Bedrock, Vertex AI, Microsoft Foundry | Shared API, dedicated, partners |
| Long context | 1M; Haiku 5.5 costs more past 100K | 131K on GPT-OSS 120B, 128K on Qwen 3.8 27B |
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Anthropic and Cerebras?
Cerebras runs open models near 3,000 tokens per second on a wafer-scale chip; Anthropic runs closed Claude models that think slowly and code well. One sells generation speed, the other sells judgment.
When should I choose Anthropic over Cerebras?
Agent runs dominated by reasoning and tool calls, not token output; Coding quality on closed frontier models; Contexts past what open models on Cerebras support.
When should I choose Cerebras over Anthropic?
Streaming UIs and autocomplete where output speed is the bottleneck; Long outputs on GPT-OSS 120B at low per-token cost; Voice products that need near-instant generation.
Is Anthropic or Cerebras cheaper?
Anthropic: $0.10–$10 in, $0.50–$50 out per 1M. Cerebras: $0.35 in, $0.75 out (GPT-OSS 120B). The cheaper choice depends on the model and workload.
Which has more context, Anthropic or Cerebras?
Anthropic: 1M; Haiku 5.5 costs more past 100K. Cerebras: 131K on GPT-OSS 120B, 128K on Qwen 3.8 27B.
Related comparisons
Running long-horizon agents?
If your agents run past 200K tokens, compare both against Subconscious. Our inference stack treats a long-horizon trace as the primary workload, so speed, cost, and accuracy hold up deep into the trace.