# 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.

Canonical: https://www.subconscious.dev/compare/anthropic-vs-cerebras · By The Subconscious Team · Updated September 30, 2026

## How they compare

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 Gemma 4 31B as of August 2026, so most other models mean a dedicated endpoint or a sales conversation. Anthropic has the opposite shape: a full closed lineup from Haiku 4.5 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 each one does

### 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 the Opus and Sonnet tiers down to Haiku 4.5. List prices span a tenfold range, from $10 in and $50 out on Fable to $1 in and $5 out on Haiku. The top three tiers include a 1M token context window at standard pricing with no surcharge past 200K.

### Cerebras

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 Gemma 4 31B as of August 2026. More model families live on dedicated endpoints and through partners like OpenRouter, Hugging Face, Vercel and AWS Marketplace.

## Which is best, and when

### 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

### 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

## At a glance

| Attribute | Anthropic | Cerebras |
|---|---|---|
| Model access | Closed | Open weights |
| Flagship models | Claude Fable 5.1, Opus, Sonnet, Haiku 4.5 | GPT-OSS 120B, Gemma 4 31B |
| Speed | Fable is the slowest tier | ~3,000 tok/s on GPT-OSS 120B |
| Price | $1–$10 in, $5–$50 out per 1M | $0.35 in, $0.75 out (GPT-OSS 120B) |
| Customization | N/A | - |
| Deployment | API, Bedrock, Vertex AI, Microsoft Foundry | Shared API, dedicated, partners |
| Long context | 1M, no surcharge past 200K | - |

## FAQ

### 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: $1–$10 in, $5–$50 out per 1M. Cerebras: $0.35 in, $0.75 out (GPT-OSS 120B). The cheaper choice depends on the model and workload.

## Running long-horizon agents?

If your agents run past 200K tokens, compare both against Subconscious: [Subconscious vs Anthropic](https://www.subconscious.dev/compare/subconscious-vs-anthropic.md), [Subconscious vs Cerebras](https://www.subconscious.dev/compare/subconscious-vs-cerebras.md).

Full profiles: [Anthropic](https://www.subconscious.dev/providers/anthropic.md), [Cerebras](https://www.subconscious.dev/providers/cerebras.md).