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Baseten vs RunInfra
RunInfra is a young host with a tiny catalog, cheap coding plans and an agent that builds deployments. Baseten is the established platform for custom and compliant serving.
By The Subconscious Team · Updated
Baseten vs RunInfra: key differences
RunInfra tries to automate what Baseten's customers usually do by hand. You describe an endpoint in plain English, and its agent picks a model, benchmarks GPUs from L4 to B200, tests quantized variants like AWQ, GPTQ and FP8, applies Forge kernels and ships an endpoint that scales to zero with cold starts under two seconds. Baseten asks you to package the model with Truss, then bills per GPU minute with scale to zero. RunInfra's hosted library is small and mid-size, including Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B and Qwen 3.8 27B. Baseten's 13 models reach frontier-scale open weights like Kimi K3 and DeepSeek V4.
Pricing and maturity pull in opposite directions. RunInfra's coding plans start at $10 a month and work in Claude Code, Codex, Cline and Aider. Its paid plans take custom uploads up to 50 GB and can chain Whisper into an LLM into a TTS voice. But the company dates to 2026 and has little independent benchmarking. Baseten brings a measured latency lead, HIPAA, data residency and a 99.99% SLA. Small teams without ML ops staff may like RunInfra's agent. Larger ones should stay with Baseten.
What Baseten and RunInfra do
Baseten
Baseten runs two products. Model APIs serve a curated set of 13 open models, including DeepSeek V4, GLM 5.2, Kimi K3 and gpt-oss 120B, over endpoints that speak both the OpenAI Chat Completions shape and the Anthropic Messages shape. That dual compatibility means an existing OpenAI or Claude SDK, or a coding agent, points at Baseten with a base URL change. Dedicated deployments take any model you package with the open-source Truss CLI and bill per GPU minute, with an H100 at about $6.50 an hour.
Example models: GLM 5.2, gpt-oss 120B
Full Baseten profileRunInfra
RunInfra pitches open models built for agents, with two ways in. Its hosted Model APIs serve a small curated library, including Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B, Qwen 3.8 27B and Ornith 1.5 35B, behind one key that works with both the OpenAI and Anthropic SDKs. Cached context bills at a discount. Coding plans start at $10 a month with limits that reset every five hours and every week, and they plug into Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, Cline, Aider and dozens of other agent CLIs.
Example models: Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B, Qwen 3.8 27B
Full RunInfra profileShould you choose Baseten or RunInfra?
Baseten
Choose Baseten for
- Frontier-scale open models like Kimi K3
- Enterprise deployments with HIPAA and a 99.99% SLA
- Model labs needing a branded production API
RunInfra
Choose RunInfra for
- A $10 a month open model in agent CLIs
- Auto-benchmarked deployments without ML ops staff
- Voice pipelines chaining speech, LLM and TTS
Baseten vs RunInfra at a glance
| Attribute | Baseten | RunInfra |
|---|---|---|
| Model access | Open weights, 13 curated | Open weights |
| Flagship models | GLM 5.2, DeepSeek V4, Kimi K3, gpt-oss 120B | Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B, Qwen 3.8 27B |
| Speed | 0.49s TTFT, lowest measured | Cold starts under 2s |
| Price | H100 about $6.50/hr dedicated | Coding plans from $10 a month |
| Customization | Deploy any model with Truss | Uploads up to 50 GB; auto-quantization |
| Deployment | Model APIs, dedicated, self-host | Model APIs, agent-built endpoints |
| Long context | Varies by model | Varies by model |
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Baseten and RunInfra?
RunInfra is a young host with a tiny catalog, cheap coding plans and an agent that builds deployments. Baseten is the established platform for custom and compliant serving.
When should I choose Baseten over RunInfra?
Frontier-scale open models like Kimi K3; Enterprise deployments with HIPAA and a 99.99% SLA; Model labs needing a branded production API.
When should I choose RunInfra over Baseten?
A $10 a month open model in agent CLIs; Auto-benchmarked deployments without ML ops staff; Voice pipelines chaining speech, LLM and TTS.
Is Baseten or RunInfra cheaper?
Baseten: H100 about $6.50/hr dedicated. RunInfra: Coding plans from $10 a month. The cheaper choice depends on the model and workload.
Which has more context, Baseten or RunInfra?
Baseten: Varies by model. RunInfra: Varies by model.
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