# Baseten vs StreamLake

> StreamLake is Kuaishou's AI cloud, selling the proprietary KAT-Coder models from China. Baseten serves open coding models with residency and HIPAA options.

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

## How they compare

StreamLake's draw is KAT-Coder-Pro V2.5, a proprietary agentic coding model from Kuaishou's KwaiKAT team that StreamLake says was trained with large-scale agentic reinforcement learning for repository-level work. It comes per token or through a KwaiKAT Coding Plan, with OpenAI endpoints and a Claude-protocol proxy for Claude Code. Baseten does not have KAT-Coder, since the model is closed. For coding agents, it offers open models such as GLM 5.2, Kimi K3 and DeepSeek V4 on endpoints that speak both OpenAI and Anthropic shapes, with KV cache-aware routing aimed at agentic coding.

Procurement will often decide this before benchmarks do. StreamLake's pricing and documentation lead with China and yuan, and its data residency in China rules it out for many US and EU buyers. Baseten sells HIPAA, data residency and self-hosting. StreamLake also offers bare-metal compute for Chinese internet businesses, backed by Kuaishou's video infrastructure. A developer who wants cheap agentic coding on a subscription could try StreamLake; a company with a security review will likely land on Baseten.

## What each one does

### 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.

### StreamLake

StreamLake is the AI cloud brand of Kuaishou, the Chinese short-video company behind the Kling video models. It sells model-as-a-service inference and bare-metal compute to internet businesses, drawing on the infrastructure Kuaishou built to serve video at massive scale. Its developer site offers APIs, SDKs and integration guides aimed at taking teams from testing to production.

## Which is best, and when

### Choose Baseten for

- Coding agents under US or EU data rules
- Open coding models with fast first tokens
- Self-hosted or HIPAA deployments

### Choose StreamLake for

- Trying KAT-Coder-Pro V2.5 in Claude Code
- Low-cost agentic coding on a subscription plan
- Chinese businesses needing domestic MaaS and bare metal

## At a glance

| Attribute | Baseten | StreamLake |
|---|---|---|
| Model access | Open weights, 13 curated | Proprietary coding models |
| Flagship models | GLM 5.2, DeepSeek V4, Kimi K3, gpt-oss 120B | KAT-Coder-Pro V2.5, KAT-Coder-Air |
| Speed | 0.49s TTFT, lowest measured | - |
| Price | H100 about $6.50/hr dedicated | Per token or KwaiKAT Coding Plan |
| Customization | Deploy any model with Truss | - |
| Deployment | Model APIs, dedicated, self-host | MaaS API, bare metal |
| Long context | Varies by model | - |

## FAQ

### What is the difference between Baseten and StreamLake?

StreamLake is Kuaishou's AI cloud, selling the proprietary KAT-Coder models from China. Baseten serves open coding models with residency and HIPAA options.

### When should I choose Baseten over StreamLake?

Coding agents under US or EU data rules; Open coding models with fast first tokens; Self-hosted or HIPAA deployments.

### When should I choose StreamLake over Baseten?

Trying KAT-Coder-Pro V2.5 in Claude Code; Low-cost agentic coding on a subscription plan; Chinese businesses needing domestic MaaS and bare metal.

### Is Baseten or StreamLake cheaper?

Baseten: H100 about $6.50/hr dedicated. StreamLake: Per token or KwaiKAT Coding Plan. 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 Baseten](https://www.subconscious.dev/compare/subconscious-vs-baseten.md), [Subconscious vs StreamLake](https://www.subconscious.dev/compare/subconscious-vs-streamlake.md).

Full profiles: [Baseten](https://www.subconscious.dev/providers/baseten.md), [StreamLake](https://www.subconscious.dev/providers/streamlake.md).