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Baseten vs xAI
xAI sells closed Grok models with live X data. Baseten hosts open weights and custom models. The choice is really closed versus open, with long-context pricing as a tiebreaker.
By The Subconscious Team · Updated
Baseten vs xAI: key differences
This is a lab against a host. xAI builds Grok and sells it only through its own API: Grok 4.6 at $2 in and $6 out with a 500K window, and older Grok 4.20 and 4.3 at $1.25 in and $2.50 out with 1M. Its signature feature is server-side X Search, which pulls live posts from X that no other lab can offer natively. Baseten builds no models. It serves 13 open ones, including DeepSeek V4, GLM 5.2, Kimi K3 and gpt-oss 120B, and deploys anything else you package with Truss. If a product depends on Grok itself or on real-time X data, Baseten is not an alternative.
Where both could serve the same agent, cost structure diverges past 200K prompt tokens, where xAI bills the whole request at double. Baseten's dedicated GPUs bill per minute regardless of prompt length. Baseten also lets teams fine-tune and own weights, run self-hosted, and meet HIPAA or data residency rules, while xAI has a smaller enterprise footprint and fewer cloud-marketplace options. xAI counters with separate first-party image, video and audio APIs under one account.
What Baseten and xAI 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 profilexAI
xAI sells the Grok models through its own API. Grok 4.6 is the current flagship and xAI tells developers to use it for everything outside audio, image and video, code included. It has a 500K context window and costs $2 in and $6 out per million tokens under 200K prompt tokens. Older Grok 4.20 and 4.3 models keep a 1M window at $1.25 in and $2.50 out, which is aggressive for that capability class.
Example models: Grok 4.6, Grok 4.20
Full xAI profileShould you choose Baseten or xAI?
Baseten
Choose Baseten for
- Owning and serving fine-tuned open weights
- Regulated deployments needing self-host or data residency
- Coding agents on open models with fast first tokens
xAI
Choose xAI for
- News and social-sentiment agents that need live X data
- Cheap output tokens on a closed reasoning model
- Teams wanting text, image, video and audio from one lab
Baseten vs xAI at a glance
| Attribute | Baseten | xAI |
|---|---|---|
| Model access | Open weights, 13 curated | Closed |
| Flagship models | GLM 5.2, DeepSeek V4, Kimi K3, gpt-oss 120B | Grok 4.6, Grok 4.20, grok-build |
| Speed | 0.49s TTFT, lowest measured | ~54 tok/s on Grok 4.6 |
| Price | H100 about $6.50/hr dedicated | $2 in, $6 out (Grok 4.6); 2x past 200K |
| Customization | Deploy any model with Truss | Unknown |
| Deployment | Model APIs, dedicated, self-host | First-party API |
| Long context | Varies by model | 500K (4.6), 1M (4.20, 4.3) |
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Baseten and xAI?
xAI sells closed Grok models with live X data. Baseten hosts open weights and custom models. The choice is really closed versus open, with long-context pricing as a tiebreaker.
When should I choose Baseten over xAI?
Owning and serving fine-tuned open weights; Regulated deployments needing self-host or data residency; Coding agents on open models with fast first tokens.
When should I choose xAI over Baseten?
News and social-sentiment agents that need live X data; Cheap output tokens on a closed reasoning model; Teams wanting text, image, video and audio from one lab.
Is Baseten or xAI cheaper?
Baseten: H100 about $6.50/hr dedicated. xAI: $2 in, $6 out (Grok 4.6); 2x past 200K. The cheaper choice depends on the model and workload.
Which has more context, Baseten or xAI?
Baseten: Varies by model. xAI: 500K (4.6), 1M (4.20, 4.3).
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.