# DeepInfra vs Hugging Face Inference Providers

> DeepInfra sets the price floor on 150+ open models. Hugging Face routes to DeepInfra and 16 others at cost, and :cheapest finds the lowest rate per model.

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

## How they compare

DeepInfra is a Hugging Face partner, and on price-driven routing the two often meet. DeepInfra lists Llama 3.1 8B at $0.02 per million and DeepSeek V4 Flash at $0.14 in and $0.28 out, across 150+ open models with no minimums and no contracts. Hugging Face bills each provider's rate with no markup, so reaching DeepInfra through the router costs the same per token. Appending :cheapest picks the lowest price per output token across partners, which may be DeepInfra or another host for a given model. The router's catalog is 132 chat models, smaller than DeepInfra's own, but it spans 17 hosts. Hugging Face also layers its rate limits and a network hop on top of DeepInfra's own.

Quantization is the main quality check. DeepInfra serves DeepSeek V4 Pro in FP4, which caps context at 66K tokens where Fireworks and Novita offer the full 1M, and some reviewers report weaker output unless they pin FP8 variants. Hugging Face helps here: /v1/models exposes live per-provider context, price, latency and throughput, so a team can spot the 66K cap and route elsewhere when a job needs more. Neither offers managed fine-tuning. DeepInfra is the leaner choice for bulk extraction, tagging and synthetic data once the model and precision are settled. Hugging Face is the better tool for finding which host gives the right mix of price and context for each model before that volume starts.

## What each one does

### DeepInfra

DeepInfra is the price floor for open-model inference. Developers treat it as the reference point for what a token should cost, with small models like Llama 3.1 8B at $0.02 per million and DeepSeek V4 Flash at $0.14 in and $0.28 out. The catalog covers 150+ open models across text, image and speech behind a fully OpenAI-compatible API. There are no minimums, setup fees or contracts on the shared API.

### Hugging Face Inference Providers

Inference Providers is a router run by Hugging Face that sits in front of partner inference clouds. The current partner list covers Baseten, Cerebras, Cohere, DeepInfra, fal, Featherless AI, Fireworks, Groq, Novita, Nscale, OVHcloud, Public AI, Replicate, Scaleway, Together, WaveSpeedAI and Z.ai, plus Hugging Face's own HF Inference, which now mostly serves CPU workloads like embeddings and classification. Chat traffic goes through an OpenAI-compatible endpoint at router.huggingface.co/v1, and the Python and JavaScript clients add text-to-image, video, speech and embeddings. The router lists 132 chat models today, from GLM 5.3 and Kimi K3 to gpt-oss-120b on eleven providers.

## Which is best, and when

### Choose DeepInfra for

- Bulk extraction and tagging at the lowest price
- Picking from 150+ open models with no contracts
- Budget backends for consumer chat apps

### Choose Hugging Face Inference Providers for

- Finding the cheapest host per model with :cheapest
- Routing around 66K context caps to full-context hosts
- Checking context and price per host before scaling

## At a glance

| Attribute | DeepInfra | Hugging Face Inference Providers |
|---|---|---|
| Model access | Open weights | Open weights |
| Flagship models | DeepSeek V4 Flash, Llama 3.1 8B | GLM 5.3, Kimi K3, DeepSeek V4.1 Flash |
| Speed | ~33 tok/s on DeepSeek V4 Pro (FP4) | Routes to fastest provider by default |
| Price | From $0.02 per 1M | Provider rates, no markup |
| Customization | No managed fine-tuning | N/A |
| Deployment | Shared API, no contracts | Serverless router; dedicated Endpoints |
| Long context | 66K on FP4 DeepSeek V4 Pro | Up to 1M, provider-dependent |

## FAQ

### What is the difference between DeepInfra and Hugging Face Inference Providers?

DeepInfra sets the price floor on 150+ open models. Hugging Face routes to DeepInfra and 16 others at cost, and :cheapest finds the lowest rate per model.

### When should I choose DeepInfra over Hugging Face Inference Providers?

Bulk extraction and tagging at the lowest price; Picking from 150+ open models with no contracts; Budget backends for consumer chat apps.

### When should I choose Hugging Face Inference Providers over DeepInfra?

Finding the cheapest host per model with :cheapest; Routing around 66K context caps to full-context hosts; Checking context and price per host before scaling.

### Is DeepInfra or Hugging Face Inference Providers cheaper?

DeepInfra: From $0.02 per 1M. Hugging Face Inference Providers: Provider rates, no markup. The cheaper choice depends on the model and workload.

### Which has more context, DeepInfra or Hugging Face Inference Providers?

DeepInfra: 66K on FP4 DeepSeek V4 Pro. Hugging Face Inference Providers: Up to 1M, provider-dependent.

## Running long-horizon agents?

If your agents run past 200K tokens, compare both against Subconscious: [Subconscious vs DeepInfra](https://www.subconscious.dev/compare/subconscious-vs-deepinfra.md), [Subconscious vs Hugging Face Inference Providers](https://www.subconscious.dev/compare/subconscious-vs-hugging-face.md).

Full profiles: [DeepInfra](https://www.subconscious.dev/providers/deepinfra.md), [Hugging Face Inference Providers](https://www.subconscious.dev/providers/hugging-face.md).