# Fireworks AI vs Cerebras

> Cerebras is the fastest public host on a two-model shared catalog. Fireworks offers 400+ models, fine-tuning and compliance at GPU speeds.

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

## How they compare

Cerebras serves models on a wafer-scale chip and lists GPT-OSS 120B near 3,000 tokens per second, the fastest published figure of any public host. Fireworks, a GPU-based host with a custom serving stack, measures 167 to 174 tokens per second on DeepSeek V4 Pro. The speed gap is real, and so is the catalog gap. The Cerebras shared API held just GPT-OSS 120B and Gemma 4 31B as of August 2026, and most other models mean a sales conversation, a dedicated endpoint or a partner like OpenRouter. Fireworks exposes 400+ models self-serve, including DeepSeek V4 Pro at its full 1M context.

Cerebras has one unusual path. OpenAI previewed an Ultrafast tier of GPT-5.6 Sol running on Cerebras, the only wafer-scale route to a closed frontier model. Fireworks answers with training: SFT, DPO and RL fine-tuning, with tuned models served at base price, plus SOC 2, HIPAA and ISO. Cerebras' own caveat is that its speed does little when an agent mostly waits on tools or hidden reasoning. Pick Cerebras when generation time is the user's wait, as in voice, live autocomplete or long streamed outputs. Pick Fireworks when the job needs model choice or a custom model.

## What each one does

### Fireworks AI

Fireworks AI was founded in 2022 by former Meta PyTorch engineers led by CEO Lin Qiao, and it sells speed on open models. Its custom serving stack has posted 167 to 174 tokens per second on DeepSeek V4 Pro in third-party measurements, several times what most GPU peers hit on the same model. The catalog holds 400+ models across text, vision, audio and embeddings, served through an OpenAI-compatible API. In July 2026 it raised a $1.505B Series D at a $17.5B valuation, with a reported $1B+ run rate and 40T+ tokens a day.

### 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 Fireworks AI for

- Self-serve access to 400+ open models
- RL or SFT fine-tunes served at base price
- Regulated workloads needing SOC 2, HIPAA or ISO

### Choose Cerebras for

- Voice and live code autocomplete where output speed is the wait
- Long generated outputs on GPT-OSS 120B
- Teams following OpenAI's Ultrafast GPT-5.6 Sol preview

## At a glance

| Attribute | Fireworks AI | Cerebras |
|---|---|---|
| Model access | Open weights | Open weights |
| Flagship models | DeepSeek V4 Pro, Kimi K3 | GPT-OSS 120B, Gemma 4 31B |
| Speed | 167–174 tok/s on DeepSeek V4 Pro | ~3,000 tok/s on GPT-OSS 120B |
| Price | Fine-tunes served at base price | $0.35 in, $0.75 out (GPT-OSS 120B) |
| Customization | SFT, DPO, RFT; Training API | - |
| Deployment | Serverless, dedicated GPUs | Shared API, dedicated, partners |
| Long context | Full 1M on DeepSeek V4 Pro | - |

## FAQ

### What is the difference between Fireworks AI and Cerebras?

Cerebras is the fastest public host on a two-model shared catalog. Fireworks offers 400+ models, fine-tuning and compliance at GPU speeds.

### When should I choose Fireworks AI over Cerebras?

Self-serve access to 400+ open models; RL or SFT fine-tunes served at base price; Regulated workloads needing SOC 2, HIPAA or ISO.

### When should I choose Cerebras over Fireworks AI?

Voice and live code autocomplete where output speed is the wait; Long generated outputs on GPT-OSS 120B; Teams following OpenAI's Ultrafast GPT-5.6 Sol preview.

### Is Fireworks AI or Cerebras cheaper?

Fireworks AI: Fine-tunes served at base price. 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 Fireworks AI](https://www.subconscious.dev/compare/subconscious-vs-fireworks.md), [Subconscious vs Cerebras](https://www.subconscious.dev/compare/subconscious-vs-cerebras.md).

Full profiles: [Fireworks AI](https://www.subconscious.dev/providers/fireworks.md), [Cerebras](https://www.subconscious.dev/providers/cerebras.md).