Fireworks AI vs DeepInfra

DeepInfra sets the price floor, partly through heavy quantization. Fireworks charges more but keeps full context, adds fine-tuning and carries enterprise certifications.

By The Subconscious Team · Updated September 30, 2026

Fireworks AI vs DeepInfra: key differences

Price versus fidelity is the core trade here. DeepInfra is the reference point for cheap open-model tokens, with Llama 3.1 8B at $0.02 per million and DeepSeek V4 Flash at $0.14 in and $0.28 out, no minimums or contracts. Part of that edge comes from quantization. DeepInfra serves DeepSeek V4 Pro in FP4 with a 66K context cap, where Fireworks offers the full 1M at the same blended price. Some reviewers report weaker DeepInfra output unless they pin FP8 variants. Fireworks runs a faster custom stack too, posting 167 to 174 tokens per second on DeepSeek V4 Pro in third-party tests.

Training is a clean split. DeepInfra has no managed fine-tuning. Fireworks offers SFT, DPO and RL, and serves the result at base price. It also carries SOC 2, HIPAA and ISO plus AWS and GCP marketplace billing. For bulk extraction, tagging or synthetic data on small models, DeepInfra's pricing is hard to beat, and its 150+ model catalog takes in new Hugging Face releases quickly. For long-context agents, or customer-facing work where quality drift costs more than tokens, Fireworks is the safer pick.

What Fireworks AI and DeepInfra do

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.

Example models: DeepSeek V4 Pro, Kimi K3

Full Fireworks AI profile

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.

Example models: DeepSeek V4 Flash, Llama 3.1 8B

Full DeepInfra profile

Should you choose Fireworks AI or DeepInfra?

Fireworks AI

Choose Fireworks AI for

Long-context work on DeepSeek V4 Pro at full 1M
Fine-tuning and serving a custom model
Buyers who need SOC 2 or HIPAA

DeepInfra

Choose DeepInfra for

Cost-first bulk extraction, tagging and synthetic data
Small models like Llama 3.1 8B at $0.02 per million
Budget chat backends with no contract

Fireworks AI vs DeepInfra at a glance

Attribute	Fireworks AI	DeepInfra
Model access	Open weights	Open weights
Flagship models	DeepSeek V4 Pro, Kimi K3	DeepSeek V4 Flash, Llama 3.1 8B
Speed	167–174 tok/s on DeepSeek V4 Pro	~33 tok/s on DeepSeek V4 Pro (FP4)
Price	Fine-tunes served at base price	From $0.02 per 1M
Customization	SFT, DPO, RFT; Training API	No managed fine-tuning
Deployment	Serverless, dedicated GPUs	Shared API, no contracts
Long context	Full 1M on DeepSeek V4 Pro	66K on FP4 DeepSeek V4 Pro

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Fireworks AI and DeepInfra?

DeepInfra sets the price floor, partly through heavy quantization. Fireworks charges more but keeps full context, adds fine-tuning and carries enterprise certifications.

When should I choose Fireworks AI over DeepInfra?

Long-context work on DeepSeek V4 Pro at full 1M; Fine-tuning and serving a custom model; Buyers who need SOC 2 or HIPAA.

When should I choose DeepInfra over Fireworks AI?

Cost-first bulk extraction, tagging and synthetic data; Small models like Llama 3.1 8B at $0.02 per million; Budget chat backends with no contract.

Is Fireworks AI or DeepInfra cheaper?

Fireworks AI: Fine-tunes served at base price. DeepInfra: From $0.02 per 1M. The cheaper choice depends on the model and workload.

Which has more context, Fireworks AI or DeepInfra?

Fireworks AI: Full 1M on DeepSeek V4 Pro. DeepInfra: 66K on FP4 DeepSeek V4 Pro.

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.

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