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Fireworks AI vs Groq
Groq's LPU wins raw speed and tail latency on a small catalog. Fireworks trades some speed for 400+ models, fine-tuning and full 1M context.
By The Subconscious Team · Updated
Fireworks AI vs Groq: key differences
This matchup is custom silicon against a tuned GPU stack. Groq runs open models on its LPU and publishes 500 tokens per second on GPT-OSS 120B and 1,000 on GPT-OSS 20B, with latency that stays tight from median to tail. Fireworks is among the fastest GPU-based hosts, at 167 to 174 tokens per second on DeepSeek V4 Pro in third-party tests, but it is not chasing LPU numbers. What Fireworks has is breadth. Its 400+ models include large frontier-class open weights, while Groq's catalog is small, capped around 131K context, and shrank again when Llama 3.3 70B and Llama 3.1 8B shut down in August 2026.
Customization settles many decisions. Groq hosts no fine-tuned models. Fireworks runs SFT, DPO and RL fine-tuning and serves the result at base price, with SOC 2, HIPAA and ISO certifications on top. Groq's case rests on voice agents and multi-call loops where every step must return fast, and on per-token prices near the floor for small models. There is also a vendor question: most of Groq's core engineers now work at NVIDIA, which leaves long-term investment in GroqCloud uncertain.
What Fireworks AI and Groq 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 profileGroq
Groq serves open models on its own chip, the LPU, which keeps model weights in on-chip SRAM and runs a deterministic schedule instead of waiting on GPU memory. Groq publishes 1,000 tokens per second on GPT-OSS 20B and 500 on GPT-OSS 120B. Latency stays tight between median and tail, which matters for strict SLAs. The API is OpenAI-compatible and also hosts Whisper for speech to text plus an agentic system called Groq Compound with built-in search and code execution.
Example models: GPT-OSS 120B, Qwen 3.6 27B
Full Groq profileShould you choose Fireworks AI or Groq?
Fireworks AI
Choose Fireworks AI for
- Long-context agents that need more than 131K tokens
- Serving your own fine-tuned open model
- Large open models like DeepSeek V4 Pro and Kimi K3
Groq
Choose Groq for
- Voice agents where any pause is noticeable
- Strict SLAs that depend on tight tail latency
- Cheap, fast calls on GPT-OSS and Qwen 3.6
Fireworks AI vs Groq at a glance
| Attribute | Fireworks AI | Groq |
|---|---|---|
| Model access | Open weights | Open weights |
| Flagship models | DeepSeek V4 Pro, Kimi K3 | GPT-OSS 120B, Qwen 3.6 27B |
| Speed | 167–174 tok/s on DeepSeek V4 Pro | 500–1,000 tok/s |
| Price | Fine-tunes served at base price | Near the floor on small models |
| Customization | SFT, DPO, RFT; Training API | No fine-tuned model hosting |
| Deployment | Serverless, dedicated GPUs | GroqCloud API |
| Long context | Full 1M on DeepSeek V4 Pro | Around 131K max |
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Fireworks AI and Groq?
Groq's LPU wins raw speed and tail latency on a small catalog. Fireworks trades some speed for 400+ models, fine-tuning and full 1M context.
When should I choose Fireworks AI over Groq?
Long-context agents that need more than 131K tokens; Serving your own fine-tuned open model; Large open models like DeepSeek V4 Pro and Kimi K3.
When should I choose Groq over Fireworks AI?
Voice agents where any pause is noticeable; Strict SLAs that depend on tight tail latency; Cheap, fast calls on GPT-OSS and Qwen 3.6.
Is Fireworks AI or Groq cheaper?
Fireworks AI: Fine-tunes served at base price. Groq: Near the floor on small models. The cheaper choice depends on the model and workload.
Which has more context, Fireworks AI or Groq?
Fireworks AI: Full 1M on DeepSeek V4 Pro. Groq: Around 131K max.
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