# Google Vertex AI vs Dolphin

> Vertex AI is an enterprise platform on Google Cloud. Dolphin is a new decentralized API with one model and uncensored roots.

Canonical: https://www.subconscious.dev/compare/google-vertex-vs-dolphin · By The Subconscious Team · Updated October 11, 2026

## How they compare

Vertex offers 200+ models, including Gemini 3.8 and Claude, plus custom training, MLOps, agent tooling and BigQuery integration, billed through Google Cloud. Dolphin's API launched in October 2026 with one model, DeepSeek V4.1 Flash, at $0.01 in and $0.07 out per million tokens, served on idle consumer GPUs whose owners earn $POD tokens. It publishes no speed, context or SLA, and signup needs a crypto wallet and Telegram.

The two serve different buyers. Vertex fits enterprises that need governance, frontier models and cloud billing. Dolphin fits cheap background calls and products that want models without vendor-imposed refusals, where procurement rules are loose.

## What each one does

### Google Vertex AI

Vertex AI is Google Cloud's enterprise AI platform. At Google Cloud Next on April 22, 2026, Google rebranded it the Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform with an agent-first structure, though the API endpoint and most docs still say Vertex. Model Garden offers 200+ models, including Google's Gemini 3.8 family, Anthropic's Claude models and open models like Gemma, alongside Imagen, Veo and Chirp for media and speech. Google's own TPUs sit underneath much of its first-party serving.

### Dolphin

Dolphin began in 2023 as Eric Hartford's series of open-source, uncensored fine-tunes, trained to drop the refusals and baked-in guidelines of their base models so that the developer sets the rules through the system prompt. Current releases include Dolphin Llama 3.1 8B and Dolphin Mistral 24B Venice Edition, built with Venice, and the project publishes nearly 100 models on Hugging Face. It also runs a chat app, a Telegram bot and a synthetic data service that generates answers to commonly refused prompts.

## Which is best, and when

### Choose Google Vertex AI for

- Enterprise governance on Google Cloud
- Gemini and Claude side by side
- Training and MLOps in one stack

### Choose Dolphin for

- Very cheap DeepSeek V4.1 Flash calls
- Uncensored models
- Requests nodes cannot log

## At a glance

| Attribute | Google Vertex AI | Dolphin |
|---|---|---|
| Model access | Closed and open, 200+ models | Open weights, uncensored fine-tunes |
| Flagship models | Gemini 3.8 Flash, Claude, Gemma | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash, Dolphin Mistral 24B |
| Speed | Flash tier built for low latency | - |
| Price | Gemini 3.8 Flash $0.75 in, $3.75 out until 2027, then $1.50/$7.50 | $0.01 in, $0.07 out (DeepSeek V4.1 Flash) |
| Customization | Custom training on GPUs or TPUs | Own uncensored fine-tunes |
| Deployment | Managed on Google Cloud | Decentralized serverless API |
| Long context | 1M on Gemini 3.8 Flash | - |

## FAQ

### What is the difference between Google Vertex AI and Dolphin?

Vertex AI is an enterprise platform on Google Cloud. Dolphin is a new decentralized API with one model and uncensored roots.

### When should I choose Google Vertex AI over Dolphin?

Enterprise governance on Google Cloud; Gemini and Claude side by side; Training and MLOps in one stack.

### When should I choose Dolphin over Google Vertex AI?

Very cheap DeepSeek V4.1 Flash calls; Uncensored models; Requests nodes cannot log.

### Is Google Vertex AI or Dolphin cheaper?

Google Vertex AI: Gemini 3.8 Flash $0.75 in, $3.75 out until 2027, then $1.50/$7.50. Dolphin: $0.01 in, $0.07 out (DeepSeek V4.1 Flash). 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 Google Vertex AI](https://www.subconscious.dev/compare/subconscious-vs-google-vertex.md), [Subconscious vs Dolphin](https://www.subconscious.dev/compare/subconscious-vs-dolphin.md).

Full profiles: [Google Vertex AI](https://www.subconscious.dev/providers/google-vertex.md), [Dolphin](https://www.subconscious.dev/providers/dolphin.md).