# Inference.net vs Dolphin

> Both run on spare GPU capacity. Inference.net aggregates it from data centers. Dolphin pulls it from gamers' idle consumer cards.

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

## How they compare

Inference.net buys unused chunks of data center GPU time and passes the discount on through a Batch API with 24-hour to 7-day windows, plus a gateway, fine-tuning and dedicated GPUs with a 99.99% uptime target. Dolphin's network pays GPU owners in $POD tokens and checks their outputs with validators. Its API launched in October 2026 with DeepSeek V4.1 Flash at $0.01 in and $0.07 out per million tokens and no published speed, context or SLA.

Inference.net is the more complete option for business batch work, with a path to custom models and conventional signup. Dolphin fits teams that want uncensored models or the lowest price on its one model, and that are comfortable signing up with a crypto wallet and Telegram.

## What each one does

### Inference.net

Inference.net started as a buyer of last resort for idle GPU time. Its scheduler aggregates small unused chunks of capacity across data centers and runs models on them, and it passes the steep discounts it gets from those data centers on to customers. That origin still shows in its OpenAI-compatible Batch API, which takes up to 1M requests per file with completion windows from 24 hours to 7 days and far higher headroom than synchronous limits.

### 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 Inference.net for

- Large batch jobs with long windows
- Custom models from production traces
- Dedicated GPUs with an uptime target

### Choose Dolphin for

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

## At a glance

| Attribute | Inference.net | Dolphin |
|---|---|---|
| Model access | Open, closed and custom | Open weights, uncensored fine-tunes |
| Flagship models | Schematron, ClipTagger, customer fine-tunes | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash, Dolphin Mistral 24B |
| Speed | Batch windows of 24h to 7 days | - |
| Price | Free pay-as-you-go; Growth $250/mo; B200 $9.98/hr | $0.01 in, $0.07 out (DeepSeek V4.1 Flash) |
| Customization | Distill traces into custom models | Own uncensored fine-tunes |
| Deployment | Batch API, gateway, dedicated GPUs | Decentralized serverless API |
| Long context | Varies by model | - |

## FAQ

### What is the difference between Inference.net and Dolphin?

Both run on spare GPU capacity. Inference.net aggregates it from data centers. Dolphin pulls it from gamers' idle consumer cards.

### When should I choose Inference.net over Dolphin?

Large batch jobs with long windows; Custom models from production traces; Dedicated GPUs with an uptime target.

### When should I choose Dolphin over Inference.net?

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

### Is Inference.net or Dolphin cheaper?

Inference.net: Free pay-as-you-go; Growth $250/mo; B200 $9.98/hr. 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 Inference.net](https://www.subconscious.dev/compare/subconscious-vs-inference-net.md), [Subconscious vs Dolphin](https://www.subconscious.dev/compare/subconscious-vs-dolphin.md).

Full profiles: [Inference.net](https://www.subconscious.dev/providers/inference-net.md), [Dolphin](https://www.subconscious.dev/providers/dolphin.md).