# Inference.net vs RunInfra

> RunInfra automates deployments and sells cheap coding plans. Inference.net runs batch on spare capacity and distills custom models from traces.

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

## How they compare

Both companies take work off teams without ML ops staff, in different ways. RunInfra's agent takes a plain-English spec, picks a model, benchmarks it on GPUs from L4 to B200, searches quantized variants and ships an endpoint that scales to zero with cold starts under two seconds. It also sells coding plans from $10 a month on its small library of mid-size models. Inference.net's loop starts from production traffic: its gateway captures requests, builds datasets, fine-tunes a task-specific model and deploys it on a dedicated GPU with a 99.99% uptime target.

RunInfra optimizes how a model is served. Inference.net optimizes which model you serve, by making a smaller one for your task, and adds a Batch API for up to 1M requests per file. RunInfra accepts custom uploads up to 50 GB and can chain Whisper, an LLM and TTS into a voice pipeline. Each has thin independent benchmarking. Voice pipelines and quick tuned endpoints fit RunInfra. Bulk offline work and distillation fit Inference.net.

## 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.

### RunInfra

RunInfra pitches open models built for agents, with two ways in. Its hosted Model APIs serve a small curated library, including Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B, Qwen 3.8 27B and Ornith 1.5 35B, behind one key that works with both the OpenAI and Anthropic SDKs. Cached context bills at a discount. Coding plans start at $10 a month with limits that reset every five hours and every week, and they plug into Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, Cline, Aider and dozens of other agent CLIs.

## Which is best, and when

### Choose Inference.net for

- Million-request offline batches
- Distilling a narrow GPT-class workload
- Capturing traffic for evals and training

### Choose RunInfra for

- Auto-benchmarked endpoints that scale to zero
- Voice pipelines chaining Whisper, an LLM and TTS
- Cheap coding plans for Claude Code and Codex

## At a glance

| Attribute | Inference.net | RunInfra |
|---|---|---|
| Model access | Open, closed and custom | Open weights |
| Flagship models | Customer fine-tunes | Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B, Qwen 3.8 27B |
| Speed | Batch windows of 24h to 7 days | Cold starts under 2s |
| Price | Discounted spare GPU capacity | Coding plans from $10 a month |
| Customization | Distill traces into custom models | Uploads up to 50 GB; auto-quantization |
| Deployment | Batch API, gateway, dedicated GPUs | Model APIs, agent-built endpoints |
| Long context | Varies by model | Varies by model |

## FAQ

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

RunInfra automates deployments and sells cheap coding plans. Inference.net runs batch on spare capacity and distills custom models from traces.

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

Million-request offline batches; Distilling a narrow GPT-class workload; Capturing traffic for evals and training.

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

Auto-benchmarked endpoints that scale to zero; Voice pipelines chaining Whisper, an LLM and TTS; Cheap coding plans for Claude Code and Codex.

### Is Inference.net or RunInfra cheaper?

Inference.net: Discounted spare GPU capacity. RunInfra: Coding plans from $10 a month. The cheaper choice depends on the model and workload.

### Which has more context, Inference.net or RunInfra?

Inference.net: Varies by model. RunInfra: Varies by model.

## 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 RunInfra](https://www.subconscious.dev/compare/subconscious-vs-runinfra.md).

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