# Luminal vs OpenScale

> Luminal compiles models into native GPU code and sells serverless or on-prem. OpenScale sells DeepSeek V4.1 Flash serverless at promotional prices.

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

## How they compare

Luminal builds an open-source compiler that turns models into native kernels ahead of time. Luminal Cloud, in early access, compiles a PyTorch or Hugging Face model into an endpoint, and its hosted list includes DeepSeek V4.1 Flash at $0.1425 in and $0.57 out with a $50 minimum top-up. It also licenses the compiler for on-prem use. OpenScale, a Y Combinator-backed API out of Singapore, serves DeepSeek V4.1 Flash at $0.06 in, $0.003 cached and $0.24 out per million tokens under a 50% promotion, at 200+ tokens per second, with a fast tier at about twice the speed.

Luminal is the pick for bringing your own model, including custom architectures, or running a faster engine on owned GPUs. OpenScale is the pick for a cheaper hosted DeepSeek V4.1 Flash with setups for Claude Code, Codex and other agents.

## What each one does

### Luminal

Luminal builds an inference compiler. Where vLLM and SGLang interpret a model at runtime, Luminal compiles it ahead of time into native kernels for GPUs and ASICs. Models get lowered to a small graph of 15 primitive ops, and the compiler searches over fusion, tiling, memory and scheduling choices instead of relying on hand-written rules, which it says can find optimizations like Flash Attention on its own. The compiler is open source in Rust under Apache 2.0 or MIT, runs on CUDA and Metal with ROCm on the roadmap, and works as a torch.compile backend.

### OpenScale

OpenScale is a Y Combinator-backed inference API built by LatentSpace and run out of Singapore. It sells open models behind one endpoint that speaks Chat Completions, the OpenAI Responses API and Anthropic Messages, so Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, Cline, GitHub Copilot, Zed and other coding agents can point at it with a base URL and key. Its public catalog today is DeepSeek V4.1 Flash in two versions, standard and fast, both with a 1M token context window and up to 384K output tokens.

## Which is best, and when

### Choose Luminal for

- Custom or fine-tuned models
- On-prem serving on owned GPUs
- An open-source engine to inspect

### Choose OpenScale for

- Lower prices on hosted DeepSeek V4.1 Flash
- No minimum top-up
- Coding agent setup guides

## At a glance

| Attribute | Luminal | OpenScale |
|---|---|---|
| Model access | Small hosted catalog plus bring your own weights | Open weights |
| Flagship models | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash, Ideogram 4.5 | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash |
| Speed | 36K tok/s on GPT-OSS 120B, 8xH100 (vendor) | 200+ tok/s; fast tier ~2x |
| Price | $0.1425 in, $0.57 out (DeepSeek V4.1 Flash) | $0.06 in, $0.24 out (promo, DeepSeek V4.1 Flash) |
| Customization | Compiles any PyTorch or HF model | N/A |
| Deployment | Serverless (early access), on-prem license | Serverless API |
| Long context | - | 1M context |

## FAQ

### What is the difference between Luminal and OpenScale?

Luminal compiles models into native GPU code and sells serverless or on-prem. OpenScale sells DeepSeek V4.1 Flash serverless at promotional prices.

### When should I choose Luminal over OpenScale?

Custom or fine-tuned models; On-prem serving on owned GPUs; An open-source engine to inspect.

### When should I choose OpenScale over Luminal?

Lower prices on hosted DeepSeek V4.1 Flash; No minimum top-up; Coding agent setup guides.

### Is Luminal or OpenScale cheaper?

Luminal: $0.1425 in, $0.57 out (DeepSeek V4.1 Flash). OpenScale: $0.06 in, $0.24 out (promo, 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 Luminal](https://www.subconscious.dev/compare/subconscious-vs-luminal.md), [Subconscious vs OpenScale](https://www.subconscious.dev/compare/subconscious-vs-openscale.md).

Full profiles: [Luminal](https://www.subconscious.dev/providers/luminal.md), [OpenScale](https://www.subconscious.dev/providers/openscale.md).