# Meta vs Dolphin

> Meta's API is a big lab's closed model in preview. Dolphin's is a decentralized network serving one open model at very low prices.

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

## How they compare

Meta serves Muse Spark 1.3 with 1M context at $1.25 in and $4.25 out, or $0.10 in and $0.20 out on a Contributor tier that lets Meta train on your data. It also ships open-weight Muse Glimmer for self-hosting. 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 consumer GPUs, with requests encrypted end to end and nodes unable to log them. Dolphin publishes no speed, context or SLA.

The privacy trade runs opposite ways: Meta's cheapest tier requires sharing data, while Dolphin's network is built to keep requests out of node logs. Meta fits multimodal agents and teams that want a large lab behind the API. Dolphin fits cheap background calls and uncensored models, if a wallet-and-Telegram signup is acceptable.

## What each one does

### Meta

Meta has moved from open Llama releases toward its own closed API. Meta Superintelligence Labs builds the Muse family, and in July 2026 Meta opened a public preview of the Meta Model API with Muse Spark 1.1, a multimodal reasoning model aimed at agentic coding, tool use and computer use. The current lineup runs through Muse Spark 1.3 with a 1M token context. Standard pricing is $1.25 in and $4.25 out per million tokens, with cached input at $0.15, and the endpoint speaks OpenAI Chat Completions, Anthropic Messages and a stateful agentic format.

### 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 Meta for

- Multimodal agents with 1M context
- OpenAI and Anthropic-compatible endpoints
- Open Muse Glimmer weights for self-hosting

### Choose Dolphin for

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

## At a glance

| Attribute | Meta | Dolphin |
|---|---|---|
| Model access | Closed API; open Muse Glimmer | Open weights, uncensored fine-tunes |
| Flagship models | Muse Spark 1.3, Muse Glimmer | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash, Dolphin Mistral 24B |
| Speed | ~145–233 tok/s on Muse Spark 1.3 | - |
| Price | $1.25 in, $4.25 out; Contributor tier cheaper | $0.01 in, $0.07 out (DeepSeek V4.1 Flash) |
| Customization | Open Muse Glimmer weights to fine-tune | Own uncensored fine-tunes |
| Deployment | Meta Model API (preview) | Decentralized serverless API |
| Long context | 1M | - |

## FAQ

### What is the difference between Meta and Dolphin?

Meta's API is a big lab's closed model in preview. Dolphin's is a decentralized network serving one open model at very low prices.

### When should I choose Meta over Dolphin?

Multimodal agents with 1M context; OpenAI and Anthropic-compatible endpoints; Open Muse Glimmer weights for self-hosting.

### When should I choose Dolphin over Meta?

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

### Is Meta or Dolphin cheaper?

Meta: $1.25 in, $4.25 out; Contributor tier cheaper. 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 Meta](https://www.subconscious.dev/compare/subconscious-vs-meta.md), [Subconscious vs Dolphin](https://www.subconscious.dev/compare/subconscious-vs-dolphin.md).

Full profiles: [Meta](https://www.subconscious.dev/providers/meta.md), [Dolphin](https://www.subconscious.dev/providers/dolphin.md).