vs
SambaNova vs Nebius
SambaNova sells fast decode on large open models from its own dataflow chip. Nebius is a European GPU cloud with 60+ managed models and raw compute. Speed specialist versus broad regional cloud.
By The Subconscious Team · Updated
SambaNova vs Nebius: key differences
SambaNova builds its own silicon, the Reconfigurable Dataflow Unit, and sells speed. Its SambaCloud serves models like MiniMax M2.7, DeepSeek, Gemma 4 31B and GPT-OSS 120B, and SambaNova says a SambaRack SN50 runs MiniMax M2.7 near 820 tokens per second in its fastest setup. Nebius runs NVIDIA GPUs, from H100s at $2.15 an hour preemptible up to GB300 NVL72 racks, and its Token Factory serves 60+ open models from $0.06 per million input tokens. Artificial Analysis has measured Nebius among the top hosts on raw throughput, so it is not slow, but it competes on breadth and price rather than a custom chip.
The deciding factors are catalog, residency and growth path. Nebius offers EU or US placement, a 99.9% SLA on dedicated endpoints, uploaded fine-tunes served at token pricing, and raw GPUs on the same account for training. SambaNova's public catalog is smaller, and many headline numbers are vendor benchmarks on SN50 hardware still ramping. SambaNova's edge is interactive decode on big models and millisecond hot swapping between models, useful for agents that bounce across several.
What SambaNova and Nebius do
SambaNova
SambaNova designs its own inference chip, the Reconfigurable Dataflow Unit, and sells fast tokens on large open models through SambaCloud. The RDU maps the model graph onto the chip to cut trips to off-chip memory. A three-tier memory design of SRAM, HBM and bulk DRAM lets one system host very large models and hot swap between several of them in milliseconds. SambaCloud serves models like MiniMax M2.7, DeepSeek, Gemma 4 31B and GPT-OSS 120B, with speeds reported by Artificial Analysis.
Example models: MiniMax M2.7, GPT-OSS 120B
Full SambaNova profileNebius
Nebius is an Amsterdam-headquartered AI cloud and the strongest European alternative to the US hyperscalers. It sells raw NVIDIA GPU compute, from H100s at $2.15 an hour preemptible up to GB300 NVL72 racks, and it has begun adding Vera Rubin. Hyperscale buyers back it: a Microsoft capacity deal worth about $17.4B in September 2025, then a Meta agreement worth up to about $27B in March 2026.
Example models: DeepSeek V3, GPT-OSS
Full Nebius profileShould you choose SambaNova or Nebius?
SambaNova
Choose SambaNova for
- Interactive coding agents that need fast decode on large open models.
- Agents that switch between several models mid-task.
- Neoclouds adding a premium speed tier.
Nebius
Choose Nebius for
- European workloads that must stay in-region.
- Serving uploaded fine-tunes on dedicated endpoints with an SLA.
- Teams growing from tokens into GPU training on one account.
SambaNova vs Nebius at a glance
| Attribute | SambaNova | Nebius |
|---|---|---|
| Model access | Open weights | Open weights, 60+ models |
| Flagship models | MiniMax M2.7, GPT-OSS 120B, DeepSeek | DeepSeek, Qwen, GLM, Kimi, GPT-OSS |
| Speed | ~820 tok/s on MiniMax M2.7 (SN50) | Among top hosts on throughput |
| Price | $0.22 in, $0.59 out (GPT-OSS 120B) | From $0.06 per 1M input |
| Customization | Unknown | Serve uploaded fine-tunes |
| Deployment | SambaCloud, racks for neoclouds | Token Factory, dedicated, raw GPUs |
| Long context | Up to 192K (MiniMax M2.7) | Varies by model |
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between SambaNova and Nebius?
SambaNova sells fast decode on large open models from its own dataflow chip. Nebius is a European GPU cloud with 60+ managed models and raw compute. Speed specialist versus broad regional cloud.
When should I choose SambaNova over Nebius?
Interactive coding agents that need fast decode on large open models; Agents that switch between several models mid-task; Neoclouds adding a premium speed tier.
When should I choose Nebius over SambaNova?
European workloads that must stay in-region; Serving uploaded fine-tunes on dedicated endpoints with an SLA; Teams growing from tokens into GPU training on one account.
Is SambaNova or Nebius cheaper?
SambaNova: $0.22 in, $0.59 out (GPT-OSS 120B). Nebius: From $0.06 per 1M input. The cheaper choice depends on the model and workload.
Which has more context, SambaNova or Nebius?
SambaNova: Up to 192K (MiniMax M2.7). Nebius: Varies by model.
Related comparisons
Running long-horizon agents?
If your agents run past 200K tokens, compare both against Subconscious. Our inference stack treats a long-horizon trace as the primary workload, so speed, cost, and accuracy hold up deep into the trace.