# Subconscious vs Novita AI

> Novita competes on low prices across 200+ models. Subconscious competes on what long agents actually cost: the tokens processed across a growing trace.

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

## How they compare

Novita is a low-cost generalist. Its serverless API spans 200+ open models across LLMs, image, video, speech and embeddings, starting at $0.02 per million tokens, and it serves the full 1M context on DeepSeek V4 Pro. Batch runs 50% off. Subconscious is a specialist with two managed models, GLM 5.3 and DeepSeek V4.1 Flash, and a runtime designed around agents that run past 200K tokens. It prunes the KV cache, bills tokens processed after compression rather than tokens sent, and delivers 2x faster task completion and neutral to 10% better scores on agentic benchmarks. Both speak the OpenAI and Anthropic formats, so trying each on the same agent takes little work.

Novita covers more ground: GPU instances from RTX 3090s to H200s, dedicated endpoints for any Hugging Face model with hot-swappable LoRA adapters, and a Firecracker-based Agent Sandbox billed per second. For indie products and prototypes that want cheap LLM and image calls on one bill, it is the better fit. Enterprise buyers run into its gaps, though: no public SOC 2, HIPAA or VPC peering, looser serverless SLAs and Discord-based support. Subconscious records no prompts or inputs and offers on-prem deployment, which suits long-horizon agents handling private code or documents.

## What each one does

### Subconscious

Subconscious is an MIT CSAIL spinout in Kendall Square that builds inference for long-horizon agents, the workloads where a single trace runs past 200K tokens and often into the millions. Its runtime drops in as a replacement for vLLM or SGLang. Instead of rereading an ever-growing context on every step, it prunes the KV cache and preserves suffix state, and Subconscious co-designs the runtime with post-trained model variants it calls Marathon. Against open models on standard inference, Subconscious delivers 2x faster task completion, delivers a 5M+ effective context window, cuts cost 50% and up to 80%, and scores neutral to 10% better on agentic benchmarks.

### Novita AI

Novita AI is a San Francisco inference cloud founded in late 2023 by Frank Lewis and Junyu Huang, and it competes on price and breadth. Its serverless API covers 200+ open models across LLMs, image, video, speech, voice cloning and embeddings, with LLM prices starting at $0.02 per million tokens. The API speaks both OpenAI and Anthropic formats. It became an official Hugging Face Inference Partner in April 2026 and was the day-zero launch partner for Google's Gemma 4.

## Which is best, and when

### Choose Subconscious for

- Long agents where billed tokens matter more than per-token price
- Private code or documents with no prompt logging
- On-prem long-horizon serving

### Choose Novita AI for

- Cheap LLM and image calls for indie products
- A broad multimodal catalog with day-zero open model support
- GPUs, dedicated endpoints and agent sandboxes on one bill

## At a glance

| Attribute | Subconscious | Novita AI |
|---|---|---|
| Model access | Open weights | Open weights |
| Flagship models | GLM 5.3, DeepSeek V4.1 Flash | DeepSeek V4 Pro, Gemma 4 |
| Speed | 2x faster task completion | ~36 tok/s on DeepSeek V4 Pro |
| Price | 50–80% lower cost; billed on processed tokens | From $0.02 per 1M; batch 50% off |
| Customization | Marathon post-trained variants | Hot-swappable LoRA adapters |
| Deployment | Managed API, dedicated, on-prem | Serverless, GPU cloud, dedicated |
| Long context | 5M+ effective context | Full 1M on DeepSeek V4 Pro |

## FAQ

### What is the difference between Subconscious and Novita AI?

Novita competes on low prices across 200+ models. Subconscious competes on what long agents actually cost: the tokens processed across a growing trace.

### When should I choose Subconscious over Novita AI?

Long agents where billed tokens matter more than per-token price; Private code or documents with no prompt logging; On-prem long-horizon serving.

### When should I choose Novita AI over Subconscious?

Cheap LLM and image calls for indie products; A broad multimodal catalog with day-zero open model support; GPUs, dedicated endpoints and agent sandboxes on one bill.

### Is Subconscious or Novita AI cheaper?

Subconscious: 50–80% lower cost; billed on processed tokens. Novita AI: From $0.02 per 1M; batch 50% off. The cheaper choice depends on the model and workload.

### Which has more context, Subconscious or Novita AI?

Subconscious: 5M+ effective context. Novita AI: Full 1M on DeepSeek V4 Pro.

## Try Subconscious

Subconscious speaks the OpenAI and Anthropic API formats. Base URL: https://api.subconscious.dev/v1. Docs: https://docs.subconscious.dev. Get an API key: https://platform.subconscious.dev/signin. Agent guide: https://www.subconscious.dev/agents.md.

Full profiles: [Subconscious](https://www.subconscious.dev/providers/subconscious.md), [Novita AI](https://www.subconscious.dev/providers/novita-ai.md).