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xAI vs Meta
Two closed labs with cheap agentic models. xAI brings X data and a longer API track record; Meta brings Muse Spark at $1.25 in, dual SDK compatibility and a near-free data-sharing tier.
By The Subconscious Team · Updated
xAI vs Meta: key differences
Price points sit close together. Meta's Muse Spark 1.3 costs $1.25 in and $4.25 out per million with a 1M context, while xAI's Grok 4.6 costs $2 in and $6 out with 500K context, and Grok 4.20 matches Meta's input price at $1.25 with $2.50 output and 1M context. Both labs sell media on the side: xAI through separate image, video and audio APIs, Meta through Muse Image at $0.01 per image and Muse Voice Transcribe at $0.18 per hour. Meta's endpoint speaks OpenAI Chat Completions and Anthropic Messages formats, which eases migration.
The differences are data and maturity. Meta's API is still in public preview with a short track record. Its Contributor tier cuts prices about 95% to $0.10 in and $0.20 out if Meta can train on your traffic, with rate limits dropping to 100 requests per minute. xAI has no equivalent, but it bills the whole request at double past 200K prompt tokens, which hurts long agent contexts. xAI's X Search is unique for real-time agents. Meta also ships open-weight Muse Glimmer for self-hosting, where xAI is closed only.
What xAI and Meta do
xAI
xAI sells the Grok models through its own API. Grok 4.6 is the current flagship and xAI tells developers to use it for everything outside audio, image and video, code included. It has a 500K context window and costs $2 in and $6 out per million tokens under 200K prompt tokens. Older Grok 4.20 and 4.3 models keep a 1M window at $1.25 in and $2.50 out, which is aggressive for that capability class.
Example models: Grok 4.6, Grok 4.20
Full xAI profileMeta
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.
Example models: Muse Spark 1.3, Muse Glimmer
Full Meta profileShould you choose xAI or Meta?
xAI vs Meta at a glance
| Attribute | xAI | Meta |
|---|---|---|
| Model access | Closed | Closed API; open Muse Glimmer |
| Flagship models | Grok 4.6, Grok 4.20, grok-build | Muse Spark 1.3, Muse Glimmer |
| Speed | ~54 tok/s on Grok 4.6 | ~145–233 tok/s on Muse Spark 1.3 |
| Price | $2 in, $6 out (Grok 4.6); 2x past 200K | $1.25 in, $4.25 out; Contributor tier cheaper |
| Customization | Unknown | Open Muse Glimmer weights to fine-tune |
| Deployment | First-party API | Meta Model API (preview) |
| Long context | 500K (4.6), 1M (4.20, 4.3) | 1M |
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between xAI and Meta?
Two closed labs with cheap agentic models. xAI brings X data and a longer API track record; Meta brings Muse Spark at $1.25 in, dual SDK compatibility and a near-free data-sharing tier.
When should I choose xAI over Meta?
Real-time agents on X posts and web search; Low output prices on Grok 4.20; Teams that want a production API, not a preview.
When should I choose Meta over xAI?
Near-free prototyping when data sharing is acceptable; Drop-in migration from OpenAI or Anthropic SDKs; An open-weight sibling model to self-host.
Is xAI or Meta cheaper?
xAI: $2 in, $6 out (Grok 4.6); 2x past 200K. Meta: $1.25 in, $4.25 out; Contributor tier cheaper. The cheaper choice depends on the model and workload.
Which has more context, xAI or Meta?
xAI: 500K (4.6), 1M (4.20, 4.3). Meta: 1M.
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.