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xAI vs Nebius
A US closed-model lab against a European AI cloud. xAI sells Grok and X data; Nebius sells 60+ open models, raw GPUs and EU placement.
By The Subconscious Team · Updated
xAI vs Nebius: key differences
Nebius is an infrastructure company, and xAI is a model company. Nebius's Token Factory serves 60+ open models, including Llama, Qwen, DeepSeek, GLM, Kimi and GPT-OSS, from $0.06 per million input tokens, and the same account rents raw NVIDIA GPUs from H100s at $2.15 an hour preemptible up to GB300 NVL72 racks. Dedicated endpoints carry a 99.9% SLA with EU or US placement. xAI offers none of that. It sells Grok through a first-party API, with Grok 4.6 at $2 in and $6 out and Web Search and X Search tools built in.
Pick by model type and jurisdiction. European enterprises that need AI kept in-region, or teams that want to serve a fine-tuned open checkpoint at base token prices, belong on Nebius. Nebius has no free trial, a $25 minimum first payment, and a smaller catalog than some open-model peers. Teams that want a closed model with cheap output and fresh data from X belong on xAI, keeping in mind that its bill doubles past 200K prompt tokens and its enterprise footprint is smaller than the largest labs.
What xAI and Nebius 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 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 xAI or Nebius?
xAI vs Nebius at a glance
| Attribute | xAI | Nebius |
|---|---|---|
| Model access | Closed | Open weights, 60+ models |
| Flagship models | Grok 4.6, Grok 4.20, grok-build | DeepSeek, Qwen, GLM, Kimi, GPT-OSS |
| Speed | ~54 tok/s on Grok 4.6 | Among top hosts on throughput |
| Price | $2 in, $6 out (Grok 4.6); 2x past 200K | From $0.06 per 1M input |
| Customization | Unknown | Serve uploaded fine-tunes |
| Deployment | First-party API | Token Factory, dedicated, raw GPUs |
| Long context | 500K (4.6), 1M (4.20, 4.3) | Varies by model |
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between xAI and Nebius?
A US closed-model lab against a European AI cloud. xAI sells Grok and X data; Nebius sells 60+ open models, raw GPUs and EU placement.
When should I choose xAI over Nebius?
Closed Grok models with live X data; Cheap output for reasoning and tool calls; Teams that want models, not infrastructure.
When should I choose Nebius over xAI?
EU data residency for open-model inference; Serving fine-tuned checkpoints on dedicated endpoints; Growing from tokens into raw GPU training.
Is xAI or Nebius cheaper?
xAI: $2 in, $6 out (Grok 4.6); 2x past 200K. Nebius: From $0.06 per 1M input. The cheaper choice depends on the model and workload.
Which has more context, xAI or Nebius?
xAI: 500K (4.6), 1M (4.20, 4.3). Nebius: Varies by model.
Related comparisons
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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.