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xAI vs OpenScale
xAI sells closed Grok models with live data from X. OpenScale sells open DeepSeek V4.1 Flash at a fraction of the per-token price.
By The Subconscious Team · Updated
xAI vs OpenScale: key differences
xAI's Grok 4.7 has a 500K context and costs $2 in and $6 out per million tokens under 200K prompt tokens, with the whole request billed at double past that. Grok 4.20 and 4.3 keep a 1M window at $1.25 in and $2.50 out, and server-side search tools pull in posts straight from X. OpenScale serves open DeepSeek V4.1 Flash with a 1M context at $0.06 in, $0.003 cached and $0.24 out under a 50% promotion, at 200+ tokens per second.
Grok is the pick for news, market and social agents that need fresh data from X, and for teams that want a closed frontier model. OpenScale is the pick for cheap, high-volume agent traffic on an open model, especially cache-heavy coding loops, though it is a young company with one model and no published SLA.
What xAI and OpenScale do
xAI
xAI sells the Grok models through its own API. SpaceX acquired it in February 2026, and its docs now use the SpaceXAI name. Grok 4.7, released September 21, 2026, is the current flagship, pitched for coding, agentic tasks and knowledge work. 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 4.7, Grok 4.20
Full xAI profileOpenScale
OpenScale is a Y Combinator-backed inference API built by LatentSpace and run out of Singapore. It sells open models behind one endpoint that speaks Chat Completions, the OpenAI Responses API and Anthropic Messages, so Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, Cline, GitHub Copilot, Zed and other coding agents can point at it with a base URL and key. Its public catalog today is DeepSeek V4.1 Flash in two versions, standard and fast, both with a 1M token context window and up to 384K output tokens.
Example models: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash
Full OpenScale profileShould you choose xAI or OpenScale?
xAI vs OpenScale at a glance
| Attribute | xAI | OpenScale |
|---|---|---|
| Model access | Closed | Open weights |
| Flagship models | Grok 4.7, Grok 4.20, grok-build | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash |
| Speed | ~54 tok/s on Grok 4.6 | 200+ tok/s; fast tier ~2x |
| Price | $2 in, $6 out (Grok 4.7); 2x past 200K | $0.06 in, $0.24 out (promo, DeepSeek V4.1 Flash) |
| Customization | Unknown | N/A |
| Deployment | First-party API | Serverless API |
| Long context | 500K (4.7), 1M (4.20, 4.3) | 1M context |
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between xAI and OpenScale?
xAI sells closed Grok models with live data from X. OpenScale sells open DeepSeek V4.1 Flash at a fraction of the per-token price.
When should I choose xAI over OpenScale?
Real-time context from X; A closed frontier model for coding and knowledge work; Native image, video and audio APIs.
When should I choose OpenScale over xAI?
Much lower per-token prices; Cache-heavy coding agents; An open model behind Anthropic and OpenAI formats.
Is xAI or OpenScale cheaper?
xAI: $2 in, $6 out (Grok 4.7); 2x past 200K. OpenScale: $0.06 in, $0.24 out (promo, DeepSeek V4.1 Flash). The cheaper choice depends on the model and workload.
Which has more context, xAI or OpenScale?
xAI: 500K (4.7), 1M (4.20, 4.3). OpenScale: 1M context.
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.