# Parasail > Aggregated GPUs behind one API, with cheap batch on any Hugging Face model. Canonical: https://www.subconscious.dev/providers/parasail · By The Subconscious Team · Updated September 30, 2026 - Founded: 2023 - Example models: GTE-Qwen2, Qwen3-VL-8B-Instruct - Website: https://www.parasail.io ## Overview Parasail calls itself the inference cloud for AI-native startups. Instead of owning data centers, it aggregates GPUs from many hardware providers and sells them through one OpenAI-compatible API. Customers choose serverless per-token endpoints, Elastic Endpoints that scale with traffic and bill only for tokens used, dedicated deployments with negotiated latency SLAs, or batch. Its commit-to-spend model lets one commitment draw down across any model or hardware. Batch is where Parasail stands out. It runs any Hugging Face model, private repos included, at half of serverless pricing on a fleet that mixes in spot instances, with cached tokens discounted another 50%. Rates key off parameter count and precision, so a 4B to 8B model costs $0.03 in and $0.06 out per million at FP4. For real-time traffic Parasail designed around a 600ms p99 budget, using Cloudflare Workers at the edge and WireGuard to the GPU. Most customers start by running it alongside a closed-model vendor, then shift workloads over under a standard ZDR and SLA agreement. ## Upsides - Batch on any Hugging Face model with transparent per-parameter pricing. - Flexible commitments that avoid paying for idle reserved GPUs. ## Core use cases - Evals, embeddings and large offline data processing. - Startups moving production traffic from closed APIs to dedicated open-model endpoints. ## Downsides - Aggregated third-party hardware makes performance consistency depend on the underlying providers. - Reserved GPU pricing is quote-only, so budgets need a sales call. ## At a glance | Attribute | Value | |---|---| | Model access | Any Hugging Face model | | Flagship models | GTE-Qwen2, Qwen3-VL-8B-Instruct | | Speed | 600ms p99 real-time budget | | Price | Per-parameter rates; batch 50% off | | Customization | Private Hugging Face repos | | Deployment | Serverless, elastic, dedicated, batch | | Long context | Varies by model | ## FAQ ### What is Parasail? Parasail calls itself the inference cloud for AI-native startups. Instead of owning data centers, it aggregates GPUs from many hardware providers and sells them through one OpenAI-compatible API. Customers choose serverless per-token endpoints, Elastic Endpoints that scale with traffic and bill only for tokens used, dedicated deployments with negotiated latency SLAs, or batch. Its commit-to-spend model lets one commitment draw down across any model or hardware. ### What is Parasail best for? Evals, embeddings and large offline data processing; Startups moving production traffic from closed APIs to dedicated open-model endpoints. ### How much does Parasail cost? Parasail pricing at a glance: Per-parameter rates; batch 50% off. Rates change often, so check Parasail's pricing page before committing. ### How much context does Parasail support? Parasail's long-context support: Varies by model. ### What are the downsides of Parasail? Aggregated third-party hardware makes performance consistency depend on the underlying providers; Reserved GPU pricing is quote-only, so budgets need a sales call. ### What are the best alternatives to Parasail? Common alternatives include Subconscious, OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Vertex AI, Amazon Bedrock. Each has a head-to-head comparison with Parasail on this site. ## Comparisons - [Subconscious vs Parasail](https://www.subconscious.dev/compare/subconscious-vs-parasail.md) - [OpenAI vs Parasail](https://www.subconscious.dev/compare/openai-vs-parasail.md) - [Anthropic vs Parasail](https://www.subconscious.dev/compare/anthropic-vs-parasail.md) - [Google Vertex AI vs Parasail](https://www.subconscious.dev/compare/google-vertex-vs-parasail.md) - [Amazon Bedrock vs Parasail](https://www.subconscious.dev/compare/aws-bedrock-vs-parasail.md) - [Together AI vs Parasail](https://www.subconscious.dev/compare/together-ai-vs-parasail.md) - [Fireworks AI vs Parasail](https://www.subconscious.dev/compare/fireworks-vs-parasail.md) - [Baseten vs Parasail](https://www.subconscious.dev/compare/baseten-vs-parasail.md) - [Groq vs Parasail](https://www.subconscious.dev/compare/groq-vs-parasail.md) - [Cerebras vs Parasail](https://www.subconscious.dev/compare/cerebras-vs-parasail.md) - [DeepInfra vs Parasail](https://www.subconscious.dev/compare/deepinfra-vs-parasail.md) - [Modal vs Parasail](https://www.subconscious.dev/compare/modal-vs-parasail.md) - [xAI vs Parasail](https://www.subconscious.dev/compare/xai-vs-parasail.md) - [DeepSeek vs Parasail](https://www.subconscious.dev/compare/deepseek-vs-parasail.md) - [Moonshot AI vs Parasail](https://www.subconscious.dev/compare/moonshot-ai-vs-parasail.md) - [Z.ai vs Parasail](https://www.subconscious.dev/compare/z-ai-vs-parasail.md) - [Alibaba Cloud vs Parasail](https://www.subconscious.dev/compare/alibaba-cloud-vs-parasail.md) - [Meta vs Parasail](https://www.subconscious.dev/compare/meta-vs-parasail.md) - [SambaNova vs Parasail](https://www.subconscious.dev/compare/sambanova-vs-parasail.md) - [Nebius vs Parasail](https://www.subconscious.dev/compare/nebius-vs-parasail.md) - [fal vs Parasail](https://www.subconscious.dev/compare/fal-vs-parasail.md) - [Novita AI vs Parasail](https://www.subconscious.dev/compare/novita-ai-vs-parasail.md) - [Parasail vs Inference.net](https://www.subconscious.dev/compare/parasail-vs-inference-net.md) - [Parasail vs GMI Cloud](https://www.subconscious.dev/compare/parasail-vs-gmi-cloud.md) - [Parasail vs Sail Research](https://www.subconscious.dev/compare/parasail-vs-sail-research.md) - [Parasail vs Morph](https://www.subconscious.dev/compare/parasail-vs-morph.md) - [Parasail vs Relace](https://www.subconscious.dev/compare/parasail-vs-relace.md) - [Parasail vs TypeSafe AI](https://www.subconscious.dev/compare/parasail-vs-typesafe-ai.md) - [Parasail vs StepFun](https://www.subconscious.dev/compare/parasail-vs-stepfun.md) - [Parasail vs Runware](https://www.subconscious.dev/compare/parasail-vs-runware.md) - [Parasail vs StreamLake](https://www.subconscious.dev/compare/parasail-vs-streamlake.md) - [Parasail vs Wafer](https://www.subconscious.dev/compare/parasail-vs-wafer.md) - [Parasail vs RunInfra](https://www.subconscious.dev/compare/parasail-vs-runinfra.md) - [Parasail vs Particle.AI](https://www.subconscious.dev/compare/parasail-vs-particle-ai.md) ## Sources - [Parasail](https://www.parasail.io/) - [Parasail pricing](https://www.parasail.io/pricing) - [Parasail docs](https://docs.parasail.io/parasail-docs) Pricing and model lineups change often; figures are a snapshot.