Groq Alternatives: Strong Options Compared
Groq is fast and cheap, but not the only option. Compare Cerebras, SambaNova, Together AI, Fireworks, DeepInfra and Novita on price and measured speed.
By Galactic News Editorial · Published 2026-11-08T22:24:20+00:00 · Updated 2026-11-08T22:24:20+00:00
Groq Alternatives: Strong Options Compared
Groq is fast and cheap. It is not the only fast, cheap way to run open models. If you need a bigger model catalog, higher limits, or a different price shape, several Groq alternatives are worth a look. This comparison covers the strongest options, with prices and measured speeds for the same model, gpt-oss-120b.
Why look for Groq alternatives
Groq runs open-weight models on its own LPU chips through GroqCloud. Its public catalog is narrow. As of late October 2026, the self-serve plans serve gpt-oss-120b, gpt-oss-20b, and Qwen 3.8 27B, while Llama 3.1 8B and Llama 3.3 70B moved to Enterprise-only. If you need DeepSeek, Kimi, or GLM models, you must look elsewhere. The free plan is also tight: 30 requests a minute and 200,000 tokens a day on the main models. Teams that outgrow those limits often switch rather than upgrade.
The right alternative depends on what you value most. Raw speed favors Cerebras. Lowest price favors DeepInfra. The widest model choice favors Together AI or Fireworks AI. There is no single winner. There is a best fit for your workload.
Groq alternatives compared
Prices below are list prices for gpt-oss-120b, checked in late October 2026. Speeds come from Artificial Analysis measurements of the same model, taken in the October 26, 2026 snapshot. Speeds change as providers update their systems, so treat them as a snapshot, not a promise.
| Provider | Input per 1M tokens | Output per 1M tokens | Output speed (tokens/sec) | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Groq | $0.15 | $0.60 | 473 | Cheap, fast baseline with a free plan |
| Cerebras | $0.35 | $0.75 | 1,694 | Maximum speed on the same model |
| SambaNova | $0.22 | $0.59 | 701 | Fast output with high endpoint accuracy |
| Together AI | $0.15 | $0.60 | 169 | Wide model catalog and fine-tuning |
| Fireworks AI | $0.15 | $0.60 | Not measured | Same price as Groq, bigger catalog |
| DeepInfra | $0.037 | $0.17 | 57 | Lowest token cost |
| Novita AI | Low | Low | 239 | Low-cost streaming workloads |
Cerebras: the speed pick
Cerebras runs models on a single wafer-scale chip. Its listed speed for gpt-oss-120b is about 3,000 tokens per second, and independent measurements put it near 1,694 tokens per second on the same model, about 3.6 times Groq. The trade-off is price. At $0.35 input and $0.75 output per million tokens, it costs more than twice Groq's input price. The Developer tier starts with a one-time $5 credit, and the tier is labelled for development and evaluation, not production use. Choose Cerebras when latency is the product, such as voice agents or real-time chat.
SambaNova: fast and accurate
SambaNova runs models on its Reconfigurable Dataflow Unit chips. In the same Artificial Analysis snapshot, it delivered 701 output tokens per second with the highest endpoint accuracy score in the group at 98 percent, against 86 percent for Groq. Its gpt-oss-120b price is $0.22 input and $0.59 output per million tokens. The catch is time to first token: about 1.18 seconds in the snapshot, roughly twice Groq's. Pick SambaNova for batch-style workloads where total throughput and answer quality matter more than the first token.
Together AI and Fireworks AI: the catalog picks
Together AI and Fireworks AI both list gpt-oss-120b at the same $0.15 input and $0.60 output per million tokens as Groq. Their advantage is breadth. Together AI serves Kimi, GLM, DeepSeek, and Qwen models, and offers LoRA fine-tuning and dedicated deployments. Fireworks AI offers fine-tuning served at base price and dedicated GPU capacity. Both are slower than Groq on gpt-oss-120b in the measured snapshot, at 169 tokens per second for Together AI. Choose one of these when you need many models behind one API, or when you plan to fine-tune.
DeepInfra and Novita AI: the budget picks
DeepInfra lists gpt-oss-120b at $0.037 input and $0.17 output per million tokens, the lowest price in this comparison. The trade-off is speed: 57 output tokens per second in the snapshot. Novita AI sits in the middle, with 239 tokens per second and an estimated request cost well below Groq's in the comparison. Choose DeepInfra for background jobs, batch processing, or evaluation runs where cost matters more than speed. Choose Novita AI for low-cost streaming.
How to choose a Groq alternative
Start with your bottleneck. If users wait on every token, test Cerebras. If you need models Groq does not serve, test Together AI or Fireworks AI. If your bill is the problem, test DeepInfra. Run the same prompt set on two providers and compare three numbers: time to first token, output tokens per second, and cost per thousand requests. Most providers use OpenAI-compatible APIs, so switching is usually a change of base URL and key, not a rewrite.
Bottom line
Groq is still the best default for cheap, fast inference with a real free plan. Cerebras is the pick when speed is everything and you can pay more per token. SambaNova balances speed with the highest measured accuracy. Together AI and Fireworks AI win on model choice and fine-tuning. DeepInfra wins on price for slow background work. Test two providers on your real workload before you commit. The list prices are close. Your measured latency and your actual bill are what decide.