vsTOpenAI vs Together AI
Comparing two ai & llm apis platforms on pricing, features, free tier, and trade-offs.
Quick summary
OpenAI — The company behind ChatGPT, GPT-4o, and o1. OpenAI provides the most widely used LLM API with GPT-4o, GPT-4o mini, o1 reasoning models, embeddings, DALL-E image generation, Whisper speech-to-text, and Assistants API.
Together AI — Run open-source AI models in production. Together AI hosts 200+ open-source models (Llama, Mixtral, Qwen, DeepSeek, Flux) with competitive pricing, fine-tuning, and dedicated endpoints.
Feature comparison
| Feature | OpenAI | Together AI |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Paid | Freemium |
| Starting price | Pay per token | Pay per token |
| Free tier | No | Yes |
| Open source | No | No |
| Vision | Yes | Yes |
| Streaming | Yes | Yes |
| Embeddings | Yes | Yes |
| Max Output | 16K | 8K |
| Fine-tuning | Yes | Yes |
| Context Window | 128K | 128K |
| Flagship Model | GPT-4o | Llama 3.3 405B |
| Reasoning Model | o1 | DeepSeek R1 |
| Function Calling | Yes | Yes |
| EU Data Residency | Yes | No |
OpenAI
The company behind ChatGPT, GPT-4o, and o1
Pros
- Most capable general-purpose LLM
- Huge ecosystem and SDK support
- Battle-tested at scale
- Best function calling reliability
Cons
- Most expensive at scale
- No free tier
- Rate limits can bite
- Vendor lock-in risk
T
Together AI
Run open-source AI models in production
Pros
- 200+ open-source models one API
- Fine-tuning infrastructure built in
- Dedicated endpoints for SLA workloads
- Image generation (Flux) too
Cons
- No proprietary frontier model
- Pricing varies wildly per model
- Documentation sometimes out-of-sync
Which should you choose?
Choose OpenAI if you need production-grade features and are ready to pay. Choose Together AI if a free tier is important for your stage.
Frequently asked questions
Which is better, OpenAI or Together AI?
There is no universal “better.” For most teams, Together AI is the safer default because Together AI offers a free tier, while OpenAI requires a paid plan. For edge cases, the comparison table above highlights where each tool wins.
Is OpenAI cheaper than Together AI?
OpenAI starts at Pay per token, while Together AI starts at Pay per token. Exact costs depend on usage — check both vendors' calculators before committing.
Can I migrate from OpenAI to Together AI?
Migration difficulty depends on how deeply OpenAI-specific features (APIs, SDK conventions, data schemas) are baked into your app. Most ai & llm apis migrations take days to weeks. Both vendors typically publish migration guides — check their docs.
Is OpenAI or Together AI open source?
No — both OpenAI and Together AI are proprietary managed services. If open source is a requirement, see our alternatives pages.
Does OpenAI or Together AI have a free tier?
Together AI has a free tier; OpenAI does not.
Which is best for startups and indie hackers?
Startups usually optimize for the lowest friction to ship and the cheapest possible free tier. The one with the most generous free tier here is Together AI. For production workloads, revisit the trade-offs in the feature table above.