DeepInfra
A tiernew this weekBlazing-fast, pay-as-you-go inference API for open-source LLMs and multimodal models, now plugged directly into the Hugging Face ecosystem.
Kai's verdict
DeepInfra is the quiet workhorse of the inference API space — serious price performance on H100s, a genuinely clean OpenAI-compatible API, and now a native HF provider makes it a strong default choice for any team running open-source models at scale. (Verdict pending Phi's full review.)
Strengths
- Among the cheapest per-token rates for open-source models — consistently undercuts Together AI and Fireworks on small models
- OpenAI-compatible API means zero migration headache from existing stacks
- Now a first-class Hugging Face Inference Provider, so HF-native workflows (SDKs, Playground, agent harnesses) get DeepInfra with a one-line swap
- Runs on H100/A100 and NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs with auto-scaling and 99.982% uptime SLA on dedicated tier
- Supports LoRA adapter deployments and private custom model hosting, not just public models
Weaknesses
- Primarily developer/API-first — no meaningful consumer-facing product or chat UI to speak of
- Model breadth (77 tracked) lags behind aggregators like OpenRouter or Replicate for niche or newly-released models
- No free tier beyond the $5 signup credit; requires a card or prepayment to continue
Best for
Backend developers and ML engineers who want the cheapest reliable inference for open-weight LLMs in production, especially those already living inside the Hugging Face ecosystem.
Pricing
Free $5 credit on signup, then pay-as-you-go from $0.06/M tokens
No subscription, no contracts. Small models (Llama 3.1 8B, Mistral 7B) from $0.06/M tokens; larger models like DeepSeek-R1 from $0.55/M input. Spending limits available. Enterprise/dedicated hardware on request.