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DeepInfra vs OpenAI

SEPT 2026 audit

A comparison of DeepInfra and OpenAI built from values read directly from each provider's own documentation, with the source recorded against every figure.

Reviewed by Palash BagchiUpdated 26 criteria comparedSources last checked

The short answer

Choose DeepInfra if…

Running open-weight models at the lowest published per-token rates here — DeepSeek-V4-Flash at $0.06 per million input is a fraction of what the lab itself charges — with dedicated H100s at $2.20 an hour if throughput demands it.

Editorial · Palash Bagchi · approved

Choose OpenAI if…

Work that fits inside the short-context rate, where the cheapest tier is $0.20 per million input tokens and the batch tier halves everything above it.

Editorial · Palash Bagchi · approved

Consider something else if…

  • DeepInfra: Only some models carry per-token pricing; the rest bill for inference execution time, which is a different and harder thing to forecast.
  • OpenAI: Long prompts cross into the long-context rate and roughly double the bill, which is a cliff the flat-rate vendors do not have.

16 sourced criteria separate them — see where, with sources, below.

No affiliate links, sponsored placements or paid rankings appear on this site. Ordering follows the sourced data and the stated criteria.

01.

At a glance.

CriterionDeepInfraOpenAI
Pricing
Pricing modelTwo products on one bill: per-token serverless inference with a separate cached-input rate for each model, and dedicated GPUs billed per minute and invoiced weekly. Models without per-token pricing are billed for inference execution time instead.Per million tokens, with a second rate above the short-context threshold — long-context input and output cost roughly double. Batch, Flex, Fast and standard tiers are priced separately, and regional processing adds a 10% uplift on models released from March 2026.
Infrastructure
RegionsServerless inference runs on DeepInfra's own inference-optimised infrastructure in US-based data centers. No region selector is documented for the shared inference API.Ten data-residency regions: US, Europe (EEA + Switzerland), Australia, Canada, Japan, India, Singapore, South Korea, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates. Regional processing (inference) only in US, EU and UAE; the rest are storage-only.
Inference
Input price, top model
$1.30 per million input tokens for DeepSeek-V4-Pro, the most expensive model in its catalogue. Cached input is $0.10.
$10 per million input tokens for gpt-6-astra at short context.
Output price, top model
$2.60 per million output tokens for DeepSeek-V4-Pro.
$50 per million output tokens for gpt-6-astra at short context.
Input price, cheapest model
$0.06 per million input tokens for DeepSeek-V4-Flash-0731, with cached input at $0.015 and output at $0.18. DeepSeek itself charges $0.44 at peak for the same checkpoint and Fireworks $0.22.
$0.10 per million input tokens for gpt-6-luna at short context.
Context window
1024k tokens on the DeepSeek V4 models it serves; 160k on the V3 generation. The window is the model's rather than a platform limit.
1,050,000 tokens on gpt-6-astra.
Max output tokensHard cap of 16384 output tokens per response for most models on the chat completions API; the exact limit is model-dependent.128,000 tokens on gpt-6-astra.
Prompt cachingSupportedSupported — Cached input is a tenth of the input rate; cache writes are priced above it.
Batch discountBatch API jobs are billed 20% below real-time pricing, with results returned within 24 hours.50% off input and output through the Batch API: gpt-6-astra falls from $10.00/$50.00 to $5.00/$25.00 at short context.
Rate limitsDefault 200 concurrent requests per model per account (429 above it); a limit increase can be requested in the dashboard.Org- and project-level limits in RPM, RPD, TPM, TPD and IPM that vary by model; usage tiers graduate automatically as API spend rises.
Compliance
SOC 2
Security measures stated to comply with SOC 2 standards in the privacy policy; no report, audit type or auditor is published.
SOC 2 Type 2 report by an independent third-party auditor covering security, confidentiality, privacy and availability; access requested in the Trust Portal.
ISO 27001
Security measures stated to comply with ISO 27001 standards in the privacy policy; no certificate or issuing body is published.
ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certified, alongside 27017, 27018 and 27701; the certificate scope names the API, ChatGPT Enterprise and ChatGPT Edu.
HIPAA
Technical and organizational measures for HIPAA compliance stated in the privacy policy; no BAA or eligible-services list is published.
BAA-eligible endpoints can process PHI once a Business Associate and Healthcare Addendum is executed; live Web Search is not HIPAA eligible.
GDPR / data residency
Privacy Policy: data may be transferred, stored and processed outside your jurisdiction, specifically in the United States; EU residents keep GDPR rights.
Per-project data residency stores customer content at rest in a chosen region; non-US regions need abuse-monitoring approval and a Modified Retention amendment.
Encryption at rest
Inference inputs and outputs are not stored to disk; bulk-inference data may be stored on disk in encrypted form, then deleted.
Data protection controls include encryption of your data in transit and at rest, per the applicable ChatGPT Enterprise or API organization settings. Stated in OpenAI's Codex HIPAA configuration guide; no separate API-docs statement.
Role-based access control
Team roles are member and admin; an admin can change roles, but all team members share the same API tokens and models.
Role-based access control with preset and custom roles, groups syncable from an identity provider via SCIM, scoped at organization or project level.
Dedicated infrastructurePrivate model deployments run on dedicated GPU infrastructure - your weights, your endpoint, your isolation - not shared with other users.Scale Tier offers more predictable capacity on eligible models for enterprise pay-as-you-go traffic; Reserved Tier covers GPT-5.6 and later models.

Only criteria both providers publish appear here; a tinted cell marks a real difference. Criteria only one of them documents are listed below, and an absence there means we found no source — not that the feature is missing. How we source this.

The small bar above a value is inetGeek's own lean toward that side — computed from the same facts shown, never a number the provider published. See the picker below "The short answer" to weigh only the criteria you care about.

02.

Where they differ.

Pricing model

DeepInfra
Two products on one bill: per-token serverless inference with a separate cached-input rate for each model, and dedicated GPUs billed per minute and invoiced weekly. Models without per-token pricing are billed for inference execution time instead.
OpenAI
Per million tokens, with a second rate above the short-context threshold — long-context input and output cost roughly double. Batch, Flex, Fast and standard tiers are priced separately, and regional processing adds a 10% uplift on models released from March 2026.
Sources (2) →
  • Pricing — DeepInfra ↗

    “Some of our langauge models offer per token pricing. Most other models are billed for inference execution time. [...] Billed in minute granularity Invoiced weekly”

    Read 2026-09-06 · official pricing · Report a correction

  • Pricing — OpenAI API docs ↗

    “Prices per 1M tokens. [...] Regional processing (data residency) endpoints are charged a 10% uplift for models released on or after March 5, 2026 [...] Priority processing was renamed Fast mode on July 30, 2026.”

    Read 2026-09-06 · official pricing · Report a correction

Regions

DeepInfra
Serverless inference runs on DeepInfra's own inference-optimised infrastructure in US-based data centers. No region selector is documented for the shared inference API.
OpenAI
Ten data-residency regions: US, Europe (EEA + Switzerland), Australia, Canada, Japan, India, Singapore, South Korea, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates. Regional processing (inference) only in US, EU and UAE; the rest are storage-only.
Sources (2) →

Input price, top model

DeepInfra
$1.30 per million input tokens for DeepSeek-V4-Pro, the most expensive model in its catalogue. Cached input is $0.10.
OpenAI
$10 per million input tokens for gpt-6-astra at short context.
Sources (2) →

Output price, top model

DeepInfra
$2.60 per million output tokens for DeepSeek-V4-Pro.
OpenAI
$50 per million output tokens for gpt-6-astra at short context.
Sources (2) →

Input price, cheapest model

DeepInfra
$0.06 per million input tokens for DeepSeek-V4-Flash-0731, with cached input at $0.015 and output at $0.18. DeepSeek itself charges $0.44 at peak for the same checkpoint and Fireworks $0.22.
OpenAI
$0.10 per million input tokens for gpt-6-luna at short context.
Sources (2) →

Context window

DeepInfra

1024k tokens on the DeepSeek V4 models it serves; 160k on the V3 generation. The window is the model's rather than a platform limit.

OpenAI

1,050,000 tokens on gpt-6-astra.

Sources (2) →

Max output tokens

DeepInfra
Hard cap of 16384 output tokens per response for most models on the chat completions API; the exact limit is model-dependent.
OpenAI
128,000 tokens on gpt-6-astra.
Sources (2) →

Batch discount

DeepInfra
Batch API jobs are billed 20% below real-time pricing, with results returned within 24 hours.
OpenAI
50% off input and output through the Batch API: gpt-6-astra falls from $10.00/$50.00 to $5.00/$25.00 at short context.
Sources (2) →

Rate limits

DeepInfra
Default 200 concurrent requests per model per account (429 above it); a limit increase can be requested in the dashboard.
OpenAI
Org- and project-level limits in RPM, RPD, TPM, TPD and IPM that vary by model; usage tiers graduate automatically as API spend rises.
Sources (2) →
  • Rate Limits - DeepInfra ↗

    “Every account has a default limit of 200 concurrent requests per model [...] You can request a rate limit increase in your”

    Read 2026-09-13 · official docs · Report a correction

  • Rate limits - OpenAI API docs ↗

    “Rate limits use metrics such as RPM (requests per minute), RPD (requests per day), TPM (tokens per minute), TPD (tokens per day), IPM (images per minute) [...] Rate limits are defined at the organization level and at the project level, not user level. [...] As your spend on our API goes up, we automatically graduate you to the next usage tier. This usually results in an increase in rate limits across most models.”

    Read 2026-09-13 · official docs · Report a correction

SOC 2

DeepInfra
Security measures stated to comply with SOC 2 standards in the privacy policy; no report, audit type or auditor is published.
OpenAI
SOC 2 Type 2 report by an independent third-party auditor covering security, confidentiality, privacy and availability; access requested in the Trust Portal.
Sources (2) →
  • Privacy Policy — DeepInfra ↗

    “Our security measures comply with SOC 2 and ISO 27001 standards and include technical and organizational measures for GDPR and HIPAA”

    Read 2026-09-13 · official site · Report a correction

  • OpenAI Trust Portal ↗

    “Our products are covered in our SOC 2 Type 2 report and have been evaluated by an independent third-party auditor to confirm that our controls align with industry standards for security, confidentiality, privacy and availability.”

    Read 2026-09-13 · official site · Report a correction

ISO 27001

DeepInfra
Security measures stated to comply with ISO 27001 standards in the privacy policy; no certificate or issuing body is published.
OpenAI
ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certified, alongside 27017, 27018 and 27701; the certificate scope names the API, ChatGPT Enterprise and ChatGPT Edu.
Sources (2) →

HIPAA

DeepInfra
Technical and organizational measures for HIPAA compliance stated in the privacy policy; no BAA or eligible-services list is published.
OpenAI
BAA-eligible endpoints can process PHI once a Business Associate and Healthcare Addendum is executed; live Web Search is not HIPAA eligible.
Sources (2) →

GDPR / data residency

DeepInfra
Privacy Policy: data may be transferred, stored and processed outside your jurisdiction, specifically in the United States; EU residents keep GDPR rights.
OpenAI
Per-project data residency stores customer content at rest in a chosen region; non-US regions need abuse-monitoring approval and a Modified Retention amendment.
Sources (2) →
  • DeepInfra Privacy Policy ↗

    “Your data may be transferred, stored, and processed outside of your jurisdiction, specifically in the United States. [...] If you are a resident of the European Union you may have additional rights under the General Data Protection Regulation.”

    Read 2026-09-13 · official site · Report a correction

  • Data controls in the OpenAI platform - OpenAI API docs ↗

    “Data residency controls are a project configuration option that allow you to configure the location of infrastructure OpenAI uses to provide services. [...] To use data residency with any region other than the United States, you must be approved for abuse monitoring controls, and execute a Modified Retention amendment.”

    Read 2026-09-13 · official docs · Report a correction

Encryption at rest

DeepInfra
Inference inputs and outputs are not stored to disk; bulk-inference data may be stored on disk in encrypted form, then deleted.
OpenAI
Data protection controls include encryption of your data in transit and at rest, per the applicable ChatGPT Enterprise or API organization settings. Stated in OpenAI's Codex HIPAA configuration guide; no separate API-docs statement.
Sources (2) →

Role-based access control

DeepInfra
Team roles are member and admin; an admin can change roles, but all team members share the same API tokens and models.
OpenAI
Role-based access control with preset and custom roles, groups syncable from an identity provider via SCIM, scoped at organization or project level.
Sources (2) →
  • Okta SSO - DeepInfra ↗

    “Admin can change team member roles (member / admin) [...] All team members share the same API tokens and models [...] For per-user isolation (separate tokens and models per person), contact us”

    Read 2026-09-13 · official docs · Report a correction

  • Role-based access control (RBAC) - OpenAI API docs ↗

    “Role-based access control (RBAC) lets you decide who can do what across your organization and projects [...] Create custom roles with the exact permissions you need [...] Groups : Collections of users you can assign roles to. Groups can be synced from your identity provider (via SCIM)”

    Read 2026-09-13 · official docs · Report a correction

Dedicated infrastructure

DeepInfra
Private model deployments run on dedicated GPU infrastructure - your weights, your endpoint, your isolation - not shared with other users.
OpenAI
Scale Tier offers more predictable capacity on eligible models for enterprise pay-as-you-go traffic; Reserved Tier covers GPT-5.6 and later models.
Sources (2) →
  • Deploy Private Models - DeepInfra ↗

    “DeepInfra allows you to deploy your own models on dedicated infrastructure [...] data stays on dedicated infrastructure, not shared with other users”

    Read 2026-09-13 · official docs · Report a correction

  • Rate limits - OpenAI API docs ↗

    “Enterprise customers whose pay-as-you-go traffic routinely hits ramp-rate limits can consider Scale Tier for more predictable capacity on eligible models. For GPT-5.6 and later models, see Reserved Tier”

    Read 2026-09-13 · official docs · Report a correction

When these numbers change, hear about it. Sources are re-checked monthly; a repricing goes out as a short note.

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03.

Documented by only one.

These criteria are published by one provider and not the other. An absence here means we have not found a source, not that the feature is missing — except where we say we read the other provider's own page on a given date and it does not state it. Those rows lean, and the provider can correct them with a link.

Free tierDeepInfra: No
Kind of free offerDeepInfra: No free offer
Credit card to startDeepInfra: Yes
Entry paid planDeepInfra: No minimum spend and no seat fees - billing is pay-per-token usage only, with no charge for idle GPU time.
H100 SXM, per GPU-hourDeepInfra: $2.20 per GPU-hour for a dedicated H100 80GB — below every dedicated cloud in this dataset. A100 80GB is $0.89, H200 $2.69, B200 $3.69. Billed in minute granularity, invoiced weekly.
Largest GPU offeredDeepInfra: 270GB per GPU on a B300, at $4.89 per GPU-hour.
PCI DSSOpenAI: PCI DSS v4.0.1: compliance maintained for the components of ChatGPT that support delegated payment processing. Stated for ChatGPT delegated payment processing; the API platform is not named in the PCI scope.
Customer-managed keysOpenAI: Enterprise Key Management encrypts customer content with your own KMS keys; BYOK via AWS KMS, Google Cloud or Azure Key Vault.
Private networking / VPCOpenAI: Azure Private Link to regional OpenAI API endpoints; not self-service, and incompatible with IP allowlist controls or mutual TLS.
04.

Questions this comparison answers.

Should I choose DeepInfra or OpenAI?

Pick DeepInfra if Running open-weight models at the lowest published per-token rates here — DeepSeek-V4-Flash at $0.06 per million input is a fraction of what the lab itself charges — with dedicated H100s at $2.20 an hour if throughput demands it.

Pick OpenAI if Work that fits inside the short-context rate, where the cheapest tier is $0.20 per million input tokens and the batch tier halves everything above it.

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Comments

Every page here is sourced and dated.