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DeepInfra vs OpenAI

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

Updated 10 criteria comparedSources last checked

The short answer

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.

5 sourced criteria separate them:

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.
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, rising to $20 above the short-context threshold. gpt-5.6-sol is $4 and gpt-5.6-terra $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, $75 at long context.
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: $0.20 per million input tokens for gpt-5.6-luna at short context, with output at $1.20.
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, of which at most 922,000 may be input.
Visit DeepInfra documentationVisit OpenAI documentation

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.
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, rising to $20 above the short-context threshold. gpt-5.6-sol is $4 and gpt-5.6-terra $2.
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, $75 at long 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.
$0.20 per million input tokens for gpt-5.6-luna at short context, with output at $1.20.
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, of which at most 922,000 may be input.
Prompt cachingSupportedSupported

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

  • 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

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, rising to $20 above the short-context threshold. gpt-5.6-sol is $4 and gpt-5.6-terra $2.
Sources (2) →
  • Pricing — DeepInfra ↗

    “DeepSeek-V4-Pro 1024k $1.30 / $0.10 cached $2.60”

    Read 2026-09-06 · official pricing

  • Pricing — OpenAI API docs ↗

    “| gpt-6-astra | $10.00 | $1.00 | $12.50 | $50.00 | $20.00 | $2.00 | $25.00 | $75.00 | [...] | gpt-5.6-sol | $4.00 [...] | gpt-5.6-terra | $2.00”

    Read 2026-09-06 · official pricing

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, $75 at long 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
$0.20 per million input tokens for gpt-5.6-luna at short context, with output at $1.20.
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, of which at most 922,000 may be input.

Sources (2) →

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.

Which should you choose?

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.
04.

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.

Max output tokensOpenAI: 128,000 tokens on gpt-6-astra.
Batch discountOpenAI: 50% off input and output through the Batch API: gpt-6-astra falls from $10/$50 to $5/$25 at short context.
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.
05.

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.

Provider pages

DeepInfraServerless inference for open-weight models with published cached-input rates, plus dedicated GPUs billed by the minute.OpenAIHosted inference for the GPT model family, sold per million tokens with separate short- and long-context rates.

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Every page here is sourced and dated.