# Best model APIs and inference for AI agents (slim)

> OpenAI API (A), Claude API (BB) and GroqCloud (BB) lead the 17 ranked model APIs and inference. Picks by need, strengths, weaknesses and prices from the Anchor benchmark.

- Full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/inference/index.md (~5,700 tokens) · this version ~1,330 tokens · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/inference/index.json · canonical https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/inference/
- Index: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt · API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json · Updated: 2026-10-09

The 10 highest-scoring of 17 model APIs and inference on the Anchor benchmark, with a pick for each need and where each one falls short. Scores come from public evidence, re-checked as vendors change.

- Ranked: 17 · agent-ready (BB or better): 5 · accept x402: 1 · hosted endpoints: 15
- Full ranked table: https://www.anchorterminal.com/categories/inference.md
- Head-to-head comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/inference/index.md (136)
- Methodology: https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/index.md

## The shortlist

| # | Tool | Grade | Score | Best for | Price | Where |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | [OpenAI API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/openai-api.md) | A | 83.3 | Agents that want one vendor for text, images, audio, hosted tools and remote MCP, with strict schemas and fine-grained keys. | from $0.10 / 1M in | hosted |
| 2 | [Claude API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/anthropic-api.md) | BB | 77.3 | Long agent loops that lean on tool use, strict schemas and caching, and teams that want 1M context at Opus or Sonnet prices. | from $1 / 1M in | hosted |
| 3 | [GroqCloud](https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/groq.md) | BB | 75.6 | Many small, latency-sensitive calls on open-weight models, routing, extraction and classification, and agents that need to start free. | from $0.075 / 1M in | hosted |
| 4 | [BlockRun.AI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/blockrun-ai.md) | BB | 72.4 | Agents that must start and pay with no human sign-up, and builders testing x402 against a real inference gateway. | Pay per use | local |
| 5 | [Mistral AI API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/mistral-api.md) | BB | 71.2 | Teams that need EU processing, open-weight models they can later run themselves, or an API an agent can read from an OpenAPI file. | from $0.10 / 1M in | hosted |
| 6 | [OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/openrouter.md) | B | 68.5 | Agents that need many models behind one key, provider failover and a hard price ceiling per request. | 5.5% fee | hosted |
| 7 | [Cloudflare Workers AI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/cloudflare-workers-ai.md) | B | 68.3 | Agents that already run on Cloudflare Workers, or that want open-weight chat, embedding, reranking, speech and image models behind one token with a free daily allowance. | from $0.0605 / 1M in | hosted |
| 8 | [Cloudflare AI Gateway](https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/cloudflare-ai-gateway.md) | B | 66.8 | Teams that already hold a Cloudflare account and want one token, one bill, logs, budgets and fallbacks in front of several model providers, or that want to keep their own provider keys behind a proxy with spend limits. | 5% fee | hosted |
| 9 | [SambaCloud](https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/sambanova.md) | B | 66.4 | Agents that want open-weight models behind an OpenAI or Anthropic client with a free start and prices an agent can read from the API. | from $0.22 / 1M in | hosted |
| 10 | [Gemini Developer API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/gemini-api.md) | B | 65.5 | Cheap, long-context Flash calls for prototypes, public data and agents that need to start without a card. | from $0.25 / 1M in | hosted |

## Picks by need

- Highest score overall: [OpenAI API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/openai-api.md), A, 83.3/100 on the benchmark. Also [Claude API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/anthropic-api.md), BB, 77.3/100.
- Reliability: [GroqCloud](https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/groq.md), 100/100 on reliability, against 70 for the overall leader.
- Lowest paid price per 1,000 requests: [Cloudflare AI Gateway](https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/cloudflare-ai-gateway.md), $0.0001 per 1,000 requests, the lowest of the 4 listings here with a paid price in this unit (free allowances aside). Also [OpenAI API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/openai-api.md), $2.50 per 1,000 requests.
- Paying per call with no account (x402): [BlockRun.AI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/blockrun-ai.md), accepts x402.

## How to choose

- Deprecation notice period: Check the notice given before a model is retired, because an agent pinned to a retired model can fail mid-task.
- Training use and retention: Check whether prompts and outputs can be used for training and how long they are retained, because agent prompts can carry customer records and tool results.
- Caching and batch pricing: Check whether cached prompt tokens and batch jobs are priced lower, since an agent that resends a long system prompt on every turn pays for it each time.
- Tool call and error formats: Confirm how tool calls and JSON output are returned and whether errors come back in a shape the agent can parse, because a malformed call stops the loop.

Each listing's verdict, strengths and weaknesses: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/inference/index.md