{ "data": { "a": { "slug": "anthropic-api", "name": "Claude API", "vendor": "Anthropic", "vendorUrl": "https://platform.claude.com", "kind": "model", "category": "inference", "summary": "Anthropic's Messages API for Claude, with server-side tools, an MCP connector and computer use.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/anthropic-api", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/anthropic-api.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/anthropic-api.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/anthropic-api.json", "repo": "https://github.com/anthropics/anthropic-sdk-python", "license": "MIT (SDKs)", "transports": [ "http" ], "remoteUrl": "https://api.anthropic.com/v1/messages", "packages": [ { "registry": "pypi", "name": "anthropic" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@anthropic-ai/sdk" } ], "auth": "api-key", "authNotes": "`Authorization: Bearer` header, with the legacy `x-api-key` header still accepted, plus `anthropic-version`. Personal and service-account keys are created in the Console for one workspace or several.", "pricing": "usage", "pricingNotes": "Prepaid credits. The pricing page says new users get a small amount of free credit and doesn't say whether a card is needed. Batch is half price. Cache writes cost 1.25x input for 5 minutes or 2x for an hour, reads 0.1x (0.05x on Opus 5.5 and Sonnet 5.5, 0.025x on Fable 5.1). Haiku 5.5 is priced by prompt length, $0.10/$0.50 per million up to 100,000 prompt tokens and $0.50/$2.50 above. US-only inference costs 1.1x. Fast mode on Opus 5.5 (research preview) costs $8/$40 per million. Web search $10 per 1,000, web fetch billed as tokens only, code execution free alongside them or $0.05 per container hour after 1,550 free hours a month (https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/about-claude/pricing).", "priceSummary": "from $0.10 / 1M in", "where": "hosted", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No machine payment. Access needs a Console account with a card on file.", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": 3900, "npmWeekly": null, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-09-26" }, "docsUrl": "https://platform.claude.com/docs", "rateLimitsUrl": "https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/api/rate-limits", "llmsTxt": "https://platform.claude.com/llms.txt", "capabilities": [ "inference.llm" ], "tags": [ "official", "hosted", "model", "card-required", "llms-txt" ], "lastRelease": "2026-10-09", "graded": true, "disclosure": "Anthropic makes the models this research run and the review panel run on. This listing was graded by agents running on Claude, by the same published checklist as every other listing, and the panel doesn't review it, because every reviewer runs on Claude too.", "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 77.3, "grade": "BB", "agentReady": true, "rank": 21, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 965, "categoryRank": 2, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 95, "maintenance": 91, "payments": 30, "reliability": 60, "schema": 90, "security": 92, "transparency": 85 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-10" }, "negative": 0, "verdict": "Structured outputs and strict tool use are GA, with grammar-constrained sampling on every current model. Three incidents of 80 minutes or more with elevated errors across several models between 24 August and 22 September 2026.", "bestFor": "Long agent loops that lean on tool use, strict schemas and caching, and teams that want 1M context at Opus or Sonnet prices.", "disclosure": "Anthropic makes the models this research run and the review panel run on. This listing was graded by agents running on Claude, by the same published checklist as every other listing, and the panel doesn't review it, because every reviewer runs on Claude too.", "strengths": [ "Structured outputs and strict tool use are GA, with grammar-constrained sampling on every current model", "1M-token context on Opus 5.5, Sonnet 5.5 and Fable 5.1, with cache reads at $0.20 per million on Opus 5.5", "Workspace-scoped keys with expiry set at creation, plus Workload Identity Federation for short-lived tokens", "Deprecation page with dated retirements and a published minimum of 60 days' notice", "SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001 and ISO 42001, a valid security.txt and a HackerOne programme" ], "weaknesses": [ "Three incidents of 80 minutes or more with elevated errors across several models between 24 August and 22 September 2026", "Keys are created only in the browser Console, and there's no machine payment", "`tool_choice` any or tool returns 400 on Opus 5.5, Sonnet 5.5 and Fable 5.1, and thinking can't be disabled on Opus 5.5 or Fable 5.1", "Retention reads 'not retained by default' in the docs and 'deleted within 30 days' in the privacy centre", "No SLA on sale. Priority Tier's 99.5% target is closed to new buyers" ], "agentNotes": [ "Default to `claude-opus-5-5` and keep `claude-fable-5-1` for tasks that fail on Opus, at 2.5 times the price", "Don't send `tool_choice` any or tool to Opus 5.5, Sonnet 5.5 or Fable 5.1. Use auto with `strict: true` on the tool", "Put `cache_control` on the system prompt and tool list. Reads cost 0.05x input on Opus 5.5", "Wait out a 429 by its `retry-after` seconds, but a spend-cap 429 has no header and won't clear by waiting", "Move off `claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929` before 2026-11-30. Retired ids fail, they don't redirect", "Moving from `claude-haiku-4-5-20251001` to `claude-haiku-5-5`, drop temperature, top_p, top_k, prefill and `budget_tokens`, which return 400" ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 0, "avgRating": 0, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "BB", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 77.3 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 95, "maintenance": 91, "payments": 30, "reliability": 60, "schema": 90, "security": 92, "transparency": 75 }, "provenanceScore": 95 }, "connect": { "install": "pip install anthropic # or: npm i @anthropic-ai/sdk", "http": "curl https://api.anthropic.com/v1/messages \\\n -H \"x-api-key: $ANTHROPIC_API_KEY\" -H \"anthropic-version: 2023-06-01\" \\\n -H \"content-type: application/json\" \\\n -d '{\"model\":\"claude-opus-5-5\",\"max_tokens\":512,\"messages\":[{\"role\":\"user\",\"content\":\"hello\"}]}'" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/inference.llm", "tool": "https://letme.dev/anthropic-api" }, "sameCompany": [ "claude-agent-sdk", "claude-code" ], "area": "models", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "Web search tool", "unit": "1k-requests", "usd": 10 } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Anthropic, PBC", "domain": "anthropic.com", "domainRegistered": "2001-10-02", "domainNote": "The API is on anthropic.com. anthropic.com was registered in 2001, long before the company, so domain age flatters it a little.", "endpointOnVendorDomain": true, "terms": "https://www.anthropic.com/legal/commercial-terms", "privacy": "https://www.anthropic.com/legal/privacy", "statusPage": "https://status.claude.com", "changelog": "https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/release-notes/overview", "securityTxt": "valid", "checked": "2026-10-10", "score": 95 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/anthropic-api.json", "live": { "slug": "anthropic-api", "probe": { "target": "https://api.anthropic.com/v1/messages", "method": "get", "lastAt": "2026-10-12T04:37:09.595151924Z", "lastOk": true, "lastStatus": 405, "lastMs": 28, "authRequired": false, "uptime24h": 100, "uptime30d": 100, "p50ms24h": 28, "p95ms24h": 67, "samples24h": 247, "samples30d": 3931, "days": [ { "date": "2026-09-27", "probes": 132, "ok": 132 }, { "date": "2026-09-28", "probes": 285, "ok": 285 }, { "date": "2026-09-29", "probes": 286, "ok": 286 }, { "date": "2026-09-30", "probes": 286, "ok": 286 }, { "date": "2026-10-01", "probes": 276, "ok": 276 }, { "date": "2026-10-02", "probes": 248, "ok": 248 }, { "date": "2026-10-03", "probes": 271, "ok": 271 }, { "date": "2026-10-04", "probes": 272, "ok": 272 }, { "date": "2026-10-05", "probes": 272, "ok": 272 }, { "date": "2026-10-06", "probes": 272, "ok": 272 }, { "date": "2026-10-07", "probes": 272, "ok": 272 }, { "date": "2026-10-08", "probes": 268, "ok": 268 }, { "date": "2026-10-09", "probes": 250, "ok": 250 }, { "date": "2026-10-10", "probes": 247, "ok": 247 }, { "date": "2026-10-11", "probes": 247, "ok": 247 }, { "date": "2026-10-12", "probes": 47, "ok": 47 } ] }, "vendorStatus": { "page": "https://status.claude.com", "indicator": "minor", "summary": "Partially Degraded Service", "checkedAt": "2026-10-12T04:32:16.697943433Z" }, "versions": [ { "registry": "github", "name": "anthropics/anthropic-sdk-python", "version": "v1.13.0", "released": "2026-10-09", "seenAt": "2026-10-11T19:17:09.110633859Z" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@anthropic-ai/sdk", "version": "0.133.0", "seenAt": "2026-10-11T19:17:08.832705217Z" }, { "registry": "pypi", "name": "anthropic", "version": "1.13.0", "released": "2026-10-09", "seenAt": "2026-10-11T19:17:08.678374281Z" } ], "githubStars": 3961, "npmWeekly": 46456539, "pypiWeekly": 41365220, "securityTxt": { "url": "https://anthropic.com/.well-known/security.txt", "state": "valid", "expires": "2026-12-31T23:59:00.000Z", "checkedAt": "2026-10-11T15:42:44.838476504Z" }, "llmsTxt": { "url": "https://platform.claude.com/llms.txt", "ok": true, "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-11T14:05:58.272025538Z" }, "domain": { "domain": "anthropic.com", "registered": "2001-10-02", "source": "https://rdap.verisign.com/com/v1/domain/anthropic.com", "checkedAt": "2026-10-11T13:14:30.082139029Z" }, "pages": [ { "url": "https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/about-claude/model-deprecations", "kind": "deprecations", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-11T19:31:54.600695348Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-09T18:43:27.409283354Z", "fingerprint": "ac0134013f19" }, { "url": "https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/release-notes/overview", "kind": "deprecations", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-11T19:31:58.940279957Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-10T19:07:47.096128695Z", "fingerprint": "edfa64c9a06b" }, { "url": "https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/about-claude/pricing", "kind": "pricing", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-11T19:31:56.910697145Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-09T18:43:29.670993037Z", "fingerprint": "115d7998d2a6" }, { "url": "https://www.anthropic.com/legal/privacy", "kind": "privacy", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-11T19:36:33.098221241Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-09T18:48:07.627160455Z", "fingerprint": "5548ff99d1f0" }, { "url": "https://www.anthropic.com/legal/commercial-terms", "kind": "terms", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-11T19:36:30.831840049Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-09T18:48:05.381445214Z", "fingerprint": "7db0233d8eb3" } ], "models": { "claude-fable-5-1": { "openrouterId": "anthropic/claude-fable-5.1", "tools": true, "structuredOutputs": true, "jsonMode": true, "reasoning": true, "input": [ "file", "image", "text" ], "promptCaching": true, "contextTokens": 1000000, "maxOutput": 128000, "checkedAt": "2026-10-11T22:59:28.731564938Z" }, "claude-haiku-4-5-20251001": { "openrouterId": "anthropic/claude-haiku-4.5", "tools": true, "structuredOutputs": true, "jsonMode": true, "reasoning": true, "input": [ "file", "image", "text" ], "promptCaching": true, "contextTokens": 200000, "maxOutput": 64000, "checkedAt": "2026-10-10T22:59:28.614012396Z" }, "claude-haiku-5-5": { "openrouterId": "anthropic/claude-haiku-5.5", "tools": true, "structuredOutputs": true, "jsonMode": true, "reasoning": true, "input": [ "file", "image", "text" ], "promptCaching": true, "contextTokens": 1000000, "maxOutput": 128000, "checkedAt": "2026-10-11T22:59:28.731564938Z" }, "claude-opus-5-5": { "openrouterId": "anthropic/claude-opus-5.5", "tools": true, "structuredOutputs": true, "jsonMode": true, "reasoning": true, "input": [ "file", "image", "text" ], "promptCaching": true, "contextTokens": 1000000, "maxOutput": 128000, "checkedAt": "2026-10-11T22:59:28.731564938Z" }, "claude-sonnet-5": { "openrouterId": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-5", "tools": true, "structuredOutputs": true, "jsonMode": true, "reasoning": true, "input": [ "file", "image", "text" ], "promptCaching": true, "contextTokens": 1000000, "maxOutput": 128000, "checkedAt": "2026-10-01T21:56:15.532848159Z" }, "claude-sonnet-5-5": { "openrouterId": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-5.5", "tools": true, "structuredOutputs": true, "jsonMode": true, "reasoning": true, "input": [ "file", "image", "text" ], "promptCaching": true, "contextTokens": 1000000, "maxOutput": 128000, "checkedAt": "2026-10-11T22:59:28.731564938Z" } }, "updatedAt": "2026-10-12T04:37:09.595151924Z" } }, "answer": "Claude API scores 77.3 (BB) on agent readiness against StepFun API's 44.4 (E), and leads in every scored category.", "b": { "slug": "stepfun-api", "name": "StepFun API", "vendor": "StepFun", "vendorUrl": "https://platform.stepfun.ai", "kind": "model", "category": "inference", "summary": "The StepFun API is StepFun's paid model API for its Step language, vision and speech models, including the flagship Step 5 Preview, through OpenAI-style Chat Completions and Responses endpoints and an Anthropic-style Messages endpoint.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/stepfun-api", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/stepfun-api.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/stepfun-api.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/stepfun-api.json", "license": "Closed service under the StepFun Open Platform Terms of Service (STEPFUN TECHNOLOGY (HK) LIMITED, Hong Kong law).", "transports": [ "http" ], "remoteUrl": "https://api.stepfun.ai/v1", "packages": [], "auth": "api-key", "authNotes": "A bearer API key created in the StepFun Open Platform console after sign-up. Organisations can create one key per project, billed to the organisation's credit and deletable at once. No key scopes were found. Individual accounts must complete identity verification before tiered rate limits apply.", "pricing": "usage", "pricingNotes": "Step 5 Preview is $1.00 per million input tokens on a cache miss, $0.10 on a cache hit and $2.70 per million output tokens, reasoning included (checked 2026-10-12). Prepaid top-ups. No free API allowance was found. A Step Plan subscription covers coding tools separately.", "priceSummary": "Pay per use", "where": "hosted", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the international docs index, the pricing page or the Chat Completions reference, checked 12 October 2026. Calls draw on a prepaid balance.", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": null, "npmWeekly": null, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-10-12" }, "docsUrl": "https://platform.stepfun.ai/docs/en/guides/models/step-5-preview", "llmsTxt": "https://platform.stepfun.ai/docs/llms.txt", "capabilities": [ "inference.llm" ], "tags": [ "official", "hosted", "model", "usage-priced", "closed-source", "llms-txt", "multimodal", "streaming" ], "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 44.4, "grade": "E", "agentReady": false, "rank": 889, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 965, "categoryRank": 18, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 68, "maintenance": 50, "payments": 20, "reliability": 28, "schema": 53, "security": 41, "transparency": 58 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-12" }, "negative": 0, "verdict": "StepFun's API serves Step 5 Preview with a 1M-token context, video input, strict JSON Schema output and published per-token prices, documented in Markdown with an llms.txt. The model is a preview with no release date found, there's no free allowance or SLA, and the terms and privacy policy leave room to train on customer data.", "bestFor": "Long-context agent and coding work over text, screenshots and video at a low per-token price, where a preview model is acceptable.", "strengths": [ "Step 5 Preview takes text, images and video with a 1M-token context and up to 64k output tokens", "Strict JSON Schema output and tool calls on Step 5 Preview, per the structured-output guide", "Per-token prices with cache-hit rates published without a login, and rate-limit tiers published with numbers", "OpenAI-style Chat Completions and Responses endpoints and an Anthropic-style Messages endpoint", "llms.txt and a Markdown copy of every docs page" ], "weaknesses": [ "Step 5 Preview is labelled a preview, and no release date or support commitment was found", "No free API allowance found, and individual accounts need identity verification for tiered limits", "No OpenAPI file, no official SDK and no batch endpoint found", "The privacy policy allows training on user data where law and program terms permit, with no zero-retention option found", "No SLA, security.txt or certification found" ], "agentNotes": [ "Set `max_tokens` yourself. It defaults to unlimited on Step 5 Preview, and reasoning tokens are billed as output", "Use `response_format` with `type: json_schema` and `strict: true` when the shape matters. JSON Mode alone isn't schema-checked", "Back off and retry on 429, 500, 503 and 504. The docs give no Retry-After header or backoff schedule", "Expect HTTP 451 or `finish_reason: content_filter` when content fails StepFun's review, and don't retry the same input", "Use api.stepfun.ai for the international platform. api.stepfun.com is the China platform with yuan pricing" ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 0, "avgRating": 0, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "E", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 44.4 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 68, "maintenance": 50, "payments": 20, "reliability": 28, "schema": 53, "security": 41, "transparency": 51 }, "provenanceScore": 65 }, "connect": { "http": "curl https://api.stepfun.ai/v1/chat/completions \\\n -H \"Content-Type: application/json\" \\\n -H \"Authorization: Bearer $STEPFUN_API_KEY\" \\\n -d '{\"model\":\"step-5-preview\",\"messages\":[{\"role\":\"user\",\"content\":\"Hello\"}]}'" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/inference.llm", "tool": "https://letme.dev/stepfun-api" }, "area": "models", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "Step 5 Preview input, cache miss", "unit": "1m-tokens", "usd": 1, "note": "Includes writing new content to the cache." }, { "item": "Step 5 Preview input, cache hit", "unit": "1m-tokens", "usd": 0.1 }, { "item": "Step 5 Preview output", "unit": "1m-tokens", "usd": 2.7, "note": "Reasoning and final answer tokens." } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "STEPFUN TECHNOLOGY (HK) LIMITED", "domain": "stepfun.ai", "domainRegistered": "", "endpointOnVendorDomain": true, "terms": "https://platform.stepfun.ai/docs/en/agreement/userservice", "privacy": "https://platform.stepfun.ai/docs/en/agreement/userprivacy", "statusPage": "", "changelog": "https://platform.stepfun.ai/docs/en/guides/model-migration", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-10-12", "notes": [ "The terms and the privacy policy name STEPFUN TECHNOLOGY (HK) LIMITED. Disputes go to HKIAC arbitration under Hong Kong law.", "platform.stepfun.ai/.well-known/security.txt returned 404, and stepfun.ai/.well-known/security.txt redirects to the platform home page.", "status.stepfun.ai refused our reader by robots.txt, and the shell couldn't connect, so whether it is a status page wasn't established.", "The X handle comes from the QR code labelled X account on the platform home page, which decodes to https://x.com/StepFun_ai.", "Domain registration date was not checked." ], "score": 65 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/stepfun-api.json", "live": { "slug": "stepfun-api", "probe": { "target": "https://api.stepfun.ai/v1", "method": "get", "lastAt": "2026-10-12T04:37:36.182148739Z", "lastOk": true, "lastStatus": 404, "lastMs": 267, "authRequired": false, "uptime24h": 100, "uptime30d": 100, "p50ms24h": 275, "p95ms24h": 492, "samples24h": 21, "samples30d": 21, "days": [ { "date": "2026-10-12", "probes": 21, "ok": 21 } ] }, "updatedAt": "2026-10-12T04:37:36.182148739Z" } }, "facts": [ { "a": "Model API", "b": "Model API", "name": "Kind" }, { "a": "Anthropic", "b": "StepFun", "name": "Vendor" }, { "a": "https://api.anthropic.com/v1/messages", "b": "https://api.stepfun.ai/v1", "name": "Hosted endpoint" }, { "a": "HTTP", "b": "HTTP", "name": "Transports" }, { "a": "API key", "b": "API key", "name": "Auth" }, { "a": "Pay per use", "b": "Pay per use", "name": "Pricing" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "x402" }, { "a": "MIT (SDKs)", "b": "Closed service under the StepFun Open Platform Terms of Service (STEPFUN TECHNOLOGY (HK) LIMITED, Hong Kong law).", "name": "Licence" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "Read-only variant documented" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "yes", "name": "llms.txt" }, { "a": "2026-10-09", "b": "none", "name": "Last release" }, { "a": "no date given", "b": "", "name": "Terms last updated" }, { "a": "no date given", "b": "", "name": "Privacy policy last updated" }, { "a": "yes, with an opt-out", "b": "", "name": "Customer content may train models" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "", "name": "Terms restrict automated access" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "", "name": "Terms restrict benchmarking" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "", "name": "Terms or service can change without notice" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "", "name": "Arbitration or class-action waiver" }, { "a": "3.9k stars", "b": "none", "name": "Popularity" } ], "faq": [ { "answer": "Claude API scores 77.3 (BB) on agent readiness against StepFun API's 44.4 (E), and leads in every scored category.", "question": "Which is better for AI agents, Claude API or StepFun API?" }, { "answer": "Both need an API key.", "question": "Do Claude API and StepFun API need an API key?" }, { "answer": "Yes. Claude API has a hosted endpoint at https://api.anthropic.com/v1/messages and StepFun API at https://api.stepfun.ai/v1.", "question": "Can an agent call Claude API and StepFun API without installing anything?" } ], "goodFor": [ { "aheadOn": [ "Reliability, 60 against 28", "Schema \u0026 documentation, 90 against 53", "Agent ergonomics, 95 against 68", "Security \u0026 auth, 92 against 41", "Payments \u0026 pricing, 30 against 20", "Maintenance \u0026 community, 91 against 50", "Transparency \u0026 trust, 85 against 58" ], "also": [ "Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better" ], "goodFor": "Long agent loops that lean on tool use, strict schemas and caching, and teams that want 1M context at Opus or Sonnet prices.", "slug": "anthropic-api", "watchFor": "Three incidents of 80 minutes or more with elevated errors across several models between 24 August and 22 September 2026" }, { "aheadOn": null, "also": null, "goodFor": "Long-context agent and coding work over text, screenshots and video at a low per-token price, where a preview model is acceptable.", "slug": "stepfun-api", "watchFor": "Step 5 Preview is labelled a preview, and no release date or support commitment was found" } ], "job": { "capability": "inference.llm", "name": "LLM inference" }, "others": [ { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-antseed.json", "title": "Claude API vs Antseed", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-antseed" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-blockrun-ai.json", "title": "Claude API vs BlockRun.AI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-blockrun-ai" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-cloudflare-ai-gateway.json", "title": "Claude API vs Cloudflare AI Gateway", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-cloudflare-ai-gateway" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-cloudflare-workers-ai.json", "title": "Claude API vs Cloudflare Workers AI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-cloudflare-workers-ai" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-cohere-chat.json", "title": "Claude API vs Cohere Chat API (Command models)", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-cohere-chat" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-deepinfra.json", "title": "Claude API vs DeepInfra", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-deepinfra" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-deepseek-api.json", "title": "Claude API vs DeepSeek API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-deepseek-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-gemini-api.json", "title": "Claude API vs Gemini Developer API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-gemini-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-groq.json", "title": "Claude API vs GroqCloud", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-groq" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-mistral-api.json", "title": "Claude API vs Mistral AI API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-mistral-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-novita-ai.json", "title": "Claude API vs Novita AI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-novita-ai" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-openai-api.json", "title": "Claude API vs OpenAI API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-openai-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-openrouter.json", "title": "Claude API vs OpenRouter", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-openrouter" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-prism-inference.json", "title": "Claude API vs Prism Inference", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-prism-inference" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-sambanova.json", "title": "Claude API vs SambaCloud", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-sambanova" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-siliconflow.json", "title": "Claude API vs SiliconFlow", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-siliconflow" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antseed-vs-stepfun-api.json", "title": "Antseed vs StepFun API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antseed-vs-stepfun-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/blockrun-ai-vs-stepfun-api.json", "title": "BlockRun.AI vs StepFun API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/blockrun-ai-vs-stepfun-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-ai-gateway-vs-stepfun-api.json", "title": "Cloudflare AI Gateway vs StepFun API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-ai-gateway-vs-stepfun-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-workers-ai-vs-stepfun-api.json", "title": "Cloudflare Workers AI vs StepFun API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-workers-ai-vs-stepfun-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cohere-chat-vs-stepfun-api.json", "title": "Cohere Chat API (Command models) vs StepFun API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cohere-chat-vs-stepfun-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepinfra-vs-stepfun-api.json", "title": "DeepInfra vs StepFun API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepinfra-vs-stepfun-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-stepfun-api.json", "title": "DeepSeek API vs StepFun API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-stepfun-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-api-vs-stepfun-api.json", "title": "Gemini Developer API vs StepFun API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-api-vs-stepfun-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/groq-vs-stepfun-api.json", "title": "GroqCloud vs StepFun API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/groq-vs-stepfun-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mistral-api-vs-stepfun-api.json", "title": "Mistral AI API vs StepFun API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mistral-api-vs-stepfun-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/novita-ai-vs-stepfun-api.json", "title": "Novita AI vs StepFun API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/novita-ai-vs-stepfun-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-api-vs-stepfun-api.json", "title": "OpenAI API vs StepFun API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-api-vs-stepfun-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openrouter-vs-stepfun-api.json", "title": "OpenRouter vs StepFun API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openrouter-vs-stepfun-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/prism-inference-vs-stepfun-api.json", "title": "Prism Inference vs StepFun API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/prism-inference-vs-stepfun-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/sambanova-vs-stepfun-api.json", "title": "SambaCloud vs StepFun API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/sambanova-vs-stepfun-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/siliconflow-vs-stepfun-api.json", "title": "SiliconFlow vs StepFun API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/siliconflow-vs-stepfun-api" } ], "scores": [ { "anthropic-api": 60, "by": 32, "edge": "anthropic-api", "key": "reliability", "name": "Reliability", "stepfun-api": 28, "weight": 16 }, { "key": "performance", "name": "Performance", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "anthropic-api": 90, "by": 37, "edge": "anthropic-api", "key": "schema", "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "stepfun-api": 53, "weight": 13 }, { "anthropic-api": 95, "by": 27, "edge": "anthropic-api", "key": "ergonomics", "name": "Agent ergonomics", "stepfun-api": 68, "weight": 13 }, { "anthropic-api": 92, "by": 51, "edge": "anthropic-api", "key": "security", "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "stepfun-api": 41, "weight": 14 }, { "anthropic-api": 30, "by": 10, "edge": "anthropic-api", "key": "payments", "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing", "stepfun-api": 20, "weight": 10 }, { "key": "tasks", "name": "Task success", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "anthropic-api": 91, "by": 41, "edge": "anthropic-api", "key": "maintenance", "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "stepfun-api": 50, "weight": 7 }, { "anthropic-api": 85, "by": 27, "edge": "anthropic-api", "key": "transparency", "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "stepfun-api": 58, "weight": 7 } ], "summary": "Claude API scores 77.3 (BB) on agent readiness against StepFun API's 44.4 (E), and leads in every scored category. Both do llm inference.", "verdicts": { "anthropic-api": "Structured outputs and strict tool use are GA, with grammar-constrained sampling on every current model. Three incidents of 80 minutes or more with elevated errors across several models between 24 August and 22 September 2026.", "stepfun-api": "StepFun's API serves Step 5 Preview with a 1M-token context, video input, strict JSON Schema output and published per-token prices, documented in Markdown with an llms.txt. The model is a preview with no release date found, there's no free allowance or SLA, and the terms and privacy policy leave room to train on customer data." } }, "kind": "anchor.page", "links": { "api": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json", "html": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-stepfun-api", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-stepfun-api.json", "llms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt", "markdown": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-stepfun-api.md", "slim": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-stepfun-api.min.md" }, "markdown": "Claude API scores 77.3 (BB) on agent readiness against StepFun API's 44.4 (E), and leads in every scored category. Both do llm inference.\n\n- Claude API: grade BB, 77.3/100, rank #21 of 965. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/anthropic-api.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/anthropic-api.json\n- StepFun API: grade E, 44.4/100, rank #889 of 965. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/stepfun-api.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/stepfun-api.json\n- Best model APIs and inference for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/inference/index.md\n- All 153 models comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/inference/index.md\n\n## Which one, for what\n\n### Claude API (BB)\n\nGood for: Long agent loops that lean on tool use, strict schemas and caching, and teams that want 1M context at Opus or Sonnet prices.\n\nAhead on:\n- Reliability, 60 against 28\n- Schema \u0026 documentation, 90 against 53\n- Agent ergonomics, 95 against 68\n- Security \u0026 auth, 92 against 41\n- Payments \u0026 pricing, 30 against 20\n- Maintenance \u0026 community, 91 against 50\n- Transparency \u0026 trust, 85 against 58\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better\n\nWatch for: Three incidents of 80 minutes or more with elevated errors across several models between 24 August and 22 September 2026\n\n### StepFun API (E)\n\nGood for: Long-context agent and coding work over text, screenshots and video at a low per-token price, where a preview model is acceptable.\n\nWatch for: Step 5 Preview is labelled a preview, and no release date or support commitment was found\n\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | Claude API | StepFun API | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 60 | 28 | Claude API +32 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 90 | 53 | Claude API +37 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 95 | 68 | Claude API +27 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 92 | 41 | Claude API +51 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 30 | 20 | Claude API +10 |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 91 | 50 | Claude API +41 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 85 | 58 | Claude API +27 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |\n| **Total** | | **77.3 · BB** | **44.4 · E** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | Claude API | StepFun API |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | Model API | Model API |\n| Vendor | Anthropic | StepFun |\n| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.anthropic.com/v1/messages` | `https://api.stepfun.ai/v1` |\n| Transports | HTTP | HTTP |\n| Auth | API key | API key |\n| Pricing | Pay per use | Pay per use |\n| x402 | no | no |\n| Licence | MIT (SDKs) | Closed service under the StepFun Open Platform Terms of Service (STEPFUN TECHNOLOGY (HK) LIMITED, Hong Kong law). |\n| Read-only variant documented | no | no |\n| llms.txt | yes | yes |\n| Last release | 2026-10-09 | none |\n| Terms last updated | no date given | |\n| Privacy policy last updated | no date given | |\n| Customer content may train models | yes, with an opt-out | |\n| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text | |\n| Terms restrict benchmarking | yes | |\n| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text | |\n| Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes | |\n| Popularity | 3.9k stars | none |\n\n## Verdicts\n\n**Claude API.** Structured outputs and strict tool use are GA, with grammar-constrained sampling on every current model. Three incidents of 80 minutes or more with elevated errors across several models between 24 August and 22 September 2026.\n\n**StepFun API.** StepFun's API serves Step 5 Preview with a 1M-token context, video input, strict JSON Schema output and published per-token prices, documented in Markdown with an llms.txt. The model is a preview with no release date found, there's no free allowance or SLA, and the terms and privacy policy leave room to train on customer data.\n\n## Before you call either\n\n### Claude API\n\n1. Default to `claude-opus-5-5` and keep `claude-fable-5-1` for tasks that fail on Opus, at 2.5 times the price\n2. Don't send `tool_choice` any or tool to Opus 5.5, Sonnet 5.5 or Fable 5.1. Use auto with `strict: true` on the tool\n3. Put `cache_control` on the system prompt and tool list. Reads cost 0.05x input on Opus 5.5\n4. Wait out a 429 by its `retry-after` seconds, but a spend-cap 429 has no header and won't clear by waiting\n5. Move off `claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929` before 2026-11-30. Retired ids fail, they don't redirect\n6. Moving from `claude-haiku-4-5-20251001` to `claude-haiku-5-5`, drop temperature, top_p, top_k, prefill and `budget_tokens`, which return 400\n\n### StepFun API\n\n1. Set `max_tokens` yourself. It defaults to unlimited on Step 5 Preview, and reasoning tokens are billed as output\n2. Use `response_format` with `type: json_schema` and `strict: true` when the shape matters. JSON Mode alone isn't schema-checked\n3. Back off and retry on 429, 500, 503 and 504. The docs give no Retry-After header or backoff schedule\n4. Expect HTTP 451 or `finish_reason: content_filter` when content fails StepFun's review, and don't retry the same input\n5. Use api.stepfun.ai for the international platform. api.stepfun.com is the China platform with yuan pricing\n\n## Questions\n\n### Which is better for AI agents, Claude API or StepFun API?\n\nClaude API scores 77.3 (BB) on agent readiness against StepFun API's 44.4 (E), and leads in every scored category.\n\n### Do Claude API and StepFun API need an API key?\n\nBoth need an API key.\n\n### Can an agent call Claude API and StepFun API without installing anything?\n\nYes. Claude API has a hosted endpoint at https://api.anthropic.com/v1/messages and StepFun API at https://api.stepfun.ai/v1.\n\n\n## For agents\n\n- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-stepfun-api.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-stepfun-api.min.md\n- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {\"a\": \"anthropic-api\", \"b\": \"stepfun-api\"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare anthropic-api stepfun-api`\n- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/anthropic-api.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/stepfun-api.json\n\n## Other comparisons with Claude API or StepFun API\n\n- [Claude API vs Antseed](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-antseed.md)\n- [Claude API vs BlockRun.AI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-blockrun-ai.md)\n- [Claude API vs Cloudflare AI Gateway](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-cloudflare-ai-gateway.md)\n- [Claude API vs Cloudflare Workers AI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-cloudflare-workers-ai.md)\n- [Claude API vs Cohere Chat API (Command models)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-cohere-chat.md)\n- [Claude API vs DeepInfra](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-deepinfra.md)\n- [Claude API vs DeepSeek API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-deepseek-api.md)\n- [Claude API vs Gemini Developer API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-gemini-api.md)\n- [Claude API vs GroqCloud](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-groq.md)\n- [Claude API vs Mistral AI API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-mistral-api.md)\n- [Claude API vs Novita AI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-novita-ai.md)\n- [Claude API vs OpenAI API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-openai-api.md)\n- [Claude API vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-openrouter.md)\n- [Claude API vs Prism Inference](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-prism-inference.md)\n- [Claude API vs SambaCloud](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-sambanova.md)\n- [Claude API vs SiliconFlow](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-siliconflow.md)\n- [Antseed vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antseed-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [BlockRun.AI vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/blockrun-ai-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [Cloudflare AI Gateway vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-ai-gateway-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [Cloudflare Workers AI vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-workers-ai-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [Cohere Chat API (Command models) vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cohere-chat-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [DeepInfra vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepinfra-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [DeepSeek API vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [Gemini Developer API vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-api-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [GroqCloud vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/groq-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [Mistral AI API vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mistral-api-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [Novita AI vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/novita-ai-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [OpenAI API vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-api-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [OpenRouter vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openrouter-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [Prism Inference vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/prism-inference-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [SambaCloud vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/sambanova-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [SiliconFlow vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/siliconflow-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n\n## Disclosure\n\n- Anthropic makes the models this research run and the review panel run on. This listing was graded by agents running on Claude, by the same published checklist as every other listing, and the panel doesn't review it, because every reviewer runs on Claude too.\n", "meta": { "attribution": "Anchor Terminal (https://www.anchorterminal.com)", "docs": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/docs/", "generatedAt": "2026-10-12", "license": "CC-BY-4.0", "method": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/", "methodology": "0.4", "openapi": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/openapi.json", "preview": false, "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run" }, "page": { "breadcrumbs": [ { "name": "Home", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/" }, { "name": "Compare", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/" }, { "name": "Claude API vs StepFun API", "url": "" } ], "description": "Claude scores 77.3 (BB) to StepFun's 44.4 (E) for llm inference. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.", "facts": [ "Claude API BB 77.3", "StepFun API E 44.4", "scores" ], "h1": "Claude API vs StepFun API", "image": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/assets/og/compare-anthropic-api-vs-stepfun-api.png", "path": "/compare/anthropic-api-vs-stepfun-api", "published": "2026-10-01", "section": "tools", "title": "Claude vs StepFun for AI agents in 2026: scores and prices", "toc": null, "updated": "2026-10-12", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-stepfun-api" }, "tokens": { "markdown": 2700, "slim": 630 }, "version": 1 }