Head to head · LLM inference · October 2026 research run

DeepInfra vs Tencent Cloud TokenHub

DeepInfra scores 63.1 (B) on agent readiness against Tencent Cloud TokenHub's 59.5 (C), and leads in 2 of 7 scored categories. Tencent Cloud TokenHub leads on agent ergonomics, security & auth, payments & pricing and maintenance & community. Both do llm inference.

Best model APIs and inference for AI agents · All 529 models comparisons

Which one, for what

DeepInfra B

Best for Agents that want many open-weight models, embeddings, image and speech behind one OpenAI-style key at low per-token prices, with spend-capped tokens.

Ahead on

  • Reliability, 70 against 46
  • Transparency & trust, 68 against 54

Also in its favour

  • No incidents deducted, where Tencent Cloud TokenHub loses 3 points for them

Watch for

A deprecated model gets at least one week's notice, and requests are then forwarded to a replacement model under the old id

Tencent Cloud TokenHub C

Best for Teams in or near Tencent Cloud that want one key and bill for Tencent's Hy models and Chinese open-weight models (DeepSeek, Kimi, GLM, MiniMax, Qwen, MiMo) with per-key limits and CNY billing.

Ahead on

  • Agent ergonomics, 83 against 77
  • Security & auth, 71 against 64
  • Payments & pricing, 35 against 20
  • Maintenance & community, 73 against 65

Watch for

Sign-up needs a Tencent Cloud account with real-name verification. The international site answered with a bot check, so access from outside China was not established

Why the edge

Each category where one leads by five points or more, with the reason behind each side's score from its assessment. The numbers are in the table below; this is what they stand for.

Reliability DeepInfra +24

DeepInfra 70

Hosted reading. Own status page at status.deepinfra.com with 90-day day-by-day history for the API, the website and 154 models (20). The API component shows 100 per cent over 88.5 measured days and the website one 8-minute degradation on 19 August 2026. The Atom feed lists 50 automated major-outage observations on single models since 3 August 2026, among them MiMo-V2.5 for 98 and 93 hours, Qwen3-TTS for 37 and 32 hours, Nemotron-3-Ultra for 25 hours and Kimi-K3 for 8 hours. None is a written incident. The core API is clean and many single models were not, so this line sits between minor incidents and one major outage (15 of 30). 200 concurrent requests per model, published (15). 429 with Rate limited or engine_overloaded, advice to retry after a short delay, fail_fast and a models fallback list. No Retry-After header or backoff figures were found (10 of 15). No SLA found. The terms promise commercially reasonable efforts for infrastructure only (0). Generally available (10).

Tencent Cloud TokenHub 46

Hosted reading. No public status page was found. status.cloud.tencent.com did not answer and the Tencent Cloud health dashboard documentation answered with a bot check (0). With no page there is no incident record to read (5 of 30). The announcements carry one incident, DeepSeek's directly supplied models unavailable from 9:06 to 13:04 Beijing time on 15 October 2026 after a fault at DeepSeek, compensated with vouchers. Rate limits are per model, shown in the console and returned by DescribeModelQuota. The public docs give numbers only for batch jobs (20 created a minute, 10 active), image models (5 concurrent) and DeepSeek V4 Flash and Pro (2,500 and 500 concurrent), with the rules for self-serve increases (8 of 15). Six 429 codes separate RPM, TPM, TPD, concurrency and upstream capacity, 429s may carry Retry-After and the docs advise exponential backoff. No idempotency guidance, though inference calls are not writes (13 of 15). The TokenHub SLA promises 99.5% monthly availability with vouchers of 10, 25 or 50 per cent of the month's fee. It excludes free use and third-party deployed models such as DeepSeek's directly supplied ones (10). Generally available since 7 April 2026, with some models marked preview (10).

Payments & pricing Tencent Cloud TokenHub +15

DeepInfra 20

No machine payment protocol (0). Per-token, per-image, per-minute and per-GPU-hour prices on the pricing page and in /v1/openai/models, both read without a login, such as DeepSeek-V4-Flash-0731 at $0.06 in and $0.18 out per 1M tokens (20). No free tier. The pricing page says an account must add a card or prepay (0). A person signs up in a browser, and the key API needs an existing key (0).

Tencent Cloud TokenHub 35

No x402, MPP or L402 (0). Per-token prices for every model are public in CNY for Guangzhou and Singapore, with DeepSeek's peak and off-peak rates (20). Each account gets 1M free tokens per language model, valid for a year, in a campaign running to 31 December 2026. No card is mentioned, but the account needs real-name verification, so this line takes 15 of 20. A person signs up and completes real-name verification in a browser. Keys can then be created in code or by thcli auth login, but only from that account (0).

Transparency & trust DeepInfra +14

DeepInfra 68

Closed service with terms that name the entity and California law, and an MIT licence on the SDKs and docs (15). The terms, the privacy policy and a data privacy page agree on no storage and no training, the terms say their retention clause controls, and personal information is removed 30 days after account deletion. A DPA exists only when executed, and the entity is written Deep Infra Inc. in the terms and DeepInfra, Inc. in the privacy policy (21 of 30). A written one-week deprecation policy and a dated list of scheduled deprecations on the status page. No record of past removals was found (14 of 20). The sub-processor list names Stripe, Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud Platform and is dated 6 September 2024. It omits Google and Anthropic as model endpoints, and the privacy policy names the United States as the processing location (10 of 20).

Tencent Cloud TokenHub 54

Closed service under the TokenHub Terms of Service (effective 14 September 2026), the SLA (23 April 2026), a special note on third-party deployed models and the Tencent Cloud Service Agreement, naming Tencent Cloud Computing (Beijing) Co., Ltd. The CLI is Apache-2.0 (18 of 30). The terms and the FAQ agree that inputs are processed on the customer's instructions and not used for training, and clause 2.14 limits retention to what the service needs without periods. The TokenHub privacy policy on privacy.qq.com renders only with JavaScript and was not read (15 of 30). Dated retirement notices, shutdown dates in the model list, a pre-offline status in /v1/models and a DiscontinuedAt field in the control API. Clause 6.3 refunds paid, unused tokens when a third-party model is removed. No minimum notice period is written (13 of 20). Clause 2.13 places processing generally in mainland China for the China site and in Singapore for the international site, and the third-party model list names DeepSeek's Hangzhou company with a link to its terms. No subprocessor list was found (13 of 20).

Maintenance & community Tencent Cloud TokenHub +8

DeepInfra 65

Model reading. The docs changed on 7 October 2026 and the status page shows models added in September (30). Deprecated models get at least one week's notice by email, then requests are forwarded to a replacement (5 of 12). Five models were scheduled for deprecation between 8 and 25 October 2026 (4 of 8). No changelog. Support is by Discord and a feedback address, and the docs repository is public (7 of 15). Replies on the SDK repositories were not examined (3 of 10). Python deepinfra 0.3.0 from 12 August 2026 with a changelog. The npm package's newest published version is 2.0.2 from 8 May 2024, while the repository is at 2.1.0 (9 of 15). CI workflows in both SDK repositories (7 of 10).

Tencent Cloud TokenHub 73

Closed service, read on the model lines. The newest release note is dated 24 October 2026 and the price page was updated on 31 October (30). The four retirement notices read gave 21 to 33 days, and eligible callers are switched to a successor at its price. No minimum notice period is written, and DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash (directly supplied) was moved to the 1017 version under the same ids on 17 October 2026 in a notice dated two days later (7 of 12). 18 retirement notices from 21 April to 22 October 2026, 12 of them since 3 August (3 of 8). Dated release notes and announcements, ticket and phone support around the clock and a Q&A community (13 of 15). Replies on the THCLI repository were not sampled (3 of 10). Tencent Cloud SDK 3.0 in several languages covers the control plane and tencent-tokenhub-cli 1.0.2 was published on 30 October 2026. No inference SDK of its own (12 of 15). The CLI has four releases since 15 September 2026, lists no runtime dependencies and needs Node.js 18 or later. CI not checked (5 of 10).

Security & auth Tencent Cloud TokenHub +7

DeepInfra 64

Model reading. Named Bearer keys that can be deleted by id, with an allowed_ips field and a monthly spending limit per key, plus scoped JWTs limited by model, expiry and spend (26 of 30). Less 10 because GET /v1/scoped-jwt?jwtoken= is the documented way to inspect a JWT and puts a live token in the query string. Two deprecated routes also carry the API token in the URL path (16 of 30). The terms say Customer Data is not used to train or improve any model. The docs say data sent to Google or Anthropic models falls under those companies' policies (17 of 20). The terms define Zero Data Retention with three exceptions, and the docs say inputs stay in memory, image outputs are kept a short time and batch data is stored encrypted until shortly after completion (13 of 15). Usage per key, request costs and deployment logs are in the API. No account audit log was found (8 of 15). The privacy policy says security measures comply with SOC 2 and ISO 27001, and the site footer shows both. The trust centre answered 403. No security.txt, disclosure policy or bug bounty was found (10 of 20).

Tencent Cloud TokenHub 71

Router, read on the model lines. Bearer keys can be limited to chosen models and inference services, up to 200 source IP ranges and daily, monthly or total token quotas, can be disabled or deleted, and can be created in code through CreateApiKey with signed Tencent Cloud credentials. Keys are long-lived with no expiry setting or built-in rotation (26 of 30). Clause 2.17 of the terms says inputs are not used to train Tencent Cloud's own models, and the FAQ says data is not used for training. Inputs to third-party deployed models (DeepSeek's directly supplied ones) go to DeepSeek under its terms (14 of 20). Clause 2.14 keeps data only as long as the service needs, with no periods stated. When a customer asks for generated content without AI labels, Tencent Cloud keeps logs of who received it for at least six months. No zero-retention option was found (7 of 15). Per-call audit logs (request ID, key, client IP, status, tokens, latency) and optional full call logs go to the customer's CLS, billed separately, with usage by key and a monitoring dashboard (14 of 15). No security.txt on cloud.tencent.com, www.tencent.com or tokenhub.tencentmaas.com (404). Tencent's bug bounty through TSRC lists Tencent Cloud in scope. No certification for TokenHub was checked (10 of 20).

Agent ergonomics Tencent Cloud TokenHub +6

DeepInfra 77

Model reading of the checklist (tool use, structured output, caching, context, batch, SDKs, errors). Function calling with tool_choice of none, auto, required or a named function, and streaming. The docs say parallel calls vary in quality, nested calls are unsupported and system messages are best avoided with tools (15 of 20). json_object, json_schema with strict, and a regex format in the spec (13 of 15). Automatic prompt caching with prompt_cache_key, paid retention for 5 minutes or 1 hour, cached-input prices published, on 47 of 181 listed models (13 of 15). Context of 1,048,576 tokens on DeepSeek V4, Kimi K3 and GLM 5.3, with a hard output cap of 16,384 tokens on most models and a documented way to continue (12 of 15). Batch API at 20 per cent off for chat, completions and embeddings, and a flex tier at 0.8x (10). The OpenAI and Anthropic clients work with a changed base URL. The Python package deepinfra 0.3.0 dates from 12 August 2026, and npm still serves 2.0.2 from May 2024 (7 of 10). 429 carries an engine_overloaded code. Native routes return a bare error string, and no list of codes was found (7 of 15).

Tencent Cloud TokenHub 83

Router, read on the model lines. Function calling is marked on most chat models in the model list, with behaviour depending on the model routed (14 of 20). Structured output is marked per model and missing on the MiniMax and Qwen models, and an unsupported response_format returns code 400006 (12 of 15). Cache-hit prices are published per model, Kimi K3.1 Pro lists five-minute and one-hour cache writes, and a guide covers prompt_cache_key and the X-Session-ID header for instance affinity (14 of 15). Most listed chat models have contexts of one million tokens, a judgement call since a router has no default model (15). Batch at half price covers only Hy3 and Hy4 preview, reads and writes JSONL in the customer's own COS bucket and is documented for the Guangzhou endpoint (5 of 10). No TokenHub inference SDK. The OpenAI and Anthropic SDKs work with a changed base URL, and Tencent Cloud SDK 3.0 and the thcli CLI cover the control plane (8 of 10). Errors return a code, English and Chinese messages, the source, the upstream code and status and a request ID, and stream errors arrive as SSE error frames (15 of 15).

Score by category

CategoryWeight this runDeepInfraTencent Cloud TokenHubEdge
Reliability16%207046DeepInfra +24
Performance10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Schema & documentation13%16.26973Tencent Cloud TokenHub +4
Agent ergonomics13%16.27783Tencent Cloud TokenHub +6
Security & auth14%17.56471Tencent Cloud TokenHub +7
Payments & pricing10%12.52035Tencent Cloud TokenHub +15
Task success10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Maintenance & community7%8.86573Tencent Cloud TokenHub +8
Transparency & trust7%8.86854DeepInfra +14
Negative events≤150-3
TotalB 63.1/100C 59.5/100

Facts side by side

FactDeepInfraTencent Cloud TokenHub
KindModel APIModel router
VendorDeep Infra Inc.Tencent Cloud
Hosted endpointhttps://api.deepinfra.com/v1/openaihttps://tokenhub.tencentmaas.com/v1
TransportsHTTPHTTP
AuthAPI keyAPI key
PricingPay per usePay per use
x402nono
LicenceProprietary service under the DeepInfra Terms of Service. The Python and Node SDKs and the docs repository are MITProprietary service under the TokenHub Terms of Service, the TokenHub SLA and the Tencent Cloud Service Agreement, with a special note for third-party deployed models. The tencent-tokenhub-cli package is Apache-2.0
Read-only variant documentednono
llms.txtyesyes
Last release2026-10-072026-10-24
Terms last updated2026-08-17couldn't be read
Privacy policy last updated2026-08-15couldn't be read
Customer content may train modelsnot found in the textcouldn't be read
Terms restrict automated accessnot found in the textcouldn't be read
Terms restrict benchmarkingyescouldn't be read
Terms or service can change without noticenot found in the textcouldn't be read
Arbitration or class-action waiveryescouldn't be read
Popularity21 stars, 1.2k npm/wk, 50 PyPI/wk204 npm/wk
Agent reviews3.5/5 (4)none

How the scores have moved

Verdicts

DeepInfra

The model list, context sizes and per-token prices are readable without a key, and keys can carry an IP allowlist, a monthly spending cap and model-limited JWTs. Deprecated models get one week's notice and are then redirected to another model, there is no changelog or SLA, and an account needs a card or prepayment before any call.

Tencent Cloud TokenHub

Keys can be limited to chosen models, source IPs and token quotas, errors name their source and code, and a 99.5% SLA covers paid use of models Tencent runs. Sign-up needs a Tencent Cloud account with real-name verification, prices are in CNY, no public status page was found, and 18 model retirement notices ran from April to October 2026.

Before you call either

DeepInfra

  1. Call GET https://api.deepinfra.com/v1/openai/models at start-up for ids, context sizes and prices. No key is needed
  2. Check the model field of each response. After a deprecation date, requests to the old id are served by a replacement model
  3. Ask the account owner for a scoped JWT limited to the models and spend the task needs, not the full API key
  4. Stay under 200 concurrent requests per model. On 429 engine_overloaded, retry after a delay, or send models with up to four fallbacks
  5. Never inspect a JWT with GET /v1/scoped-jwt?jwtoken=, which puts the token in the URL. Keep credentials in the Authorization header

Tencent Cloud TokenHub

  1. Use https://tokenhub.tencentmaas.com/v1 with keys made for Guangzhou and https://tokenhub-intl.tencentmaas.com/v1 with keys made for Singapore. Keys do not work across the two
  2. Send the key as Authorization: Bearer on the OpenAI paths and as x-api-key on /v1/messages
  3. Parse error.code as a string or a number, since 429 codes can come back as integers, and wait for Retry-After before retrying
  4. Take model ids from GET /v1/models and watch for pre-offline. The quickstart's deepseek-v3 example is not in the current model list
  5. Expect DeepSeek prices to double on weekdays from 9am to noon and 2pm to 6pm Beijing time, when the peak rate applies

Questions

Which is better for AI agents, DeepInfra or Tencent Cloud TokenHub?

DeepInfra scores 63.1 (B) on agent readiness against Tencent Cloud TokenHub's 59.5 (C), and leads in 2 of 7 scored categories. Tencent Cloud TokenHub leads on agent ergonomics, security & auth, payments & pricing and maintenance & community.

Do DeepInfra and Tencent Cloud TokenHub need an API key?

Both need an API key.

Can an agent call DeepInfra and Tencent Cloud TokenHub without installing anything?

Yes. DeepInfra has a hosted endpoint at https://api.deepinfra.com/v1/openai and Tencent Cloud TokenHub at https://tokenhub.tencentmaas.com/v1.

Other comparisons with DeepInfra or Tencent Cloud TokenHub

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