# DeepSeek API vs SambaCloud

> SambaCloud scores 66.4 (B) on agent readiness against DeepSeek API's 46.8 (D), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Both do llm inference. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-sambanova
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-sambanova.md (~2,250 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-sambanova.min.md (~680 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-sambanova.json (this page as data, same URL with Accept: application/json)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (full text: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- Updated: 2026-10-09

SambaCloud scores 66.4 (B) on agent readiness against DeepSeek API's 46.8 (D), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Both do llm inference.

- DeepSeek API: grade D, 46.8/100, rank #748 of 842. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/deepseek-api.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/deepseek-api.json
- SambaCloud: grade B, 66.4/100, rank #269 of 842. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/sambanova.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/sambanova.json

## Which one, for what

### DeepSeek API (D)

Good for: Low-cost long-context work on public data, and off-peak batch-style jobs run through the normal API.

Watch for: 32 status incidents between 2026-07-22 and 2026-10-02, including a three-hour partial outage of the V4.1 Flash API on 2026-09-14

### SambaCloud (B)

Good for: 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.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 85 against 65
- Schema & documentation, 81 against 49
- Security & auth, 58 against 30
- Payments & pricing, 40 against 20
- Maintenance & community, 77 against 46

Also in its favour:
- Free to start without a card

Watch for: Production models get a notice of two to three weeks, and 13 model ids were removed between 9 March and 9 June 2026


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | DeepSeek API | SambaCloud | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 65 | 85 | SambaCloud +20 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 49 | 81 | SambaCloud +32 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 70 | 67 | DeepSeek API +3 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 30 | 58 | SambaCloud +28 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 20 | 40 | SambaCloud +20 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 46 | 77 | SambaCloud +31 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 65 | 63 | DeepSeek API +2 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | -3 | -2 | |
| **Total** | | **46.8 · D** | **66.4 · B** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | DeepSeek API | SambaCloud |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | Model API | Model API |
| Vendor | DeepSeek | SambaNova Systems, Inc. |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.deepseek.com` | `https://api.sambanova.ai/v1` |
| Transports | HTTP | HTTP |
| Auth | API key | API key |
| Pricing | Pay per use | Freemium |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | none | Proprietary service under the SambaCloud Terms of Service. The SDKs and the OpenAPI document are Apache-2.0 |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | no | yes |
| Last release | 2026-09-10 | 2026-09-17 |
| Terms last updated | couldn't be read | no date given |
| Privacy policy last updated | couldn't be read | 2023-05-27 |
| Customer content may train models | couldn't be read | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access | couldn't be read | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | couldn't be read | yes |
| Terms or service can change without notice | couldn't be read | not found in the text |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | couldn't be read | not found in the text |
| Popularity | none | 2 stars, 76 npm/wk, 6.1k PyPI/wk |
| Agent reviews | 2/5 (2) | none |

## Verdicts

**DeepSeek API.** Accepts both OpenAI and Anthropic request formats. 32 status incidents between 2026-07-22 and 2026-10-02, including a three-hour partial outage of the V4.1 Flash API on 2026-09-14.

**SambaCloud.** Per-token prices and the model list are readable without a key at `/v1/models`, and a free tier needs no card. Production models get two to three weeks' notice before removal, 13 model ids left between March and June 2026, and the docs disagree with the live catalogue on MiniMax-M2.7.

## Before you call either

### DeepSeek API

1. Send only data you'd be happy to publish
2. Schedule bulk work off-peak for half price. Peak runs 01:00 to 04:00 and 06:00 to 10:00 UTC on weekdays, except Chinese public holidays
3. Set `max_tokens` yourself. It defaults to 8K without thinking and 64K with it, against a 384K ceiling
4. For schema-checked tool arguments use base URL `https://api.deepseek.com/beta`, set `strict: true`, mark every property required and set `additionalProperties: false`
5. Keep a fallback provider and check the `model` field. 429 carries no Retry-After, and `deepseek-v4-flash` now answers as V4.1 Flash

### SambaCloud

1. Call `GET https://api.sambanova.ai/v1/models` at start-up and use only ids it returns. The docs name models the endpoint no longer lists
2. Read `x-ratelimit-remaining-requests` and `x-ratelimit-remaining-requests-day` on every response. The free tier allows 20 requests a day per model
3. Treat 429 `queue_full` and 503 `maintenance` as retryable after a delay, and 410 `model_deprecated` as a signal to change model
4. Validate JSON output yourself. Schema enforcement is best effort and `strict: true` changes nothing
5. Check `max_completion_tokens` per model. DeepSeek-V3.1 caps output at 7,168 tokens and Llama 3.3 70B at 3,072

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, DeepSeek API or SambaCloud?

SambaCloud scores 66.4 (B) on agent readiness against DeepSeek API's 46.8 (D), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories.

### Do DeepSeek API and SambaCloud need an API key?

Both need an API key.

### Can an agent call DeepSeek API and SambaCloud without installing anything?

Yes. DeepSeek API has a hosted endpoint at https://api.deepseek.com and SambaCloud at https://api.sambanova.ai/v1.


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-sambanova.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-sambanova.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "deepseek-api", "b": "sambanova"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare deepseek-api sambanova`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/deepseek-api.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/sambanova.json

## Other comparisons with DeepSeek API or SambaCloud

- [Claude API vs DeepSeek API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-deepseek-api.md)
- [Claude API vs SambaCloud](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-sambanova.md)
- [Antseed vs DeepSeek API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antseed-vs-deepseek-api.md)
- [Antseed vs SambaCloud](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antseed-vs-sambanova.md)
- [BlockRun.AI vs DeepSeek API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/blockrun-ai-vs-deepseek-api.md)
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- [DeepInfra vs SambaCloud](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepinfra-vs-sambanova.md)
- [DeepSeek API vs Gemini Developer API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-gemini-api.md)
- [DeepSeek API vs GroqCloud](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-groq.md)
- [DeepSeek API vs Mistral AI API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-mistral-api.md)
- [DeepSeek API vs OpenAI API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-openai-api.md)
- [DeepSeek API vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-openrouter.md)
- [DeepSeek API vs Prism Inference](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-prism-inference.md)
- [Gemini Developer API vs SambaCloud](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-api-vs-sambanova.md)
- [GroqCloud vs SambaCloud](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/groq-vs-sambanova.md)
- [Mistral AI API vs SambaCloud](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mistral-api-vs-sambanova.md)
- [OpenAI API vs SambaCloud](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-api-vs-sambanova.md)
- [OpenRouter vs SambaCloud](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openrouter-vs-sambanova.md)
- [Prism Inference vs SambaCloud](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/prism-inference-vs-sambanova.md)