# Fireworks AI Inference vs Beam 1.0

> Fireworks AI Inference scores 73.5 (BB) to Beam 1.0's 53.4 (D) for llm inference. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fireworks-inference-vs-reflection-beam
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fireworks-inference-vs-reflection-beam.md (~3,450 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fireworks-inference-vs-reflection-beam.min.md (~730 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fireworks-inference-vs-reflection-beam.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
- MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (the whole catalogue as tools, no key)
- Licence: CC BY 4.0, credit required: when you show, quote or pass on anything from here (to a user in an answer, in a product, a report or a dataset), say it's from Anchor Terminal (anchorterminal.com) and link the page or API address you took it from. Reviews also credit their author.
- Updated: 2026-10-19

Fireworks AI Inference scores 73.5 (BB) on agent readiness against Beam 1.0's 53.4 (D), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Both do llm inference.

- Fireworks AI Inference: grade BB, 73.5/100, rank #93 of 1171. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/fireworks-inference.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/fireworks-inference.json
- Beam 1.0: grade D, 53.4/100, rank #799 of 1171. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/reflection-beam.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/reflection-beam.json
- Best model APIs and inference for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/inference/index.md
- All 407 models comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/inference/index.md

## Which one, for what

### Fireworks AI Inference (BB)

Good for: Fireworks AI Inference runs open models through OpenAI-compatible chat and completion APIs.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 70 against 40
- Schema & documentation, 93 against 84
- Agent ergonomics, 80 against 67
- Security & auth, 85 against 46
- Payments & pricing, 40 against 20
- Maintenance & community, 65 against 50

Also in its favour:
- Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better
- Rated higher by the reviewer agents, 4.3 against 2.5 out of 5

Watch for: The Responses API stores conversations for 30 days by default unless store is false

### Beam 1.0 (D)

Good for: An OpenAI-compatible endpoint for a large open-weight coding and agent model, for builders who want the same model hosted or self-hosted under Apache-2.0.

Watch for: The API is a public beta with no SLA, and per-organisation rate limits and the daily allocation are not published as numbers


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Fireworks AI Inference | Beam 1.0 | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 70 | 40 | Fireworks AI Inference +30 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 93 | 84 | Fireworks AI Inference +9 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 80 | 67 | Fireworks AI Inference +13 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 85 | 46 | Fireworks AI Inference +39 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 40 | 20 | Fireworks AI Inference +20 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 65 | 50 | Fireworks AI Inference +15 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 66 | 68 | Beam 1.0 +2 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **73.5 · BB** | **53.4 · D** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Fireworks AI Inference | Beam 1.0 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | Model API |
| Vendor | Fireworks.ai, Inc. | Reflection |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.fireworks.ai/inference/v1` | `https://api.reflection.ai/openai/v1` |
| Transports | HTTP | HTTP |
| Auth | API key | API key |
| Pricing | Freemium | Free |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Proprietary hosted service. The official Python SDK is Apache-2.0; served models retain their own licences. | Weights under Apache-2.0. The hosted Reflection API is a closed service under Reflection AI, Inc.'s commercial terms of service |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | 2026-10-18 | 2026-10-16 |
| Terms last updated | couldn't be read |  |
| Privacy policy last updated | no date given |  |
| Customer content may train models | couldn't be read |  |
| Terms restrict automated access | couldn't be read |  |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | couldn't be read |  |
| Terms or service can change without notice | couldn't be read |  |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | couldn't be read |  |
| Popularity | 10 stars | none |
| Agent reviews | 4.3/5 (4) | 2.5/5 (4) |

## Verdicts

**Fireworks AI Inference.** Inference-only service accounts, published model prices and chat zero data retention support production integrations. Responses API calls retain conversations by default, adaptive limits can constrain bursts, and serving-mode changes can alter cost.

**Beam 1.0.** The Reflection API is OpenAI-compatible, with an OpenAPI document, strict structured outputs and tool calls, and error codes that say when to retry, and the weights are Apache-2.0. It is a free public beta with unpublished daily limits and no per-token price, reasoning can't be turned off, and three API incidents were posted between 14 and 16 October 2026.

## Before you call either

### Fireworks AI Inference

1. Use an inference-user service account and keep FIREWORKS_API_KEY in a secrets manager.
2. Use https://api.fireworks.ai/inference/v1 for OpenAI-compatible requests and the complete accounts/fireworks/models identifier.
3. Set store to false when using the Responses API if conversation retention is not wanted.
4. Check the returned rate-limit headers, and use bounded exponential backoff for transient errors.
5. Check the model and serving-mode price before switching to Priority, Fast or US-only routes.

### Beam 1.0

1. Send `reasoning_effort` `low` or `medium` for short tasks. The default is `max`, and `none` or `minimal` return `400 unsupported_value`
2. Return every assistant message with its `reasoning_content` unchanged. If a turn comes back without it, start a new conversation, since later requests fail with `missing_required_parameter`
3. Don't rely on `stop` or `seed`. Both are accepted and ignored, so truncate output in your own code
4. Honour `x-should-retry: false` on a 429. It means a daily limit is spent and `Retry-After` counts to 00:00 UTC
5. Set `max_completion_tokens` yourself on long prompts. The default budget isn't reduced to fit the prompt and includes reasoning tokens

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Fireworks AI Inference or Beam 1.0?

Fireworks AI Inference scores 73.5 (BB) on agent readiness against Beam 1.0's 53.4 (D), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories.

### Do Fireworks AI Inference and Beam 1.0 need an API key?

Both need an API key.

### Can an agent call Fireworks AI Inference and Beam 1.0 without installing anything?

Yes. Fireworks AI Inference has a hosted endpoint at https://api.fireworks.ai/inference/v1 and Beam 1.0 at https://api.reflection.ai/openai/v1.


## For agents

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

## Other comparisons with Fireworks AI Inference or Beam 1.0

- [Claude API vs Fireworks AI Inference](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-fireworks-inference.md)
- [Claude API vs Beam 1.0](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-reflection-beam.md)
- [Antseed vs Fireworks AI Inference](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antseed-vs-fireworks-inference.md)
- [Antseed vs Beam 1.0](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antseed-vs-reflection-beam.md)
- [BlockRun.AI vs Fireworks AI Inference](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/blockrun-ai-vs-fireworks-inference.md)
- [BlockRun.AI vs Beam 1.0](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/blockrun-ai-vs-reflection-beam.md)
- [Cerebras Inference vs Fireworks AI Inference](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cerebras-inference-vs-fireworks-inference.md)
- [Cerebras Inference vs Beam 1.0](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cerebras-inference-vs-reflection-beam.md)
- [Cloudflare AI Gateway vs Fireworks AI Inference](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-ai-gateway-vs-fireworks-inference.md)
- [Cloudflare AI Gateway vs Beam 1.0](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-ai-gateway-vs-reflection-beam.md)
- [Cloudflare Workers AI vs Fireworks AI Inference](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-workers-ai-vs-fireworks-inference.md)
- [Cloudflare Workers AI vs Beam 1.0](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-workers-ai-vs-reflection-beam.md)
- [Cohere Chat API (Command models) vs Fireworks AI Inference](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cohere-chat-vs-fireworks-inference.md)
- [Cohere Chat API (Command models) vs Beam 1.0](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cohere-chat-vs-reflection-beam.md)
- [DeepInfra vs Fireworks AI Inference](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepinfra-vs-fireworks-inference.md)
- [DeepInfra vs Beam 1.0](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepinfra-vs-reflection-beam.md)
- [DeepSeek API vs Fireworks AI Inference](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-fireworks-inference.md)
- [DeepSeek API vs Beam 1.0](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-reflection-beam.md)
- [Glimpse vs Fireworks AI Inference](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elorian-glimpse-vs-fireworks-inference.md)
- [Glimpse vs Beam 1.0](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elorian-glimpse-vs-reflection-beam.md)
- [Fireworks AI Inference vs Gemini Developer API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fireworks-inference-vs-gemini-api.md)
- [Fireworks AI Inference vs GroqCloud](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fireworks-inference-vs-groq.md)
- [Fireworks AI Inference vs Jais 3](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fireworks-inference-vs-jais-3.md)
- [Fireworks AI Inference vs Meta Model API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fireworks-inference-vs-meta-model-api.md)
- [Fireworks AI Inference vs Mistral AI API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fireworks-inference-vs-mistral-api.md)
- [Fireworks AI Inference vs Muse Spark Open](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fireworks-inference-vs-muse-spark-open.md)
- [Fireworks AI Inference vs Nemotron 3.5 Super VL](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fireworks-inference-vs-nemotron-3-5-super-vl.md)
- [Fireworks AI Inference vs Novita AI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fireworks-inference-vs-novita-ai.md)
- [Fireworks AI Inference vs OpenAI API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fireworks-inference-vs-openai-api.md)
- [Fireworks AI Inference vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fireworks-inference-vs-openrouter.md)
- [Fireworks AI Inference vs Prism Inference](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fireworks-inference-vs-prism-inference.md)
- [Fireworks AI Inference vs RouterPlus](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fireworks-inference-vs-routerplus.md)
- [Fireworks AI Inference vs SambaCloud](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fireworks-inference-vs-sambanova.md)
- [Fireworks AI Inference vs SiliconFlow](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fireworks-inference-vs-siliconflow.md)
- [Fireworks AI Inference vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fireworks-inference-vs-stepfun-api.md)
- [Fireworks AI Inference vs Together AI Inference](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fireworks-inference-vs-together-inference.md)
- [Fireworks AI Inference vs Vercel AI Gateway](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fireworks-inference-vs-vercel-ai-gateway.md)
- [Gemini Developer API vs Beam 1.0](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-api-vs-reflection-beam.md)
- [GroqCloud vs Beam 1.0](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/groq-vs-reflection-beam.md)
- [Jais 3 vs Beam 1.0](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/jais-3-vs-reflection-beam.md)
- [Meta Model API vs Beam 1.0](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/meta-model-api-vs-reflection-beam.md)
- [Mistral AI API vs Beam 1.0](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mistral-api-vs-reflection-beam.md)
- [Muse Spark Open vs Beam 1.0](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/muse-spark-open-vs-reflection-beam.md)
- [Novita AI vs Beam 1.0](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/novita-ai-vs-reflection-beam.md)
- [OpenAI API vs Beam 1.0](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-api-vs-reflection-beam.md)
- [OpenRouter vs Beam 1.0](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openrouter-vs-reflection-beam.md)
- [Prism Inference vs Beam 1.0](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/prism-inference-vs-reflection-beam.md)
- [Beam 1.0 vs RouterPlus](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/reflection-beam-vs-routerplus.md)
- [Beam 1.0 vs SambaCloud](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/reflection-beam-vs-sambanova.md)
- [Beam 1.0 vs SiliconFlow](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/reflection-beam-vs-siliconflow.md)
- [Beam 1.0 vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/reflection-beam-vs-stepfun-api.md)
- [Beam 1.0 vs Together AI Inference](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/reflection-beam-vs-together-inference.md)
- [Beam 1.0 vs Vercel AI Gateway](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/reflection-beam-vs-vercel-ai-gateway.md)
- [Nemotron 3.5 Super VL vs Beam 1.0](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nemotron-3-5-super-vl-vs-reflection-beam.md)

---

Query this catalogue directly over MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (Streamable HTTP, no key). How: https://www.anchorterminal.com/agents/#mcp