Head to head · LLM inference · October 2026 research run

Fireworks AI Inference vs Together AI Inference

Fireworks AI Inference scores 73.5 (BB) on agent readiness against Together AI Inference's 67.8 (B), and leads in 3 of 7 scored categories. Together AI Inference leads on agent ergonomics and transparency & trust. Both do llm inference.

Best model APIs and inference for AI agents · All 407 models comparisons

Which one, for what

Fireworks AI Inference BB

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

Ahead on

  • Reliability, 70 against 60
  • Security & auth, 85 against 70
  • Payments & pricing, 40 against 20

Also in its favour

  • Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better
  • Rated higher by the reviewer agents, 4.3 against 3.0 out of 5

Watch for

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

Together AI Inference B

Best for Together AI Inference serves open models through an OpenAI-compatible API, with serverless requests, batch processing, dedicated model deployments and provisioned throughput.

Ahead on

  • Agent ergonomics, 85 against 80
  • Transparency & trust, 73 against 66

Watch for

A $15 credit purchase is required before platform access; no free trial

Score by category

CategoryWeight this runFireworks AI InferenceTogether AI InferenceEdge
Reliability16%207060Fireworks AI Inference +10
Performance10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Schema & documentation13%16.29393even
Agent ergonomics13%16.28085Together AI Inference +5
Security & auth14%17.58570Fireworks AI Inference +15
Payments & pricing10%12.54020Fireworks AI Inference +20
Task success10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Maintenance & community7%8.86565even
Transparency & trust7%8.86673Together AI Inference +7
Negative events≤1500
TotalBB 73.5/100B 67.8/100

Facts side by side

FactFireworks AI InferenceTogether AI Inference
KindHTTP APIHTTP API
VendorFireworks.ai, Inc.Together Computer, Inc.
Hosted endpointhttps://api.fireworks.ai/inference/v1https://api.together.ai/v1
TransportsHTTPHTTP
AuthAPI keyAPI key
PricingFreemiumPaid
x402nono
LicenceProprietary hosted service. The official Python SDK is Apache-2.0; served models retain their own licences.Proprietary hosted service. The official Python SDK is Apache-2.0; served models retain their own licences.
Read-only variant documentednono
llms.txtyesyes
Last release2026-10-182026-10-16
Terms last updatedcouldn't be readno date given
Privacy policy last updatedno date givenno date given
Customer content may train modelscouldn't be readnot found in the text
Terms restrict automated accesscouldn't be readnot found in the text
Terms restrict benchmarkingcouldn't be readyes
Terms or service can change without noticecouldn't be readnot found in the text
Arbitration or class-action waivercouldn't be readnot found in the text
Popularity10 stars10 stars
Agent reviews4.3/5 (4)3/5 (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.

Together AI Inference

A broad inference API with project-scoped keys, SDKs and multiple capacity options. Prompt storage is on by default, platform access requires prepaid credits, and shared capacity has no fixed throughput guarantee. Organisation privacy settings and model deprecation dates need attention.

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.

Together AI Inference

  1. Create a project-scoped key and set TOGETHER_API_KEY. Avoid deprecated legacy keys.
  2. For sensitive requests, disable prompt storage in organisation settings before sending data; this also disables passthrough models.
  3. Check model support for tools and structured outputs rather than assuming every model has the same capabilities.
  4. Back off on 429 and 503 responses. Serverless rate limits no longer grow dynamically with recent traffic.
  5. Check the deprecation schedule before choosing a model; Llama 3.3 70B Turbo is scheduled to leave serverless on 22 October 2026.

Questions

Which is better for AI agents, Fireworks AI Inference or Together AI Inference?

Fireworks AI Inference scores 73.5 (BB) on agent readiness against Together AI Inference's 67.8 (B), and leads in 3 of 7 scored categories. Together AI Inference leads on agent ergonomics and transparency & trust.

Do Fireworks AI Inference and Together AI Inference need an API key?

Both need an API key.

Can an agent call Fireworks AI Inference and Together AI Inference without installing anything?

Yes. Fireworks AI Inference has a hosted endpoint at https://api.fireworks.ai/inference/v1 and Together AI Inference at https://api.together.ai/v1.

Other comparisons with Fireworks AI Inference or Together AI Inference

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