# Gemini 4 Hydrogen vs xAI API (Grok) (slim)

> xAI scores 72.9 (BB) to Gemini 4 Hydrogen's 64.9 (B) for llm inference. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-hydrogen-vs-xai-api.md (~6,850 tokens) · this version ~930 tokens · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-hydrogen-vs-xai-api.json · canonical https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-hydrogen-vs-xai-api
- Index: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt · API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json · MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp · Updated: 2026-11-13
- Licence: CC BY 4.0, credit Anchor Terminal and link this page (https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data)

xAI API (Grok) scores 72.9 (BB) on agent readiness against Gemini 4 Hydrogen's 64.9 (B), and leads in 3 of 7 scored categories. Gemini 4 Hydrogen leads on payments & pricing, maintenance & community and transparency & trust. Both do llm inference.

- Gemini 4 Hydrogen: B 64.9, rank #546 of 1524 · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/gemini-4-hydrogen.min.md
- xAI API (Grok): BB 72.9, rank #201 of 1524 · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/xai-api.min.md
- Gemini 4 Hydrogen, good for Agents doing everyday coding, tool calls and document work at volume on the Gemini API, including ones that need to start on a free key, or as the executor beside Carbon or Argon. Ahead on Payments & pricing, 40 against 30; Maintenance & community, 85 against 77; Transparency & trust, 72 against 63.
- xAI API (Grok), good for Agents that want a capable model at a low per-token price with built-in web and X search, remote MCP and voice, and teams that need self-serve ZDR or US-only processing. Ahead on Reliability, 55 against 45; Security & auth, 97 against 50. Also Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better.

| Category | Gemini 4 Hydrogen | xAI API (Grok) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability (16%) | 45 | 55 |
| Performance (10%) | pending | pending |
| Schema & documentation (13%) | 85 | 88 |
| Agent ergonomics (13%) | 90 | 90 |
| Security & auth (14%) | 50 | 97 |
| Payments & pricing (10%) | 40 | 30 |
| Task success (10%) | pending | pending |
| Maintenance & community (7%) | 85 | 77 |
| Transparency & trust (7%) | 72 | 63 |

| Fact (where they differ) | Gemini 4 Hydrogen | xAI API (Grok) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Vendor | Google | SpaceXSI (xAI) |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta` | `https://api.x.ai/v1` |
| Transports |  | HTTP |
| Licence | Closed model, used through the Gemini API and Google's apps under Google's terms | Proprietary service under xAI's enterprise terms of service. The Python SDK is Apache-2.0 |
| Last release | 2026-11-12 | 2026-11-02 |
| Terms last updated | 2026-04-28 | 2026-10-27 |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-10-01 | 2026-10-27 |
| Terms restrict automated access | yes | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | yes | not found in the text |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not found in the text | yes |
| Popularity | none | 597 stars, 912k PyPI/wk |

Why the edge:
- Security & auth, xAI API (Grok) +47: Gemini 4 Hydrogen 50 (Model reading for gemini-4-hydrogen on the Gemini API.); xAI API (Grok) 97 (Model reading.)
- Reliability, xAI API (Grok) +10: Gemini 4 Hydrogen 45 (Model reading for gemini-4-hydrogen on the Gemini API.); xAI API (Grok) 55 (Status page at status.x.ai with components for the global and US API endpoints, voice, the consumer apps and, since the Cursor merger, Cursor's services, with a…)
- Payments & pricing, Gemini 4 Hydrogen +10: Gemini 4 Hydrogen 40 (Model reading for gemini-4-hydrogen on the Gemini API.); xAI API (Grok) 30 (No x402, MPP or L402 (0).)
- Transparency & trust, Gemini 4 Hydrogen +9: Gemini 4 Hydrogen 72 (Model reading for gemini-4-hydrogen on the Gemini API.); xAI API (Grok) 63 (Closed service under xAI's enterprise terms, with the Python SDK under Apache-2.0 (15).)
- Maintenance & community, Gemini 4 Hydrogen +8: Gemini 4 Hydrogen 85 (Model reading for gemini-4-hydrogen on the Gemini API.); xAI API (Grok) 77 (Model reading.)