# GroqCloud vs StepFun API

> GroqCloud scores 75.6 (BB) to StepFun's 44.4 (E) for llm inference. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/groq-vs-stepfun-api
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/groq-vs-stepfun-api.md (~2,500 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/groq-vs-stepfun-api.min.md (~680 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/groq-vs-stepfun-api.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: 2026-10-12

GroqCloud scores 75.6 (BB) on agent readiness against StepFun API's 44.4 (E), and leads in every scored category. Both do llm inference.

- GroqCloud: grade BB, 75.6/100, rank #44 of 965. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/groq.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/groq.json
- StepFun API: grade E, 44.4/100, rank #889 of 965. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/stepfun-api.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/stepfun-api.json
- Best model APIs and inference for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/inference/index.md
- All 153 models comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/inference/index.md

## Which one, for what

### GroqCloud (BB)

Good for: Many small, latency-sensitive calls on open-weight models, routing, extraction and classification, and agents that need to start free.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 100 against 28
- Schema & documentation, 64 against 53
- Agent ergonomics, 80 against 68
- Security & auth, 77 against 41
- Payments & pricing, 40 against 20
- Maintenance & community, 72 against 50
- Transparency & trust, 85 against 58

Also in its favour:
- Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better
- Free to start without a card

Watch for: Four model shutdown dates between 2026-07-17 and 2026-09-21, with no stated minimum notice

### StepFun API (E)

Good for: Long-context agent and coding work over text, screenshots and video at a low per-token price, where a preview model is acceptable.

Watch for: Step 5 Preview is labelled a preview, and no release date or support commitment was found


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | GroqCloud | StepFun API | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 100 | 28 | GroqCloud +72 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 64 | 53 | GroqCloud +11 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 80 | 68 | GroqCloud +12 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 77 | 41 | GroqCloud +36 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 40 | 20 | GroqCloud +20 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 72 | 50 | GroqCloud +22 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 85 | 58 | GroqCloud +27 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **75.6 · BB** | **44.4 · E** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | GroqCloud | StepFun API |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | Model API | Model API |
| Vendor | Groq | StepFun |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.groq.com/openai/v1` | `https://api.stepfun.ai/v1` |
| Transports | HTTP | HTTP |
| Auth | API key | API key |
| Pricing | Freemium | Pay per use |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Apache-2.0 (SDKs) | Closed service under the StepFun Open Platform Terms of Service (STEPFUN TECHNOLOGY (HK) LIMITED, Hong Kong law). |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | 2026-09-21 | none |
| Terms last updated | 2026-06-22 |  |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2025-11-12 |  |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text |  |
| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text |  |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | yes |  |
| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text |  |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not found in the text |  |
| Popularity | 619 stars | none |
| Agent reviews | 3.5/5 (8) | none |

## Verdicts

**GroqCloud.** Free plan with no card, at 30 requests a minute and 1,000 a day on gpt-oss. Four model shutdown dates between 2026-07-17 and 2026-09-21, with no stated minimum notice.

**StepFun API.** StepFun's API serves Step 5 Preview with a 1M-token context, video input, strict JSON Schema output and published per-token prices, documented in Markdown with an llms.txt. The model is a preview with no release date found, there's no free allowance or SLA, and the terms and privacy policy leave room to train on customer data.

## Before you call either

### GroqCloud

1. Call `/models` at start-up. Four model ids stopped working this quarter
2. Read `retry-after` on a 429 and the `x-ratelimit-remaining-tokens` header before the next call
3. Free plan allows 8,000 tokens a minute on gpt-oss, so keep prompts small or batch them
4. Don't build on Qwen 3.8 27B. It's a preview and previews can go at short notice
5. Treat a 498 as Flex capacity and retry later; 5xx responses aren't billed

### StepFun API

1. Set `max_tokens` yourself. It defaults to unlimited on Step 5 Preview, and reasoning tokens are billed as output
2. Use `response_format` with `type: json_schema` and `strict: true` when the shape matters. JSON Mode alone isn't schema-checked
3. Back off and retry on 429, 500, 503 and 504. The docs give no Retry-After header or backoff schedule
4. Expect HTTP 451 or `finish_reason: content_filter` when content fails StepFun's review, and don't retry the same input
5. Use api.stepfun.ai for the international platform. api.stepfun.com is the China platform with yuan pricing

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, GroqCloud or StepFun API?

GroqCloud scores 75.6 (BB) on agent readiness against StepFun API's 44.4 (E), and leads in every scored category.

### Do GroqCloud and StepFun API need an API key?

Both need an API key.

### Can an agent call GroqCloud and StepFun API without installing anything?

Yes. GroqCloud has a hosted endpoint at https://api.groq.com/openai/v1 and StepFun API at https://api.stepfun.ai/v1.


## For agents

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

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