# GroqCloud vs StepFun API (slim)

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

- Full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/groq-vs-stepfun-api.md (~2,500 tokens) · this version ~680 tokens · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/groq-vs-stepfun-api.json · canonical https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/groq-vs-stepfun-api
- Index: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.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: BB 75.6, rank #44 of 965 · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/groq.min.md
- StepFun API: E 44.4, rank #889 of 965 · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/stepfun-api.min.md
- GroqCloud, 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 Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better; Free to start without a card.
- StepFun API, 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.

| Category | GroqCloud | StepFun API |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability (16%) | 100 | 28 |
| Performance (10%) | pending | pending |
| Schema & documentation (13%) | 64 | 53 |
| Agent ergonomics (13%) | 80 | 68 |
| Security & auth (14%) | 77 | 41 |
| Payments & pricing (10%) | 40 | 20 |
| Task success (10%) | pending | pending |
| Maintenance & community (7%) | 72 | 50 |
| Transparency & trust (7%) | 85 | 58 |

| Fact (where they differ) | GroqCloud | StepFun API |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Vendor | Groq | StepFun |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.groq.com/openai/v1` | `https://api.stepfun.ai/v1` |
| Pricing | Freemium | Pay per use |
| Licence | Apache-2.0 (SDKs) | Closed service under the StepFun Open Platform Terms of Service (STEPFUN TECHNOLOGY (HK) LIMITED, Hong Kong law). |
| 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 |