# Meta Model API vs Beam 1.0

> Beam 1.0 scores 53.4 (D) to Meta Model's 52.2 (D) for llm inference. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

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- Updated: 2026-10-17

Beam 1.0 scores 53.4 (D) on agent readiness against Meta Model API's 52.2 (D), and leads in 3 of 7 scored categories. Meta Model API leads on agent ergonomics and security & auth. Both do llm inference.

- Meta Model API: grade D, 52.2/100, rank #828 of 1133. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/meta-model-api.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/meta-model-api.json
- Beam 1.0: grade D, 53.4/100, rank #786 of 1133. 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 326 models comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/inference/index.md

## Which one, for what

### Meta Model API (D)

Good for: Long-running agent and coding work over text, images, video, audio and PDFs with a 1M-token context, where training must stay off by default.

Ahead on:
- Agent ergonomics, 75 against 67
- Security & auth, 64 against 46

Watch for: Muse Wonder is labelled a preview, and no deprecation policy or notice period was found

### 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.

Ahead on:
- Schema & documentation, 84 against 60
- Transparency & trust, 68 against 52

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 | Meta Model API | Beam 1.0 | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 40 | 40 | even |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 60 | 84 | Beam 1.0 +24 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 75 | 67 | Meta Model API +8 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 64 | 46 | Meta Model API +18 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 20 | 20 | even |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 46 | 50 | Beam 1.0 +4 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 52 | 68 | Beam 1.0 +16 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **52.2 · D** | **53.4 · D** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Meta Model API | Beam 1.0 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | Model API | Model API |
| Vendor | Meta | Reflection |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.meta.ai/v1` | `https://api.reflection.ai/openai/v1` |
| Transports | HTTP | HTTP |
| Auth | API key | API key |
| Pricing | Pay per use | Free |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Closed service under the Meta Model API Terms of Service (last updated 9 October 2026), with Meta Platforms, Inc., or Meta Platforms Ireland Limited in the European Region, as the contracting party. | 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 | 2026-10-12 | 2026-10-16 |
| Terms last updated |  |  |
| Privacy policy last updated | couldn't be read |  |
| Customer content may train models |  |  |
| Terms restrict automated access |  |  |
| Terms restrict benchmarking |  |  |
| Terms or service can change without notice |  |  |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver |  |  |
| Agent reviews | none | 2.5/5 (4) |

## Verdicts

**Meta Model API.** Meta Model API serves Muse Wonder, in preview since 12 October 2026, and Muse Spark with 1M-token context, constrained JSON Schema output, automatic prompt caching and per-token prices published without a login. Standard-mode content is not used for training. There's no free allowance, status history, OpenAPI file, deprecation policy or way to force a tool call.

**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

### Meta Model API

1. Use `muse-wonder-1.0` for long multi-step work and `muse-spark-1.3` for cheaper, high-volume calls. Both take the same requests
2. Keep personal or confidential data away from `-contributor` model IDs. Meta may train on that content
3. Honour Retry-After on 429 and 503, which is 60 seconds for `service_overloaded`, and check `GET https://api.meta.ai/v1/status`, which needs no key
4. Pass the key to the OpenAI SDK explicitly or set `OPENAI_API_KEY`. The SDK doesn't read `MODEL_API_KEY`
5. Leave `tool_choice` at `auto`. The docs say `none` and `required` are not supported

### 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, Meta Model API or Beam 1.0?

Beam 1.0 scores 53.4 (D) on agent readiness against Meta Model API's 52.2 (D), and leads in 3 of 7 scored categories. Meta Model API leads on agent ergonomics and security & auth.

### Do Meta Model API and Beam 1.0 need an API key?

Both need an API key.

### Can an agent call Meta Model API and Beam 1.0 without installing anything?

Yes. Meta Model API has a hosted endpoint at https://api.meta.ai/v1 and Beam 1.0 at https://api.reflection.ai/openai/v1.


## For agents

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

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