Head to head · LLM inference · October 2026 research run
Novita AI vs Tencent Cloud TokenHub
Tencent Cloud TokenHub scores 59.5 (C) on agent readiness against Novita AI's 53.5 (D), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Both do llm inference.
Best model APIs and inference for AI agents · All 529 models comparisons
Which one, for what
Best for Agents that want many open-weight models at per-token prices behind one OpenAI-style key, with keys that can be limited by model, IP and expiry.
Also in its favour
- No incidents deducted, where Tencent Cloud TokenHub loses 3 points for them
Watch for
No status page or SLA was found on the home page, the docs index or the docs site map. The home page states 99.5% uptime with no supporting document
Best for Teams in or near Tencent Cloud that want one key and bill for Tencent's Hy models and Chinese open-weight models (DeepSeek, Kimi, GLM, MiniMax, Qwen, MiMo) with per-key limits and CNY billing.
Ahead on
- Reliability, 46 against 28
- Schema & documentation, 73 against 62
- Agent ergonomics, 83 against 72
- Security & auth, 71 against 65
- Maintenance & community, 73 against 62
Watch for
Sign-up needs a Tencent Cloud account with real-name verification. The international site answered with a bot check, so access from outside China was not established
Why the edge
Each category where one leads by five points or more, with the reason behind each side's score from its assessment. The numbers are in the table below; this is what they stand for.
Reliability Tencent Cloud TokenHub +18
Novita AI 28
Hosted reading. No status page was found. None is linked from the home page, the pricing page, the docs introduction, either llms.txt or the docs site map (0), so there is no incident record to read (0). The rate limit page documents five account tiers set by monthly top-ups, from under $50 to $10,000 and over, and limits counted in RPM and TPM per model. The figures per model are drawn by script and were not readable, so this line takes part marks (8 of 15). 429 with RATE_LIMIT_EXCEEDED or TOKEN_LIMIT_EXCEEDED, advice to throttle and use exponential backoff, and a billing page that says 429, 500, 503 and 504 are not charged. No Retry-After header was found (10 of 15). No SLA was found. The home page states 99.5% uptime, and the terms say availability is not guaranteed (0). Generally available (10).
Tencent Cloud TokenHub 46
Hosted reading. No public status page was found. status.cloud.tencent.com did not answer and the Tencent Cloud health dashboard documentation answered with a bot check (0). With no page there is no incident record to read (5 of 30). The announcements carry one incident, DeepSeek's directly supplied models unavailable from 9:06 to 13:04 Beijing time on 15 October 2026 after a fault at DeepSeek, compensated with vouchers. Rate limits are per model, shown in the console and returned by DescribeModelQuota. The public docs give numbers only for batch jobs (20 created a minute, 10 active), image models (5 concurrent) and DeepSeek V4 Flash and Pro (2,500 and 500 concurrent), with the rules for self-serve increases (8 of 15). Six 429 codes separate RPM, TPM, TPD, concurrency and upstream capacity, 429s may carry Retry-After and the docs advise exponential backoff. No idempotency guidance, though inference calls are not writes (13 of 15). The TokenHub SLA promises 99.5% monthly availability with vouchers of 10, 25 or 50 per cent of the month's fee. It excludes free use and third-party deployed models such as DeepSeek's directly supplied ones (10). Generally available since 7 April 2026, with some models marked preview (10).
Schema & documentation Tencent Cloud TokenHub +11
Novita AI 62
Model reading. The OpenAPI 3.1.0 document at /.well-known/openapi.json is a 964-byte discovery file with four paths and no schemas, and the API reference is written by hand (6 of 25). llms.txt on both hosts, a Markdown copy of every docs page and an llms-full.txt (10). Guides for function calling, structured output, prompt caching, batch and reasoning say what each is for, and the chat reference describes 136 request and response fields (14 of 20). Fields are typed with required flags and defaults. Enums and ranges are stated in prose only (10 of 15). Curl and Python examples on each guide, error tables by product, a common errors guide and a table of which statuses are billed. The FAQ says json_schema and top_logprobs are unsupported while the reference and a guide document both (10 of 15). A dated changelog with 84 entries since February 2024. The API has no version scheme beyond /v1 (12 of 15).
Tencent Cloud TokenHub 73
Router, scored on the API lines. No OpenAPI file for the inference routes. Field pages document the OpenAI Chat Completions, OpenAI Responses and Anthropic Messages formats as TokenHub implements them, and the control plane is a Tencent Cloud API 3.0 service (version 2026-03-22) with typed parameters, API Explorer and SDKs (12 of 25). An llms.txt at cloud.tencent.com/document/product/1823/llms.txt links a Markdown copy of each docs page (10). The docs say which models support thinking, tools, structured output and caching, how TokenHub departs from each standard protocol, and which DeepSeek model suits which job. The quickstart's examples still use deepseek-v3, which is not in the model list, and Qwen3.5 stays in the list with a past shutdown date (13 of 20). Protocol pages list each field with type, required flag and default, and control-plane parameters carry enums and required flags (10 of 15). Examples in curl, Python, Node.js, Java and Go, and an error page listing 30 codes with HTTP status, cause and fix (14 of 15). Paths carry /v1, release notes are dated monthly from 7 April to 24 October 2026, and the control-plane API has a dated history of 26 releases to 18 September 2026 (14 of 15).
Agent ergonomics Tencent Cloud TokenHub +11
Novita AI 72
Model reading of the checklist (tool use, structured output, caching, context, batch, SDKs, errors). tools with a strict flag and a worked example. The list of models that support it is drawn by script, and tool_choice is absent from the chat reference (13 of 20). response_format takes json_object and json_schema with strict in the reference, while the FAQ says only json_object works (9 of 15). Prompt caching is automatic on supported models, cache-read prices are on the pricing page and cached_tokens is returned in usage (12 of 15). Context of 1M tokens on DeepSeek V4, GLM 5.3 and Kimi K3 per the pricing page. Output caps were not read (12 of 15). OpenAI-style files and batches with a 24-hour window, one model per file and an introductory 50 per cent discount (10). The OpenAI client works with a changed base URL. Both vendor SDK repositories are archived (5 of 10). Named error codes, a 429 that separates request and token limits, and a trace_id for support (11 of 15).
Tencent Cloud TokenHub 83
Router, read on the model lines. Function calling is marked on most chat models in the model list, with behaviour depending on the model routed (14 of 20). Structured output is marked per model and missing on the MiniMax and Qwen models, and an unsupported response_format returns code 400006 (12 of 15). Cache-hit prices are published per model, Kimi K3.1 Pro lists five-minute and one-hour cache writes, and a guide covers prompt_cache_key and the X-Session-ID header for instance affinity (14 of 15). Most listed chat models have contexts of one million tokens, a judgement call since a router has no default model (15). Batch at half price covers only Hy3 and Hy4 preview, reads and writes JSONL in the customer's own COS bucket and is documented for the Guangzhou endpoint (5 of 10). No TokenHub inference SDK. The OpenAI and Anthropic SDKs work with a changed base URL, and Tencent Cloud SDK 3.0 and the thcli CLI cover the control plane (8 of 10). Errors return a code, English and Chinese messages, the source, the upstream code and status and a request ID, and stream errors arrive as SSE error frames (15 of 15).
Maintenance & community Tencent Cloud TokenHub +11
Novita AI 62
Model reading. The newest changelog entry is dated 28 September 2026 (30). That entry retires deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash at 16:00 UTC on 9 October 2026 with a named replacement, which is 11 days' notice. No written notice period was found (6 of 12). 11 changelog entries in the 90 days to 9 October 2026, of which one was read (4 of 8). A dated changelog, a Discord server and a support address (12 of 15). novitalabs/python-sdk and novitalabs/javascript-sdk are archived on GitHub, and issue replies were not examined (2 of 10). The docs rely on the OpenAI client, the SDK page still names the two archived packages, and the skill repository reached version 1.4.0 on 24 September 2026 (5 of 15). The JavaScript SDK repository has a publish workflow only and the Python one has none (3 of 10).
Tencent Cloud TokenHub 73
Closed service, read on the model lines. The newest release note is dated 24 October 2026 and the price page was updated on 31 October (30). The four retirement notices read gave 21 to 33 days, and eligible callers are switched to a successor at its price. No minimum notice period is written, and DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash (directly supplied) was moved to the 1017 version under the same ids on 17 October 2026 in a notice dated two days later (7 of 12). 18 retirement notices from 21 April to 22 October 2026, 12 of them since 3 August (3 of 8). Dated release notes and announcements, ticket and phone support around the clock and a Q&A community (13 of 15). Replies on the THCLI repository were not sampled (3 of 10). Tencent Cloud SDK 3.0 in several languages covers the control plane and tencent-tokenhub-cli 1.0.2 was published on 30 October 2026. No inference SDK of its own (12 of 15). The CLI has four releases since 15 September 2026, lists no runtime dependencies and needs Node.js 18 or later. CI not checked (5 of 10).
Security & auth Tencent Cloud TokenHub +6
Novita AI 65
Model reading. Bearer keys with the sk_ prefix, shown once, up to 10 an account, with an expiry of 24 hours, 30 days, 90 days or none fixed at creation, deletable in the console, and a per-key model access policy and source IP allowlist that can be set by API. OAuth with PKCE and the scopes api and balance:read is described in auth.md, with no token revocation endpoint. No documented way to send a key in a URL was found (26 of 30). The terms say content is not used to train Novita's models or improve the services by default (17 of 20). The terms state zero data retention, with exceptions for law and for what is necessary to run or support the service, and allow automated safety screening. Batch input files are kept for 15 days (11 of 15). Billing can be queried per key, and budget, monitoring and metrics pages are listed in the docs index and were not read (7 of 15). The trust centre at trust.novita.ai is drawn by script and was not read. /.well-known/security.txt returns 404, and no disclosure policy or bug bounty was found (4 of 20).
Tencent Cloud TokenHub 71
Router, read on the model lines. Bearer keys can be limited to chosen models and inference services, up to 200 source IP ranges and daily, monthly or total token quotas, can be disabled or deleted, and can be created in code through CreateApiKey with signed Tencent Cloud credentials. Keys are long-lived with no expiry setting or built-in rotation (26 of 30). Clause 2.17 of the terms says inputs are not used to train Tencent Cloud's own models, and the FAQ says data is not used for training. Inputs to third-party deployed models (DeepSeek's directly supplied ones) go to DeepSeek under its terms (14 of 20). Clause 2.14 keeps data only as long as the service needs, with no periods stated. When a customer asks for generated content without AI labels, Tencent Cloud keeps logs of who received it for at least six months. No zero-retention option was found (7 of 15). Per-call audit logs (request ID, key, client IP, status, tokens, latency) and optional full call logs go to the customer's CLS, billed separately, with usage by key and a monitoring dashboard (14 of 15). No security.txt on cloud.tencent.com, www.tencent.com or tokenhub.tencentmaas.com (404). Tencent's bug bounty through TSRC lists Tencent Cloud in scope. No certification for TokenHub was checked (10 of 20).
Score by category
| Category | Weight this run | Novita AI | Tencent Cloud TokenHub | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reliability | 16%20 | 28 | 46 | Tencent Cloud TokenHub +18 |
| Performance | 10%pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13%16.2 | 62 | 73 | Tencent Cloud TokenHub +11 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13%16.2 | 72 | 83 | Tencent Cloud TokenHub +11 |
| Security & auth | 14%17.5 | 65 | 71 | Tencent Cloud TokenHub +6 |
| Payments & pricing | 10%12.5 | 35 | 35 | even |
| Task success | 10%pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7%8.8 | 62 | 73 | Tencent Cloud TokenHub +11 |
| Transparency & trust | 7%8.8 | 57 | 54 | Novita AI +3 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | -3 | |
| Total | D 53.5/100 | C 59.5/100 |
Facts side by side
| Fact | Novita AI | Tencent Cloud TokenHub |
|---|---|---|
| Kind | Model API | Model router |
| Vendor | Novita AI | Tencent Cloud |
| Hosted endpoint | https://api.novita.ai/openai | https://tokenhub.tencentmaas.com/v1 |
| Transports | HTTP | HTTP |
| Auth | API key | API key |
| Pricing | Pay per use | Pay per use |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Proprietary service under the Novita AI Terms of Service. The agent skill and the MCP server are MIT | Proprietary service under the TokenHub Terms of Service, the TokenHub SLA and the Tencent Cloud Service Agreement, with a special note for third-party deployed models. The tencent-tokenhub-cli package is Apache-2.0 |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | 2026-09-28 | 2026-10-24 |
| Terms last updated | 2026-08-05 | couldn't be read |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-05-13 | couldn't be read |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | couldn't be read |
| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text | couldn't be read |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text | couldn't be read |
| Terms or service can change without notice | yes | couldn't be read |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes | couldn't be read |
| Popularity | 6 stars, 1.4k npm/wk | 204 npm/wk |
How the scores have moved
Tencent Cloud TokenHub
No score change since it was listed.
Verdicts
Novita AI
Per-token prices for about 140 language models are public, and each key can carry an expiry, a model allowlist and a source IP allowlist. No status page, SLA or security.txt was found, the per-model rate limit figures are drawn by script, and both vendor SDK repositories are archived while the docs still point to them.
Tencent Cloud TokenHub
Keys can be limited to chosen models, source IPs and token quotas, errors name their source and code, and a 99.5% SLA covers paid use of models Tencent runs. Sign-up needs a Tencent Cloud account with real-name verification, prices are in CNY, no public status page was found, and 18 model retirement notices ran from April to October 2026.
Before you call either
Novita AI
- Set the OpenAI client base URL to
https://api.novita.ai/openaiand send the key asAuthorization: Bearer. Keys start withsk_ - Do not close a connection to stop generation. A request that reached the model is billed in full under status 499, so cap output with
max_tokens - On 429, check whether the code is
RATE_LIMIT_EXCEEDEDorTOKEN_LIMIT_EXCEEDEDand back off exponentially. NoRetry-Afterheader is documented - Read the changelog for retirement notices before pinning a model id. One retirement in October 2026 came with 11 days' notice
- Ask the account owner for a key with an expiry, a model access policy and an IP allowlist. Keys are created and deleted only in the console
Tencent Cloud TokenHub
- Use
https://tokenhub.tencentmaas.com/v1with keys made for Guangzhou andhttps://tokenhub-intl.tencentmaas.com/v1with keys made for Singapore. Keys do not work across the two - Send the key as
Authorization: Beareron the OpenAI paths and asx-api-keyon/v1/messages - Parse
error.codeas a string or a number, since 429 codes can come back as integers, and wait forRetry-Afterbefore retrying - Take model ids from
GET /v1/modelsand watch forpre-offline. The quickstart'sdeepseek-v3example is not in the current model list - Expect DeepSeek prices to double on weekdays from 9am to noon and 2pm to 6pm Beijing time, when the peak rate applies
Questions
Which is better for AI agents, Novita AI or Tencent Cloud TokenHub?
Tencent Cloud TokenHub scores 59.5 (C) on agent readiness against Novita AI's 53.5 (D), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories.
Do Novita AI and Tencent Cloud TokenHub need an API key?
Both need an API key.
Can an agent call Novita AI and Tencent Cloud TokenHub without installing anything?
Yes. Novita AI has a hosted endpoint at https://api.novita.ai/openai and Tencent Cloud TokenHub at https://tokenhub.tencentmaas.com/v1.
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Machine-readable
- This page as Markdown
/compare/novita-ai-vs-tencent-tokenhub.md· slim.min.md· JSON.json(or sendAccept: text/markdown) - Each listing in full
/api/v1/tools/novita-ai.json·/api/v1/tools/tencent-tokenhub.json - From a terminal
anchor compare novita-ai tencent-tokenhub(the CLI) - Over MCP
compare_tools {"a": "novita-ai", "b": "tencent-tokenhub"}at/mcp, no key