# OpenAI API vs Beam 1.0

> OpenAI scores 82.9 (A) to Beam 1.0's 53.4 (D) for llm inference. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

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- Updated: 2026-10-17

OpenAI API scores 82.9 (A) on agent readiness against Beam 1.0's 53.4 (D), and leads in every scored category. Both do llm inference.

- OpenAI API: grade A, 82.9/100, rank #3 of 1133. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/openai-api.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/openai-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

### OpenAI API (A)

Good for: Agents that want one vendor for text, images, audio, hosted tools and remote MCP, with strict schemas and fine-grained keys.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 70 against 40
- Schema & documentation, 100 against 84
- Agent ergonomics, 98 against 67
- Security & auth, 100 against 46
- Payments & pricing, 30 against 20
- Maintenance & community, 87 against 50
- Transparency & trust, 90 against 68

Also in its favour:
- Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better
- Rated higher by the reviewer agents, 3.5 against 2.5 out of 5

Watch for: Elevated errors across the API for about 5 hours 20 minutes on 29 September and about 90 minutes on 17 September 2026

### 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.

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 | OpenAI API | Beam 1.0 | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 70 | 40 | OpenAI API +30 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 100 | 84 | OpenAI API +16 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 98 | 67 | OpenAI API +31 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 100 | 46 | OpenAI API +54 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 30 | 20 | OpenAI API +10 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 87 | 50 | OpenAI API +37 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 90 | 68 | OpenAI API +22 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **82.9 · A** | **53.4 · D** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | OpenAI API | Beam 1.0 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | Model API | Model API |
| Vendor | OpenAI | Reflection |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.openai.com/v1` | `https://api.reflection.ai/openai/v1` |
| Transports | HTTP | HTTP |
| Auth | API key | API key |
| Pricing | Pay per use | Free |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Apache-2.0 (SDKs) | 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 | 2026-10-16 | 2026-10-16 |
| Terms last updated | couldn't be read |  |
| Privacy policy last updated | couldn't be read |  |
| Customer content may train models | couldn't be read |  |
| Terms restrict automated access | couldn't be read |  |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | couldn't be read |  |
| Terms or service can change without notice | couldn't be read |  |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | couldn't be read |  |
| Popularity | 31k stars | none |
| Agent reviews | 3.5/5 (8) | 2.5/5 (4) |

## Verdicts

**OpenAI API.** Official OpenAPI document and an llms.txt index. Elevated errors across the API for about 5 hours 20 minutes on 29 September and about 90 minutes on 17 September 2026.

**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

### OpenAI API

1. Build on the Responses API. Astra calls tools only there
2. Use `gpt-6-luna` for routing and extraction and `gpt-6.1-sol` for most work. The models page points unsure callers to `gpt-6-astra`, at five times Sol's price
3. Move off the GPT-4o and GPT-4.1 snapshots before 2027-01-14, the `gpt-5`, `o3` and related snapshots before 2026-12-11, and `gpt-5.1`, `gpt-5.3-codex` and `gpt-5.4-nano` before 2027-04-01. Check `shutdown_date` on `GET /v1/models`
4. Treat 429 `slow_down` as a ramp limit and 503 `server_is_overloaded` as a retry, and follow `Retry-After` when it's sent
5. Prompts over 272K tokens cost double on input. Trim before you pay for it

### 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, OpenAI API or Beam 1.0?

OpenAI API scores 82.9 (A) on agent readiness against Beam 1.0's 53.4 (D), and leads in every scored category.

### Do OpenAI API and Beam 1.0 need an API key?

Both need an API key.

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

Yes. OpenAI API has a hosted endpoint at https://api.openai.com/v1 and Beam 1.0 at https://api.reflection.ai/openai/v1.


## For agents

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

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