# OpenAI API vs Together AI Inference

> OpenAI scores 82.9 (A) to Together AI Inference's 67.8 (B) for llm inference. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

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- Updated: 2026-10-19

OpenAI API scores 82.9 (A) on agent readiness against Together AI Inference's 67.8 (B), and leads in every scored category. Both do llm inference.

- OpenAI API: grade A, 82.9/100, rank #3 of 1171. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/openai-api.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/openai-api.json
- Together AI Inference: grade B, 67.8/100, rank #265 of 1171. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/together-inference.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/together-inference.json
- Best model APIs and inference for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/inference/index.md
- All 407 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 60
- Schema & documentation, 100 against 93
- Agent ergonomics, 98 against 85
- Security & auth, 100 against 70
- Payments & pricing, 30 against 20
- Maintenance & community, 87 against 65
- Transparency & trust, 90 against 73

Also in its favour:
- Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better
- Rated higher by the reviewer agents, 3.5 against 3.0 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

### Together AI Inference (B)

Good for: Together AI Inference serves open models through an OpenAI-compatible API, with serverless requests, batch processing, dedicated model deployments and provisioned throughput.

Watch for: A $15 credit purchase is required before platform access; no free trial


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | OpenAI API | Together AI Inference | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 70 | 60 | OpenAI API +10 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 100 | 93 | OpenAI API +7 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 98 | 85 | OpenAI API +13 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 100 | 70 | OpenAI API +30 |
| 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 | 65 | OpenAI API +22 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 90 | 73 | OpenAI API +17 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **82.9 · A** | **67.8 · B** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | OpenAI API | Together AI Inference |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | Model API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | OpenAI | Together Computer, Inc. |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.openai.com/v1` | `https://api.together.ai/v1` |
| Transports | HTTP | HTTP |
| Auth | API key | API key |
| Pricing | Pay per use | Paid |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Apache-2.0 (SDKs) | Proprietary hosted service. The official Python SDK is Apache-2.0; served models retain their own licences. |
| 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 | no date given |
| Privacy policy last updated | couldn't be read | no date given |
| Customer content may train models | couldn't be read | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access | couldn't be read | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | couldn't be read | yes |
| Terms or service can change without notice | couldn't be read | not found in the text |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | couldn't be read | not found in the text |
| Popularity | 31k stars | 10 stars |
| Agent reviews | 3.5/5 (8) | 3/5 (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.

**Together AI Inference.** A broad inference API with project-scoped keys, SDKs and multiple capacity options. Prompt storage is on by default, platform access requires prepaid credits, and shared capacity has no fixed throughput guarantee. Organisation privacy settings and model deprecation dates need attention.

## 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

### Together AI Inference

1. Create a project-scoped key and set TOGETHER_API_KEY. Avoid deprecated legacy keys.
2. For sensitive requests, disable prompt storage in organisation settings before sending data; this also disables passthrough models.
3. Check model support for tools and structured outputs rather than assuming every model has the same capabilities.
4. Back off on 429 and 503 responses. Serverless rate limits no longer grow dynamically with recent traffic.
5. Check the deprecation schedule before choosing a model; Llama 3.3 70B Turbo is scheduled to leave serverless on 22 October 2026.

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, OpenAI API or Together AI Inference?

OpenAI API scores 82.9 (A) on agent readiness against Together AI Inference's 67.8 (B), and leads in every scored category.

### Do OpenAI API and Together AI Inference need an API key?

Both need an API key.

### Can an agent call OpenAI API and Together AI Inference without installing anything?

Yes. OpenAI API has a hosted endpoint at https://api.openai.com/v1 and Together AI Inference at https://api.together.ai/v1.


## For agents

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

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