{
  "data": {
    "a": {
      "slug": "stepfun-api",
      "name": "StepFun API",
      "vendor": "StepFun",
      "vendorUrl": "https://platform.stepfun.ai",
      "kind": "model",
      "category": "inference",
      "summary": "The StepFun API is StepFun's paid model API for its Step language, vision and speech models, including the flagship Step 5 Preview, through OpenAI-style Chat Completions and Responses endpoints and an Anthropic-style Messages endpoint.",
      "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/stepfun-api",
      "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/stepfun-api.md",
      "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/stepfun-api.min.md",
      "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/stepfun-api.json",
      "license": "Closed service under the StepFun Open Platform Terms of Service (STEPFUN TECHNOLOGY (HK) LIMITED, Hong Kong law).",
      "transports": [
        "http"
      ],
      "remoteUrl": "https://api.stepfun.ai/v1",
      "packages": [],
      "auth": "api-key",
      "authNotes": "A bearer API key created in the StepFun Open Platform console after sign-up. Organisations can create one key per project, billed to the organisation's credit and deletable at once. No key scopes were found. Individual accounts must complete identity verification before tiered rate limits apply.",
      "pricing": "usage",
      "pricingNotes": "Step 5 Preview is $1.00 per million input tokens on a cache miss, $0.10 on a cache hit and $2.70 per million output tokens, reasoning included (checked 2026-10-12). Prepaid top-ups. No free API allowance was found. A Step Plan subscription covers coding tools separately.",
      "priceSummary": "Pay per use",
      "where": "hosted",
      "x402": {
        "level": "no",
        "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the international docs index, the pricing page or the Chat Completions reference, checked 12 October 2026. Calls draw on a prepaid balance.",
        "endpoints": []
      },
      "toolCount": null,
      "popularity": {
        "githubStars": null,
        "npmWeekly": null,
        "pypiWeekly": null,
        "asOf": "2026-10-12"
      },
      "docsUrl": "https://platform.stepfun.ai/docs/en/guides/models/step-5-preview",
      "llmsTxt": "https://platform.stepfun.ai/docs/llms.txt",
      "capabilities": [
        "inference.llm"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "official",
        "hosted",
        "model",
        "usage-priced",
        "closed-source",
        "llms-txt",
        "multimodal",
        "streaming"
      ],
      "graded": true,
      "anchor": {
        "graded": true,
        "score": 44.1,
        "grade": "E",
        "agentReady": false,
        "rank": 997,
        "ranked": true,
        "rankOf": 1133,
        "categoryRank": 26,
        "methodology": "0.4",
        "run": "2026-10-01",
        "scores": {
          "ergonomics": 68,
          "maintenance": 50,
          "payments": 20,
          "reliability": 28,
          "schema": 53,
          "security": 41,
          "transparency": 55
        },
        "pending": [
          "performance",
          "tasks"
        ],
        "assessment": {
          "confidence": "medium",
          "date": "2026-10-12"
        },
        "negative": 0,
        "verdict": "StepFun's API serves Step 5 Preview with a 1M-token context, video input, strict JSON Schema output and published per-token prices, documented in Markdown with an llms.txt. The model is a preview with no release date found, there's no free allowance or SLA, and the terms and privacy policy leave room to train on customer data.",
        "bestFor": "Long-context agent and coding work over text, screenshots and video at a low per-token price, where a preview model is acceptable.",
        "strengths": [
          "Step 5 Preview takes text, images and video with a 1M-token context and up to 64k output tokens",
          "Strict JSON Schema output and tool calls on Step 5 Preview, per the structured-output guide",
          "Per-token prices with cache-hit rates published without a login, and rate-limit tiers published with numbers",
          "OpenAI-style Chat Completions and Responses endpoints and an Anthropic-style Messages endpoint",
          "llms.txt and a Markdown copy of every docs page"
        ],
        "weaknesses": [
          "Step 5 Preview is labelled a preview, and no release date or support commitment was found",
          "No free API allowance found, and individual accounts need identity verification for tiered limits",
          "No OpenAPI file, no official SDK and no batch endpoint found",
          "The privacy policy allows training on user data where law and program terms permit, with no zero-retention option found",
          "No SLA, security.txt or certification found"
        ],
        "agentNotes": [
          "Set `max_tokens` yourself. It defaults to unlimited on Step 5 Preview, and reasoning tokens are billed as output",
          "Use `response_format` with `type: json_schema` and `strict: true` when the shape matters. JSON Mode alone isn't schema-checked",
          "Back off and retry on 429, 500, 503 and 504. The docs give no Retry-After header or backoff schedule",
          "Expect HTTP 451 or `finish_reason: content_filter` when content fails StepFun's review, and don't retry the same input",
          "Use api.stepfun.ai for the international platform. api.stepfun.com is the China platform with yuan pricing"
        ],
        "metrics": {
          "kind": "remote",
          "measured": false
        },
        "reviewCount": 4,
        "avgRating": 3.3,
        "history": [
          {
            "basis": "public evidence",
            "confidence": "medium",
            "grade": "E",
            "methodology": "0.4",
            "pending": [
              "performance",
              "tasks"
            ],
            "run": "2026-10-01",
            "runLabel": "October 2026 research run",
            "score": 44.1
          }
        ],
        "editorialScores": {
          "ergonomics": 68,
          "maintenance": 50,
          "payments": 20,
          "reliability": 28,
          "schema": 53,
          "security": 41,
          "transparency": 51
        },
        "provenanceScore": 59
      },
      "connect": {
        "http": "curl https://api.stepfun.ai/v1/chat/completions \\\n  -H \"Content-Type: application/json\" \\\n  -H \"Authorization: Bearer $STEPFUN_API_KEY\" \\\n  -d '{\"model\":\"step-5-preview\",\"messages\":[{\"role\":\"user\",\"content\":\"Hello\"}]}'"
      },
      "letme": {
        "capability": "https://letme.dev/inference.llm",
        "tool": "https://letme.dev/stepfun-api"
      },
      "area": "models",
      "unitPrices": [
        {
          "item": "Step 5 Preview input, cache miss",
          "unit": "1m-tokens",
          "usd": 1,
          "note": "Includes writing new content to the cache."
        },
        {
          "item": "Step 5 Preview input, cache hit",
          "unit": "1m-tokens",
          "usd": 0.1
        },
        {
          "item": "Step 5 Preview output",
          "unit": "1m-tokens",
          "usd": 2.7,
          "note": "Reasoning and final answer tokens."
        }
      ],
      "provenance": {
        "legalEntity": "STEPFUN TECHNOLOGY (HK) LIMITED",
        "domain": "stepfun.ai",
        "domainRegistered": "",
        "endpointOnVendorDomain": true,
        "terms": "https://platform.stepfun.ai/docs/en/agreement/userservice",
        "privacy": "https://platform.stepfun.ai/docs/en/agreement/userprivacy",
        "statusPage": "",
        "changelog": "https://platform.stepfun.ai/docs/en/guides/model-migration",
        "securityTxt": "none",
        "checked": "2026-10-12",
        "notes": [
          "The terms and the privacy policy name STEPFUN TECHNOLOGY (HK) LIMITED. Disputes go to HKIAC arbitration under Hong Kong law.",
          "platform.stepfun.ai/.well-known/security.txt returned 404, and stepfun.ai/.well-known/security.txt redirects to the platform home page.",
          "status.stepfun.ai refused our reader by robots.txt, and the shell couldn't connect, so whether it is a status page wasn't established.",
          "The X handle comes from the QR code labelled X account on the platform home page, which decodes to https://x.com/StepFun_ai.",
          "Domain registration date was not checked."
        ],
        "score": 59
      },
      "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/stepfun-api.json",
      "live": {
        "slug": "stepfun-api",
        "probe": {
          "target": "https://api.stepfun.ai/v1",
          "method": "get",
          "lastAt": "2026-10-18T00:14:57.916793454Z",
          "lastOk": true,
          "lastStatus": 404,
          "lastMs": 281,
          "authRequired": false,
          "uptime24h": 100,
          "uptime30d": 100,
          "p50ms24h": 280,
          "p95ms24h": 348,
          "samples24h": 253,
          "samples30d": 1479,
          "days": [
            {
              "date": "2026-10-12",
              "probes": 221,
              "ok": 221
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-13",
              "probes": 248,
              "ok": 248
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-14",
              "probes": 249,
              "ok": 249
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-15",
              "probes": 253,
              "ok": 253
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-16",
              "probes": 252,
              "ok": 252
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-17",
              "probes": 253,
              "ok": 253
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-18",
              "probes": 3,
              "ok": 3
            }
          ]
        },
        "securityTxt": {
          "url": "https://stepfun.ai/.well-known/security.txt",
          "state": "none",
          "checkedAt": "2026-10-17T15:52:18.033655807Z"
        },
        "llmsTxt": {
          "url": "https://platform.stepfun.ai/docs/llms.txt",
          "ok": true,
          "status": 200,
          "checkedAt": "2026-10-17T14:23:19.435069903Z"
        },
        "pages": [
          {
            "url": "https://platform.stepfun.ai/docs/en/guides/model-migration",
            "kind": "changelog",
            "status": 200,
            "checkedAt": "2026-10-17T23:07:52.922941894Z",
            "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "fingerprint": "1feddb4ca8f8"
          },
          {
            "url": "https://platform.stepfun.ai/docs/en/agreement/userprivacy",
            "kind": "privacy",
            "status": 200,
            "checkedAt": "2026-10-17T23:07:48.533221638Z",
            "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "fingerprint": "a570c7df9ed7"
          },
          {
            "url": "https://platform.stepfun.ai/docs/en/agreement/userservice",
            "kind": "terms",
            "status": 200,
            "checkedAt": "2026-10-17T23:07:51.16947971Z",
            "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "fingerprint": "d47cd5cdb08e"
          }
        ],
        "updatedAt": "2026-10-18T00:14:57.916793454Z"
      }
    },
    "answer": "Vercel AI Gateway scores 66.7 (B) on agent readiness against StepFun API's 44.1 (E), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories.",
    "b": {
      "slug": "vercel-ai-gateway",
      "name": "Vercel AI Gateway",
      "vendor": "Vercel Inc.",
      "vendorUrl": "https://vercel.com",
      "kind": "router",
      "category": "inference",
      "summary": "Vercel AI Gateway is a hosted router for model APIs. One API key or Vercel OIDC token reaches models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and others through OpenAI-compatible, Anthropic-compatible and AI SDK interfaces, with budgets, request logs and provider failover.",
      "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/vercel-ai-gateway",
      "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/vercel-ai-gateway.md",
      "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/vercel-ai-gateway.min.md",
      "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/vercel-ai-gateway.json",
      "repo": "https://github.com/vercel/ai",
      "license": "Proprietary service under Vercel's Terms of Service and AI Product Terms, with Token Pass terms on its docs page. Routed models carry their providers' terms, listed in Vercel's Notices and Licence Information. The `@ai-sdk/gateway` provider is Apache-2.0",
      "transports": [
        "http"
      ],
      "remoteUrl": "https://ai-gateway.vercel.sh/v1",
      "packages": [
        {
          "registry": "npm",
          "name": "@ai-sdk/gateway"
        },
        {
          "registry": "npm",
          "name": "ai"
        },
        {
          "registry": "pypi",
          "name": "ai"
        }
      ],
      "auth": "mixed",
      "authNotes": "An AI Gateway API key as a Bearer token from any environment, or a Vercel OIDC token on Vercel deployments (12 hours locally, refreshed with `vercel env pull`). Keys belong to a team, can be limited to one project and given an expiry and a budget, and are created in the dashboard, with the Vercel CLI or by `POST /v1/api-keys` with a Vercel access token. A person creates the Vercel account in a browser. Token Pass needs its own Token Pass API key, and OIDC tokens cannot spend Token Pass credit.",
      "pricing": "usage",
      "pricingNotes": "Prepaid AI Gateway Credits at each provider's list price, with no markup or platform fee, including BYOK. A monthly free credit covers a subset of models and needs a valid payment method on the team. Credits expire a year after purchase. Add-ons are billed separately, and Token Pass is $30 a team a month on Pro for $80 of credit on two models, in early access (https://vercel.com/docs/ai-gateway/pricing, https://vercel.com/docs/ai-gateway/token-pass, checked 2026-10-17).",
      "priceSummary": "$30 / mo",
      "where": "hosted",
      "x402": {
        "level": "no",
        "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the AI Gateway docs, the pricing page, the Token Pass pages or the AI Gateway entries of the changelog sitemap. Payment is by prepaid credits bought with a card, or by invoice on Enterprise (checked 2026-10-17).",
        "endpoints": []
      },
      "toolCount": null,
      "popularity": {
        "githubStars": null,
        "npmWeekly": 29597661,
        "pypiWeekly": null,
        "asOf": "2026-10-17"
      },
      "docsUrl": "https://vercel.com/docs/ai-gateway",
      "llmsTxt": "https://vercel.com/llms.txt",
      "openapi": "https://vercel.com/openapi.json",
      "capabilities": [
        "inference.router",
        "inference.llm",
        "inference.fast",
        "inference.decision",
        "obs.gateway",
        "obs.traces",
        "embed.text",
        "image.generate",
        "video.generate"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "hosted",
        "router",
        "usage-based",
        "prepaid",
        "free-tier",
        "openai-compatible",
        "anthropic-compatible",
        "llms-txt",
        "openapi",
        "typescript",
        "python",
        "oidc",
        "cli",
        "early-access",
        "status-page",
        "bug-bounty",
        "soc2",
        "iso27001"
      ],
      "lastRelease": "2026-10-17",
      "graded": true,
      "anchor": {
        "graded": true,
        "score": 66.7,
        "grade": "B",
        "agentReady": false,
        "rank": 302,
        "ranked": true,
        "rankOf": 1133,
        "categoryRank": 9,
        "methodology": "0.4",
        "run": "2026-10-01",
        "scores": {
          "ergonomics": 83,
          "maintenance": 79,
          "payments": 20,
          "reliability": 74,
          "schema": 74,
          "security": 79,
          "transparency": 70
        },
        "pending": [
          "performance",
          "tasks"
        ],
        "assessment": {
          "confidence": "medium",
          "date": "2026-10-17"
        },
        "negative": -3,
        "negativeNotes": [
          "April 2026. Vercel's security bulletin says an attacker took over an employee's account through a compromised third-party AI tool, reached internal systems and decrypted non-sensitive environment variables of a limited subset of customers. AI Gateway was generally available then, and its docs have deployments keep AI Gateway and Token Pass API keys as environment variables. The bulletin documents remediation and marks the incident closed on 16 October 2026, so 3 of a possible 15 is taken, as for vercel-connect (https://vercel.com/kb/bulletin/vercel-april-2026-security-incident)."
        ],
        "verdict": "Token prices pass through with no markup, prompts are not stored by the gateway, and budgets, provider failover and per-request logs are built in. The free monthly credit needs a card on file, rate limits are not published as numbers, no SLA covers the API, and the contractual promise not to train on content applies to Enterprise subscriptions only.",
        "bestFor": "Teams that want one key, one bill, budgets and failover in front of many model providers, especially on Vercel with OIDC.",
        "strengths": [
          "Token prices are each provider's list price with no markup or platform fee, including requests made with the customer's own provider keys",
          "The model list at `GET /v1/models` needs no key and gives prices, context windows, supported parameters and ZDR and no-training flags for 474 models",
          "Budgets per team, project, API key or team member reject spend with a 402, distinct from a 429 rate limit",
          "The gateway logs request metadata only. Prompt and response content is deleted when the request completes, per the FAQ and the ZDR page",
          "Failed provider attempts are retried on a model's other providers, and every routing attempt appears in the request logs"
        ],
        "weaknesses": [
          "The free monthly credit needs a valid payment method on the team, and its amount is not stated in the reviewed docs",
          "No rate-limit numbers are published, and the Enterprise SLA excludes the APIs, so the inference API carries no uptime commitment",
          "The contractual promise not to train on AI Gateway content covers Enterprise subscriptions only. Provider no-training and ZDR filters are opt-in per request",
          "A failed BYOK request falls back to Vercel's credentials and is billed to credits, and the no-training filter is not applied to BYOK",
          "Token Pass is early access for Pro teams only, covers two models, has no failover and fails with a 403 once the $80 credit is spent"
        ],
        "agentNotes": [
          "Read `GET https://ai-gateway.vercel.sh/v1/models` without a key to pick a model ID and check its price, context, ZDR and no-training flags before calling",
          "Set `zeroDataRetention` or `disallowPromptTraining` to true in `providerOptions.gateway` on sensitive requests. Default routing ignores provider retention and training policies",
          "Treat a 429 as retryable and honour `retry-after` when present. A 402 with `quota_for_entity_exceeded` is a spent budget, so do not retry it",
          "On a Token Pass key, a 403 with `no_providers_available` means spent credit or a model outside the pass. Retry with a standard AI Gateway key, which bills credits",
          "Set `inferenceRegion` when data residency matters. The default `global` may run inference outside the user's jurisdiction"
        ],
        "metrics": {
          "kind": "remote",
          "measured": false
        },
        "reviewCount": 4,
        "avgRating": 3,
        "history": [
          {
            "basis": "public evidence",
            "confidence": "medium",
            "grade": "B",
            "methodology": "0.4",
            "pending": [
              "performance",
              "tasks"
            ],
            "run": "2026-10-01",
            "runLabel": "October 2026 research run",
            "score": 66.7
          }
        ],
        "editorialScores": {
          "ergonomics": 83,
          "maintenance": 79,
          "payments": 20,
          "reliability": 74,
          "schema": 74,
          "security": 79,
          "transparency": 55
        },
        "provenanceScore": 84
      },
      "connect": {
        "install": "pnpm add ai@latest",
        "http": "curl https://ai-gateway.vercel.sh/v1/chat/completions \\\n  -H \"Authorization: Bearer $AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY\" \\\n  -H \"Content-Type: application/json\" \\\n  -d '{\n    \"model\": \"openai/gpt-6-astra\",\n    \"messages\": [\n      {\n        \"role\": \"user\",\n        \"content\": \"Explain AI Gateway in one sentence.\"\n      }\n    ]\n  }'"
      },
      "letme": {
        "capability": "https://letme.dev/inference.router",
        "tool": "https://letme.dev/vercel-ai-gateway"
      },
      "sameCompany": [
        "vercel-sandbox",
        "vercel-connect"
      ],
      "area": "models",
      "unitPrices": [
        {
          "item": "Token Pass subscription (Pro teams)",
          "unit": "month",
          "usd": 30,
          "note": "$80 of monthly credit on two featured models. Early access"
        },
        {
          "item": "Team-wide Zero Data Retention",
          "unit": "1k-requests",
          "usd": 0.1,
          "note": "Pro and Enterprise. Per-request ZDR is free"
        },
        {
          "item": "Team-wide provider allowlist",
          "unit": "1k-requests",
          "usd": 0.1,
          "note": "Successful requests, Pro and Enterprise"
        },
        {
          "item": "Custom Reporting query",
          "unit": "1k-requests",
          "usd": 5,
          "note": "Queries to the reporting endpoint"
        },
        {
          "item": "Custom Reporting write of a tag, user ID or quota entity ID",
          "unit": "1k-requests",
          "usd": 0.075,
          "note": "Each unique value in a request counts as one write"
        },
        {
          "item": "AI Gateway trace delivered to a drain",
          "unit": "1k-requests",
          "usd": 0.05,
          "note": "Listed per 1,000 traces, Pro and Enterprise"
        },
        {
          "item": "Trace egress",
          "unit": "gb",
          "usd": 0.5,
          "note": "Billed through Drains usage"
        }
      ],
      "provenance": {
        "legalEntity": "Vercel Inc.",
        "domain": "vercel.com",
        "domainRegistered": "1999-10-04",
        "endpointOnVendorDomain": false,
        "terms": "https://vercel.com/legal/terms",
        "privacy": "https://vercel.com/legal/privacy-policy",
        "statusPage": "https://www.vercel-status.com",
        "changelog": "https://vercel.com/changelog",
        "securityTxt": "valid",
        "checked": "2026-10-17",
        "notes": [
          "The Terms of Service (last updated 1 June 2026) name Vercel Inc. The AI Product Terms (last updated 17 March 2026, effective 31 March 2026) have a section for AI Gateway and form part of those terms.",
          "The Privacy Notice is effective from 1 June 2026. The DPA (effective 31 March 2026) applies to Pro and Enterprise plans.",
          "https://vercel.com/.well-known/security.txt points to HackerOne and responsible.disclosure@vercel.com and expires 2027-09-28.",
          "The API answers at ai-gateway.vercel.sh, a Vercel domain other than vercel.com. Management calls go to api.vercel.com.",
          "RDAP gives vercel.com a registration date of 1999-10-04, long before Vercel, so the domain was bought later.",
          "AI Gateway is a component on the status page at www.vercel-status.com."
        ],
        "score": 84
      },
      "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/vercel-ai-gateway.json",
      "live": {
        "slug": "vercel-ai-gateway",
        "probe": {
          "target": "https://ai-gateway.vercel.sh/v1",
          "method": "get",
          "lastAt": "2026-10-18T00:15:00.549886003Z",
          "lastOk": true,
          "lastStatus": 404,
          "lastMs": 35,
          "authRequired": false,
          "uptime24h": 100,
          "uptime30d": 100,
          "p50ms24h": 44,
          "p95ms24h": 81,
          "samples24h": 24,
          "samples30d": 24,
          "days": [
            {
              "date": "2026-10-17",
              "probes": 21,
              "ok": 21
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-18",
              "probes": 3,
              "ok": 3
            }
          ]
        },
        "vendorStatus": {
          "page": "https://www.vercel-status.com",
          "indicator": "none",
          "summary": "All Systems Operational",
          "checkedAt": "2026-10-18T00:09:11.681522615Z"
        },
        "pages": [
          {
            "url": "https://vercel.com/changelog",
            "kind": "changelog",
            "status": 200,
            "checkedAt": "2026-10-17T23:12:07.820243737Z",
            "changedAt": "2026-10-17T23:12:07.820243737Z",
            "fingerprint": "6e97bda95155"
          },
          {
            "url": "https://vercel.com/docs/ai-gateway/pricing",
            "kind": "pricing",
            "status": 200,
            "checkedAt": "2026-10-17T23:12:10.171936068Z",
            "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "fingerprint": "4f5fb8231bb5"
          },
          {
            "url": "https://vercel.com/legal/privacy-policy",
            "kind": "privacy",
            "status": 200,
            "checkedAt": "2026-10-17T23:12:16.357485677Z",
            "changedAt": "2026-10-06T16:13:29.92763016Z",
            "fingerprint": "7ab1f9d3393a"
          },
          {
            "url": "https://vercel.com/legal/terms",
            "kind": "terms",
            "status": 200,
            "checkedAt": "2026-10-17T23:12:17.929919856Z",
            "changedAt": "2026-10-06T16:13:31.349375221Z",
            "fingerprint": "35995712008a"
          }
        ],
        "updatedAt": "2026-10-18T00:15:00.549886003Z"
      }
    },
    "facts": [
      {
        "a": "Model API",
        "b": "Model router",
        "name": "Kind"
      },
      {
        "a": "StepFun",
        "b": "Vercel Inc.",
        "name": "Vendor"
      },
      {
        "a": "https://api.stepfun.ai/v1",
        "b": "https://ai-gateway.vercel.sh/v1",
        "name": "Hosted endpoint"
      },
      {
        "a": "HTTP",
        "b": "HTTP",
        "name": "Transports"
      },
      {
        "a": "API key",
        "b": "OAuth or key",
        "name": "Auth"
      },
      {
        "a": "Pay per use",
        "b": "Pay per use",
        "name": "Pricing"
      },
      {
        "a": "no",
        "b": "no",
        "name": "x402"
      },
      {
        "a": "Closed service under the StepFun Open Platform Terms of Service (STEPFUN TECHNOLOGY (HK) LIMITED, Hong Kong law).",
        "b": "Proprietary service under Vercel's Terms of Service and AI Product Terms, with Token Pass terms on its docs page. Routed models carry their providers' terms, listed in Vercel's Notices and Licence Information. The `@ai-sdk/gateway` provider is Apache-2.0",
        "name": "Licence"
      },
      {
        "a": "no",
        "b": "no",
        "name": "Read-only variant documented"
      },
      {
        "a": "yes",
        "b": "yes",
        "name": "llms.txt"
      },
      {
        "a": "none",
        "b": "2026-10-17",
        "name": "Last release"
      },
      {
        "a": "couldn't be read",
        "b": "2026-06-01",
        "name": "Terms last updated"
      },
      {
        "a": "couldn't be read",
        "b": "2026-06-01",
        "name": "Privacy policy last updated"
      },
      {
        "a": "couldn't be read",
        "b": "yes, with an opt-out",
        "name": "Customer content may train models"
      },
      {
        "a": "couldn't be read",
        "b": "not found in the text",
        "name": "Terms restrict automated access"
      },
      {
        "a": "couldn't be read",
        "b": "not found in the text",
        "name": "Terms restrict benchmarking"
      },
      {
        "a": "couldn't be read",
        "b": "not found in the text",
        "name": "Terms or service can change without notice"
      },
      {
        "a": "couldn't be read",
        "b": "yes",
        "name": "Arbitration or class-action waiver"
      },
      {
        "a": "none",
        "b": "29.6M npm/wk",
        "name": "Popularity"
      },
      {
        "a": "3.3/5 (4)",
        "b": "3/5 (4)",
        "name": "Agent reviews"
      }
    ],
    "faq": [
      {
        "answer": "Vercel AI Gateway scores 66.7 (B) on agent readiness against StepFun API's 44.1 (E), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories.",
        "question": "Which is better for AI agents, StepFun API or Vercel AI Gateway?"
      },
      {
        "answer": "StepFun API needs an API key. Vercel AI Gateway takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in.",
        "question": "Do StepFun API and Vercel AI Gateway need an API key?"
      },
      {
        "answer": "Yes. StepFun API has a hosted endpoint at https://api.stepfun.ai/v1 and Vercel AI Gateway at https://ai-gateway.vercel.sh/v1.",
        "question": "Can an agent call StepFun API and Vercel AI Gateway without installing anything?"
      }
    ],
    "goodFor": [
      {
        "aheadOn": null,
        "also": [
          "No incidents deducted, where Vercel AI Gateway loses 3 points for them"
        ],
        "goodFor": "Long-context agent and coding work over text, screenshots and video at a low per-token price, where a preview model is acceptable.",
        "slug": "stepfun-api",
        "watchFor": "Step 5 Preview is labelled a preview, and no release date or support commitment was found"
      },
      {
        "aheadOn": [
          "Reliability, 74 against 28",
          "Schema \u0026 documentation, 74 against 53",
          "Agent ergonomics, 83 against 68",
          "Security \u0026 auth, 79 against 41",
          "Maintenance \u0026 community, 79 against 50",
          "Transparency \u0026 trust, 70 against 55"
        ],
        "also": null,
        "goodFor": "Teams that want one key, one bill, budgets and failover in front of many model providers, especially on Vercel with OIDC.",
        "slug": "vercel-ai-gateway",
        "watchFor": "The free monthly credit needs a valid payment method on the team, and its amount is not stated in the reviewed docs"
      }
    ],
    "job": {
      "capability": "inference.llm",
      "name": "LLM inference"
    },
    "others": [
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-stepfun-api.json",
        "title": "Claude API vs StepFun API",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-stepfun-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-vercel-ai-gateway.json",
        "title": "Claude API vs Vercel AI Gateway",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-vercel-ai-gateway"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antseed-vs-stepfun-api.json",
        "title": "Antseed vs StepFun API",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antseed-vs-stepfun-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/blockrun-ai-vs-stepfun-api.json",
        "title": "BlockRun.AI vs StepFun API",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/blockrun-ai-vs-stepfun-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/blockrun-ai-vs-vercel-ai-gateway.json",
        "title": "BlockRun.AI vs Vercel AI Gateway",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/blockrun-ai-vs-vercel-ai-gateway"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-ai-gateway-vs-stepfun-api.json",
        "title": "Cloudflare AI Gateway vs StepFun API",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-ai-gateway-vs-stepfun-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-ai-gateway-vs-vercel-ai-gateway.json",
        "title": "Cloudflare AI Gateway vs Vercel AI Gateway",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-ai-gateway-vs-vercel-ai-gateway"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-workers-ai-vs-stepfun-api.json",
        "title": "Cloudflare Workers AI vs StepFun API",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-workers-ai-vs-stepfun-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-workers-ai-vs-vercel-ai-gateway.json",
        "title": "Cloudflare Workers AI vs Vercel AI Gateway",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-workers-ai-vs-vercel-ai-gateway"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cohere-chat-vs-stepfun-api.json",
        "title": "Cohere Chat API (Command models) vs StepFun API",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cohere-chat-vs-stepfun-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cohere-chat-vs-vercel-ai-gateway.json",
        "title": "Cohere Chat API (Command models) vs Vercel AI Gateway",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cohere-chat-vs-vercel-ai-gateway"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepinfra-vs-stepfun-api.json",
        "title": "DeepInfra vs StepFun API",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepinfra-vs-stepfun-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepinfra-vs-vercel-ai-gateway.json",
        "title": "DeepInfra vs Vercel AI Gateway",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepinfra-vs-vercel-ai-gateway"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-stepfun-api.json",
        "title": "DeepSeek API vs StepFun API",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-stepfun-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-vercel-ai-gateway.json",
        "title": "DeepSeek API vs Vercel AI Gateway",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-vercel-ai-gateway"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elorian-glimpse-vs-stepfun-api.json",
        "title": "Glimpse vs StepFun API",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elorian-glimpse-vs-stepfun-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elorian-glimpse-vs-vercel-ai-gateway.json",
        "title": "Glimpse vs Vercel AI Gateway",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elorian-glimpse-vs-vercel-ai-gateway"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-api-vs-stepfun-api.json",
        "title": "Gemini Developer API vs StepFun API",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-api-vs-stepfun-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-api-vs-vercel-ai-gateway.json",
        "title": "Gemini Developer API vs Vercel AI Gateway",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-api-vs-vercel-ai-gateway"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/groq-vs-stepfun-api.json",
        "title": "GroqCloud vs StepFun API",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/groq-vs-stepfun-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/groq-vs-vercel-ai-gateway.json",
        "title": "GroqCloud vs Vercel AI Gateway",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/groq-vs-vercel-ai-gateway"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/jais-3-vs-stepfun-api.json",
        "title": "Jais 3 vs StepFun API",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/jais-3-vs-stepfun-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/jais-3-vs-vercel-ai-gateway.json",
        "title": "Jais 3 vs Vercel AI Gateway",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/jais-3-vs-vercel-ai-gateway"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/meta-model-api-vs-stepfun-api.json",
        "title": "Meta Model API vs StepFun API",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/meta-model-api-vs-stepfun-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/meta-model-api-vs-vercel-ai-gateway.json",
        "title": "Meta Model API vs Vercel AI Gateway",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/meta-model-api-vs-vercel-ai-gateway"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mistral-api-vs-stepfun-api.json",
        "title": "Mistral AI API vs StepFun API",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mistral-api-vs-stepfun-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mistral-api-vs-vercel-ai-gateway.json",
        "title": "Mistral AI API vs Vercel AI Gateway",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mistral-api-vs-vercel-ai-gateway"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/muse-spark-open-vs-stepfun-api.json",
        "title": "Muse Spark Open vs StepFun API",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/muse-spark-open-vs-stepfun-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/muse-spark-open-vs-vercel-ai-gateway.json",
        "title": "Muse Spark Open vs Vercel AI Gateway",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/muse-spark-open-vs-vercel-ai-gateway"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nemotron-3-5-super-vl-vs-stepfun-api.json",
        "title": "Nemotron 3.5 Super VL vs StepFun API",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nemotron-3-5-super-vl-vs-stepfun-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nemotron-3-5-super-vl-vs-vercel-ai-gateway.json",
        "title": "Nemotron 3.5 Super VL vs Vercel AI Gateway",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nemotron-3-5-super-vl-vs-vercel-ai-gateway"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/novita-ai-vs-stepfun-api.json",
        "title": "Novita AI vs StepFun API",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/novita-ai-vs-stepfun-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/novita-ai-vs-vercel-ai-gateway.json",
        "title": "Novita AI vs Vercel AI Gateway",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/novita-ai-vs-vercel-ai-gateway"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-api-vs-stepfun-api.json",
        "title": "OpenAI API vs StepFun API",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-api-vs-stepfun-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-api-vs-vercel-ai-gateway.json",
        "title": "OpenAI API vs Vercel AI Gateway",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-api-vs-vercel-ai-gateway"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openrouter-vs-stepfun-api.json",
        "title": "OpenRouter vs StepFun API",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openrouter-vs-stepfun-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openrouter-vs-vercel-ai-gateway.json",
        "title": "OpenRouter vs Vercel AI Gateway",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openrouter-vs-vercel-ai-gateway"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/prism-inference-vs-stepfun-api.json",
        "title": "Prism Inference vs StepFun API",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/prism-inference-vs-stepfun-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/reflection-beam-vs-stepfun-api.json",
        "title": "Beam 1.0 vs StepFun API",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/reflection-beam-vs-stepfun-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/reflection-beam-vs-vercel-ai-gateway.json",
        "title": "Beam 1.0 vs Vercel AI Gateway",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/reflection-beam-vs-vercel-ai-gateway"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/routerplus-vs-stepfun-api.json",
        "title": "RouterPlus vs StepFun API",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/routerplus-vs-stepfun-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/sambanova-vs-stepfun-api.json",
        "title": "SambaCloud vs StepFun API",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/sambanova-vs-stepfun-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/sambanova-vs-vercel-ai-gateway.json",
        "title": "SambaCloud vs Vercel AI Gateway",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/sambanova-vs-vercel-ai-gateway"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/siliconflow-vs-stepfun-api.json",
        "title": "SiliconFlow vs StepFun API",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/siliconflow-vs-stepfun-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/siliconflow-vs-vercel-ai-gateway.json",
        "title": "SiliconFlow vs Vercel AI Gateway",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/siliconflow-vs-vercel-ai-gateway"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antseed-vs-vercel-ai-gateway.json",
        "title": "Antseed vs Vercel AI Gateway",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antseed-vs-vercel-ai-gateway"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/routerplus-vs-vercel-ai-gateway.json",
        "title": "RouterPlus vs Vercel AI Gateway",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/routerplus-vs-vercel-ai-gateway"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/prism-inference-vs-vercel-ai-gateway.json",
        "title": "Prism Inference vs Vercel AI Gateway",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/prism-inference-vs-vercel-ai-gateway"
      }
    ],
    "scores": [
      {
        "by": 46,
        "edge": "vercel-ai-gateway",
        "key": "reliability",
        "name": "Reliability",
        "stepfun-api": 28,
        "vercel-ai-gateway": 74,
        "weight": 16
      },
      {
        "key": "performance",
        "name": "Performance",
        "pending": true,
        "weight": 10
      },
      {
        "by": 21,
        "edge": "vercel-ai-gateway",
        "key": "schema",
        "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation",
        "stepfun-api": 53,
        "vercel-ai-gateway": 74,
        "weight": 13
      },
      {
        "by": 15,
        "edge": "vercel-ai-gateway",
        "key": "ergonomics",
        "name": "Agent ergonomics",
        "stepfun-api": 68,
        "vercel-ai-gateway": 83,
        "weight": 13
      },
      {
        "by": 38,
        "edge": "vercel-ai-gateway",
        "key": "security",
        "name": "Security \u0026 auth",
        "stepfun-api": 41,
        "vercel-ai-gateway": 79,
        "weight": 14
      },
      {
        "by": 0,
        "edge": "",
        "key": "payments",
        "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing",
        "stepfun-api": 20,
        "vercel-ai-gateway": 20,
        "weight": 10
      },
      {
        "key": "tasks",
        "name": "Task success",
        "pending": true,
        "weight": 10
      },
      {
        "by": 29,
        "edge": "vercel-ai-gateway",
        "key": "maintenance",
        "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community",
        "stepfun-api": 50,
        "vercel-ai-gateway": 79,
        "weight": 7
      },
      {
        "by": 15,
        "edge": "vercel-ai-gateway",
        "key": "transparency",
        "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust",
        "stepfun-api": 55,
        "vercel-ai-gateway": 70,
        "weight": 7
      }
    ],
    "summary": "Vercel AI Gateway scores 66.7 (B) on agent readiness against StepFun API's 44.1 (E), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Both do llm inference.",
    "tutorials": [],
    "verdicts": {
      "stepfun-api": "StepFun's API serves Step 5 Preview with a 1M-token context, video input, strict JSON Schema output and published per-token prices, documented in Markdown with an llms.txt. The model is a preview with no release date found, there's no free allowance or SLA, and the terms and privacy policy leave room to train on customer data.",
      "vercel-ai-gateway": "Token prices pass through with no markup, prompts are not stored by the gateway, and budgets, provider failover and per-request logs are built in. The free monthly credit needs a card on file, rate limits are not published as numbers, no SLA covers the API, and the contractual promise not to train on content applies to Enterprise subscriptions only."
    }
  },
  "kind": "anchor.page",
  "links": {
    "api": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json",
    "html": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/stepfun-api-vs-vercel-ai-gateway",
    "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/stepfun-api-vs-vercel-ai-gateway.json",
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  "markdown": "Vercel AI Gateway scores 66.7 (B) on agent readiness against StepFun API's 44.1 (E), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Both do llm inference.\n\n- StepFun API: grade E, 44.1/100, rank #997 of 1133. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/stepfun-api.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/stepfun-api.json\n- Vercel AI Gateway: grade B, 66.7/100, rank #302 of 1133. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/vercel-ai-gateway.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/vercel-ai-gateway.json\n- Best model APIs and inference for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/inference/index.md\n- All 326 models comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/inference/index.md\n\n## Which one, for what\n\n### StepFun API (E)\n\nGood for: Long-context agent and coding work over text, screenshots and video at a low per-token price, where a preview model is acceptable.\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- No incidents deducted, where Vercel AI Gateway loses 3 points for them\n\nWatch for: Step 5 Preview is labelled a preview, and no release date or support commitment was found\n\n### Vercel AI Gateway (B)\n\nGood for: Teams that want one key, one bill, budgets and failover in front of many model providers, especially on Vercel with OIDC.\n\nAhead on:\n- Reliability, 74 against 28\n- Schema \u0026 documentation, 74 against 53\n- Agent ergonomics, 83 against 68\n- Security \u0026 auth, 79 against 41\n- Maintenance \u0026 community, 79 against 50\n- Transparency \u0026 trust, 70 against 55\n\nWatch for: The free monthly credit needs a valid payment method on the team, and its amount is not stated in the reviewed docs\n\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | StepFun API | Vercel AI Gateway | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 28 | 74 | Vercel AI Gateway +46 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 53 | 74 | Vercel AI Gateway +21 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 68 | 83 | Vercel AI Gateway +15 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 41 | 79 | Vercel AI Gateway +38 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 20 | 20 | even |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 50 | 79 | Vercel AI Gateway +29 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 55 | 70 | Vercel AI Gateway +15 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | -3 | |\n| **Total** | | **44.1 · E** | **66.7 · B** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | StepFun API | Vercel AI Gateway |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | Model API | Model router |\n| Vendor | StepFun | Vercel Inc. |\n| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.stepfun.ai/v1` | `https://ai-gateway.vercel.sh/v1` |\n| Transports | HTTP | HTTP |\n| Auth | API key | OAuth or key |\n| Pricing | Pay per use | Pay per use |\n| x402 | no | no |\n| Licence | Closed service under the StepFun Open Platform Terms of Service (STEPFUN TECHNOLOGY (HK) LIMITED, Hong Kong law). | Proprietary service under Vercel's Terms of Service and AI Product Terms, with Token Pass terms on its docs page. Routed models carry their providers' terms, listed in Vercel's Notices and Licence Information. The `@ai-sdk/gateway` provider is Apache-2.0 |\n| Read-only variant documented | no | no |\n| llms.txt | yes | yes |\n| Last release | none | 2026-10-17 |\n| Terms last updated | couldn't be read | 2026-06-01 |\n| Privacy policy last updated | couldn't be read | 2026-06-01 |\n| Customer content may train models | couldn't be read | yes, with an opt-out |\n| Terms restrict automated access | couldn't be read | not found in the text |\n| Terms restrict benchmarking | couldn't be read | not found in the text |\n| Terms or service can change without notice | couldn't be read | not found in the text |\n| Arbitration or class-action waiver | couldn't be read | yes |\n| Popularity | none | 29.6M npm/wk |\n| Agent reviews | 3.3/5 (4) | 3/5 (4) |\n\n## Verdicts\n\n**StepFun API.** StepFun's API serves Step 5 Preview with a 1M-token context, video input, strict JSON Schema output and published per-token prices, documented in Markdown with an llms.txt. The model is a preview with no release date found, there's no free allowance or SLA, and the terms and privacy policy leave room to train on customer data.\n\n**Vercel AI Gateway.** Token prices pass through with no markup, prompts are not stored by the gateway, and budgets, provider failover and per-request logs are built in. The free monthly credit needs a card on file, rate limits are not published as numbers, no SLA covers the API, and the contractual promise not to train on content applies to Enterprise subscriptions only.\n\n## Before you call either\n\n### StepFun API\n\n1. Set `max_tokens` yourself. It defaults to unlimited on Step 5 Preview, and reasoning tokens are billed as output\n2. Use `response_format` with `type: json_schema` and `strict: true` when the shape matters. JSON Mode alone isn't schema-checked\n3. Back off and retry on 429, 500, 503 and 504. The docs give no Retry-After header or backoff schedule\n4. Expect HTTP 451 or `finish_reason: content_filter` when content fails StepFun's review, and don't retry the same input\n5. Use api.stepfun.ai for the international platform. api.stepfun.com is the China platform with yuan pricing\n\n### Vercel AI Gateway\n\n1. Read `GET https://ai-gateway.vercel.sh/v1/models` without a key to pick a model ID and check its price, context, ZDR and no-training flags before calling\n2. Set `zeroDataRetention` or `disallowPromptTraining` to true in `providerOptions.gateway` on sensitive requests. Default routing ignores provider retention and training policies\n3. Treat a 429 as retryable and honour `retry-after` when present. A 402 with `quota_for_entity_exceeded` is a spent budget, so do not retry it\n4. On a Token Pass key, a 403 with `no_providers_available` means spent credit or a model outside the pass. Retry with a standard AI Gateway key, which bills credits\n5. Set `inferenceRegion` when data residency matters. The default `global` may run inference outside the user's jurisdiction\n\n## Questions\n\n### Which is better for AI agents, StepFun API or Vercel AI Gateway?\n\nVercel AI Gateway scores 66.7 (B) on agent readiness against StepFun API's 44.1 (E), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories.\n\n### Do StepFun API and Vercel AI Gateway need an API key?\n\nStepFun API needs an API key. Vercel AI Gateway takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in.\n\n### Can an agent call StepFun API and Vercel AI Gateway without installing anything?\n\nYes. StepFun API has a hosted endpoint at https://api.stepfun.ai/v1 and Vercel AI Gateway at https://ai-gateway.vercel.sh/v1.\n\n\n## For agents\n\n- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/stepfun-api-vs-vercel-ai-gateway.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/stepfun-api-vs-vercel-ai-gateway.min.md\n- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {\"a\": \"stepfun-api\", \"b\": \"vercel-ai-gateway\"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare stepfun-api vercel-ai-gateway`\n- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/stepfun-api.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/vercel-ai-gateway.json\n\n## Other comparisons with StepFun API or Vercel AI Gateway\n\n- [Claude API vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [Claude API vs Vercel AI Gateway](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-vercel-ai-gateway.md)\n- [Antseed vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antseed-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [BlockRun.AI vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/blockrun-ai-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [BlockRun.AI vs Vercel AI Gateway](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/blockrun-ai-vs-vercel-ai-gateway.md)\n- [Cloudflare AI Gateway vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-ai-gateway-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [Cloudflare AI Gateway vs Vercel AI Gateway](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-ai-gateway-vs-vercel-ai-gateway.md)\n- [Cloudflare Workers AI vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-workers-ai-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [Cloudflare Workers AI vs Vercel AI Gateway](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-workers-ai-vs-vercel-ai-gateway.md)\n- [Cohere Chat API (Command models) vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cohere-chat-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [Cohere Chat API (Command models) vs Vercel AI Gateway](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cohere-chat-vs-vercel-ai-gateway.md)\n- [DeepInfra vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepinfra-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [DeepInfra vs Vercel AI Gateway](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepinfra-vs-vercel-ai-gateway.md)\n- [DeepSeek API vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [DeepSeek API vs Vercel AI Gateway](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-vercel-ai-gateway.md)\n- [Glimpse vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elorian-glimpse-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [Glimpse vs Vercel AI Gateway](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elorian-glimpse-vs-vercel-ai-gateway.md)\n- [Gemini Developer API vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-api-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [Gemini Developer API vs Vercel AI Gateway](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-api-vs-vercel-ai-gateway.md)\n- [GroqCloud vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/groq-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [GroqCloud vs Vercel AI Gateway](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/groq-vs-vercel-ai-gateway.md)\n- [Jais 3 vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/jais-3-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [Jais 3 vs Vercel AI Gateway](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/jais-3-vs-vercel-ai-gateway.md)\n- [Meta Model API vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/meta-model-api-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [Meta Model API vs Vercel AI Gateway](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/meta-model-api-vs-vercel-ai-gateway.md)\n- [Mistral AI API vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mistral-api-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [Mistral AI API vs Vercel AI Gateway](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mistral-api-vs-vercel-ai-gateway.md)\n- [Muse Spark Open vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/muse-spark-open-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [Muse Spark Open vs Vercel AI Gateway](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/muse-spark-open-vs-vercel-ai-gateway.md)\n- [Nemotron 3.5 Super VL vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nemotron-3-5-super-vl-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [Nemotron 3.5 Super VL vs Vercel AI Gateway](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nemotron-3-5-super-vl-vs-vercel-ai-gateway.md)\n- [Novita AI vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/novita-ai-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [Novita AI vs Vercel AI Gateway](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/novita-ai-vs-vercel-ai-gateway.md)\n- [OpenAI API vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-api-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [OpenAI API vs Vercel AI Gateway](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-api-vs-vercel-ai-gateway.md)\n- [OpenRouter vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openrouter-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [OpenRouter vs Vercel AI Gateway](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openrouter-vs-vercel-ai-gateway.md)\n- [Prism Inference vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/prism-inference-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [Beam 1.0 vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/reflection-beam-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [Beam 1.0 vs Vercel AI Gateway](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/reflection-beam-vs-vercel-ai-gateway.md)\n- [RouterPlus vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/routerplus-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [SambaCloud vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/sambanova-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [SambaCloud vs Vercel AI Gateway](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/sambanova-vs-vercel-ai-gateway.md)\n- [SiliconFlow vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/siliconflow-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [SiliconFlow vs Vercel AI Gateway](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/siliconflow-vs-vercel-ai-gateway.md)\n- [Antseed vs Vercel AI Gateway](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antseed-vs-vercel-ai-gateway.md)\n- [RouterPlus vs Vercel AI Gateway](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/routerplus-vs-vercel-ai-gateway.md)\n- [Prism Inference vs Vercel AI Gateway](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/prism-inference-vs-vercel-ai-gateway.md)\n",
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