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Software · head to head

AWS SageMaker vs Together AI

AWS SageMaker logo

AWS SageMaker

Software

Build, train, and deploy machine learning models at scale

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Together AI logo

Together AI

Software

Open-source AI at scale

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: AWS SageMaker vendor lock-in to AWS ecosystem makes migration to other platforms difficult; Together AI fine tuning carries a minimum charge of $4.00 per job regardless of dataset size
  • They diverge on capability: AWS SageMaker covers Jupyter notebooks, Together AI covers Open-source models.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which AWS SageMaker and Together AI actually diverge.

Attributes where AWS SageMaker and Together AI differ
AttributeAWS SageMakerTogether AI
Pricing modelUnknownusage-based
PlatformsWebApi, Cloud
Founded20062022

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in AWS SageMaker

  • Jupyter notebooks
  • Built-in algorithms
  • Automatic model tuning
  • One-click deployment
  • Model monitoring
  • S3
  • Lambda
  • Step Functions

Only in Together AI

  • Open-source models
  • Fine-tuning
  • Fast inference
  • Embeddings
  • REST API
  • Python SDK
  • OpenAI compatible
  • Api support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

AWS SageMaker

  • Machine learningnot Together AI
  • Data analysisnot Together AI
  • Model trainingnot Together AI
  • Predictive analyticsnot Together AI

Together AI

  • Serverless inference against open source chat, vision, embedding, image and video modelsnot AWS SageMaker
  • Renting dedicated single tenant H100, H200 or B200 GPU clusters by the hournot AWS SageMaker
  • Fine tuning open weight models on a per token basisnot AWS SageMaker

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

AWS SageMaker

  • Vendor lock-in to AWS ecosystem makes migration to other platforms difficult
  • Opaque pricing can lead to unexpected expenses like forgotten EBS volume charges
  • Does not include native job scheduling, requiring Lambda or EventBridge integration

Together AI

  • Fine tuning carries a minimum charge of $4.00 per job regardless of dataset size
  • Reserved GPU commitments beyond 180 days are priced by contacting sales with no published rate
  • Volume and enterprise discounts are quote only with no published threshold
  • Reserved dedicated inference pricing is contact sales while only on demand rates of $5.49 to $8.99 per GPU hour are published

Pricing, plan by plan

AWS SageMaker

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the AWS SageMaker review.

Together AI

Free
  • FreeFree
    • $5 credits
    • API access
  • Pay-per-use$0.2/per-million-tokens
    • All models
    • Fine-tuning

Which should you pick?

Choose AWS SageMaker if

  • You need jupyter notebooks.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want built-in algorithms.
AWS SageMaker review

Choose Together AI if

  • You need open-source models.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Api, Cloud.
  • You also want fine-tuning.
Together AI review

Questions people ask

Is AWS SageMaker or Together AI better?
Neither clearly leads. AWS SageMaker starts at Free and Together AI at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, AWS SageMaker or Together AI?
AWS SageMaker starts at Free and Together AI at Free.
Does AWS SageMaker or Together AI run on more platforms?
AWS SageMaker runs on Web. Together AI runs on Api, Cloud.
Can I use AWS SageMaker for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is AWS SageMaker best used for?
AWS SageMaker is most often used for machine learning, data analysis, model training, predictive analytics. Of those, machine learning and data analysis are not what Together AI is typically brought in for.
What can AWS SageMaker do that Together AI cannot?
AWS SageMaker covers Jupyter notebooks, Built-in algorithms, Automatic model tuning, One-click deployment. Together AI covers Open-source models, Fine-tuning, Fast inference, Embeddings.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

AWS SageMaker: What is AWS SageMaker used for?

AWS SageMaker is a machine learning service for building, training, and deploying ML models at scale. It provides tools for data preparation, model training, inference endpoints, and performance optimization.

Source
AWS SageMaker: How is AWS SageMaker priced?

SageMaker uses pay-as-you-go pricing with no upfront costs or long-term commitments. Pricing starts at $0.04 per hour for basic notebook instances and scales based on instance type. ML Savings Plans offer up to 64% off with hourly spend commitments.

Source
AWS SageMaker: Does AWS SageMaker have a free tier?

Yes, the free tier includes 250 hours of notebook usage, 50 hours of training, and 125 hours of hosting on ml.t3.medium instances during the first two months.

Source
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