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Beam Cloud vs Together AI

Beam Cloud logo

Beam Cloud

Cloud

Serverless GPU computing with sub-second cold starts and multi-cloud support

From
Free
Rated
-
Together AI logo

Together AI

AI

Open-source AI at scale

From
Free
Rated
-

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Beam Cloud free tier limited to $30 monthly credits with 5 GPU containers; Together AI free tier limits not clearly specified in pricing documentation
  • They diverge on capability: Beam Cloud covers Sub-second cold starts, Together AI covers Open-source models.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Beam Cloud and Together AI actually diverge.

Attributes where Beam Cloud and Together AI differ
AttributeBeam CloudTogether AI
Pricing modelFreemium with pay-per-millisecond usage chargesusage-based
PlatformsCloud, PythonApi, Cloud
CategoryCloudAI
FoundedUnknown2022

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

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 Beam Cloud

  • Sub-second cold starts
  • Inference endpoints
  • Task queues
  • Sandboxes
  • Multi-cloud support
  • Global distribution
  • Massive parallelization

Only in Together AI

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

Both cover

  • Python SDK

What people use each for

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

Beam Cloud

  • Deploying ML models with minimal latency and setup timenot Together AI
  • Large-scale batch processing across thousands of concurrent tasksnot Together AI
  • Cost-effective inference serving with bursty workloadsnot Together AI
  • Multi-cloud AI deployments with global low-latency accessnot Together AI
  • Serverless AI development for rapid experimentationnot Together AI

Together AI

  • LLM inference for production AI applicationsnot Beam Cloud
  • Content generation at scalenot Beam Cloud
  • Code execution and embeddingsnot Beam Cloud
  • Model fine-tuning and trainingnot Beam Cloud
  • Startup and enterprise AI deploymentnot Beam Cloud

Where each one falls short

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

Beam Cloud

  • Free tier limited to $30 monthly credits with 5 GPU containers
  • Massive parallelization complexity may require DevOps expertise
  • Per-millisecond pricing model requires careful cost monitoring
  • Smaller team relative to established cloud providers

Together AI

  • Free tier limits not clearly specified in pricing documentation
  • Pricing varies significantly by model and use case
  • Requires account setup for production access
  • Batch API discounts apply only to non-urgent workloads

Pricing, plan by plan

Beam Cloud

Free
  • DeveloperFree
    • $30 monthly free credits
    • 5 GPU containers, 30 CPU containers
    • Community support
  • Team$89/month
    • $30 monthly free credits included
    • 50 GPU containers, 1,000 CPU containers
    • 3 seats included, $25 per additional
  • Growth$undefined/custom
    • 1,000+ GPU containers
    • Unlimited CPU containers
    • Unlimited seats
  • Serverless GPUs$undefined/per-millisecond
    • RTX 4090: $0.00019/sec

Together AI

Free
  • Serverless Inference$0.03/1M input tokens
    • Chat and Vision models
    • Image generation
    • Video generation
  • Provisioned Throughput$21600/month
    • Up to 83% savings vs commercial alternatives
    • Reserved capacity
    • Guaranteed throughput
  • Dedicated Inference$5.49/hour
    • H100 GPU instance
    • Single-tenant deployment
    • No resource sharing
  • GPU Clusters$3.99/GPU-hour
    • On-demand capacity
    • Volume discounts available
    • Reserved options with up to 35% savings

Which should you pick?

Choose Beam Cloud if

  • You need sub-second cold starts.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Cloud, Python.
  • You also want inference endpoints.

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.

Questions people ask

Is Beam Cloud or Together AI better?
Neither clearly leads. Beam Cloud 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, Beam Cloud or Together AI?
Beam Cloud starts at Free and Together AI at Free.
Does Beam Cloud or Together AI run on more platforms?
Beam Cloud runs on Cloud, Python. Together AI runs on Api, Cloud.
Can I use Beam Cloud for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Beam Cloud best used for?
Beam Cloud is most often used for deploying ml models with minimal latency and setup time, large-scale batch processing across thousands of concurrent tasks, cost-effective inference serving with bursty workloads, multi-cloud ai deployments with global low-latency access. Of those, deploying ml models with minimal latency and setup time and large-scale batch processing across thousands of concurrent tasks are not what Together AI is typically brought in for.
What can Beam Cloud do that Together AI cannot?
Beam Cloud covers Sub-second cold starts, Inference endpoints, Task queues, Sandboxes. Together AI covers Open-source models, Fine-tuning, Fast inference, Embeddings. Both handle Python SDK.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Beam Cloud: What is included in the Developer plan?

The Developer plan includes $30 monthly free credits, 5 GPU containers, 30 CPU containers, and community support. No upfront commitment is required.

Source
Together AI: Does Together AI offer a free tier?

Yes, Together AI advertises 'Start for free, scale on demand,' but specific free tier usage limits are not detailed on the pricing page.

Source
Beam Cloud: How fast are the cold starts?

Beam Cloud achieves sub-second cold starts through memory snapshots that restore GPU containers 35x faster than traditional cold boots.

Source
Together AI: What are Together AI's highest model prices?

Serverless inference pricing ranges from free for base models up to $4.40 per 1M input tokens for premium models. Video generation costs $0.14 to $3.20 per video depending on resolution.

Source
Beam Cloud: Can I deploy across multiple cloud providers?

Yes, Beam Cloud supports multi-cloud deployment across AWS, GCP, Azure, Hetzner, and other providers with 30+ global regions available.

Source
Together AI: How much can I save with Provisioned Throughput?

Together AI offers up to 83% savings compared to commercial alternatives when using their Provisioned Throughput option with reserved capacity.

Source
Together AI: What is Together AI's fine-tuning pricing?

Standard fine-tuning costs $0.48 to $2.90 per 1M tokens depending on model size, with a minimum charge of $4.00 per job.

Source
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