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Cloud · head to head

Cerebrium vs DeepInfra

Cerebrium logo

Cerebrium

Cloud

Serverless GPU infrastructure for real-time AI inference and applications

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
DeepInfra logo

DeepInfra

Cloud

Low-cost cloud API for running open-source AI models

From
$0.08/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Cerebrium has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Cerebrium free Hobby tier limited to 3 apps and 5 GPU concurrency; DeepInfra focuses on inference hosting rather than fine-tuning or full training pipelines that competitors like Fireworks AI offer.
  • They diverge on capability: Cerebrium covers Ultra-fast cold starts, DeepInfra covers Open model hosting.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cerebrium and DeepInfra actually diverge.

Attributes where Cerebrium and DeepInfra differ
AttributeCerebriumDeepInfra
Starting priceFree$0.08/month
Pricing modelFreemium with monthly plans and per-second compute chargesusage-based
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsCloud, Dockerweb, api

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Cloud).

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 Cerebrium

  • Ultra-fast cold starts
  • Elastic scaling
  • Bring your own code
  • Multi-region failover
  • WebSocket and streaming
  • Asynchronous jobs
  • CI/CD with gradual rollouts
  • OpenTelemetry integration

Only in DeepInfra

  • Open model hosting
  • Pay-per-token pricing
  • Long context support
  • DeepCluster
  • Zero retention policy
  • Real-time metrics

What people use each for

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

Cerebrium

  • Deploying voice agents and conversational AI applicationsnot DeepInfra
  • Video and image model serving with low latencynot DeepInfra
  • LLM inference and completion endpointsnot DeepInfra
  • Real-time embeddings and vector database operationsnot DeepInfra
  • Distributed model training with hyperparameter sweepsnot DeepInfra

DeepInfra

  • Running open-source LLM inference without managing GPUsnot Cerebrium
  • Serving speech and image generation models via APInot Cerebrium
  • Cost-sensitive production inference at scalenot Cerebrium
  • Reserved GPU capacity via DeepCluster for steady workloadsnot Cerebrium

Where each one falls short

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

Cerebrium

  • Free Hobby tier limited to 3 apps and 5 GPU concurrency
  • Standard plan at $100/month required for production deployments
  • Per-second compute pricing requires continuous cost monitoring
  • Storage costs add up for large model files

DeepInfra

  • Focuses on inference hosting rather than fine-tuning or full training pipelines that competitors like Fireworks AI offer.
  • Model selection is limited to what DeepInfra chooses to host, unlike self-managed platforms.
  • No published free tier; usage is billed from the first token.

Pricing, plan by plan

Cerebrium

Free
  • HobbyFree
    • 3 user seats
    • Up to 3 deployed apps
    • 5 GPU concurrency
  • Standard$100/month
    • Unlimited seats and apps
    • 30 GPU concurrency
    • Custom domains
  • Enterprise$undefined/custom
    • Unlimited resources
    • Volume discounts
    • Dedicated support
  • GPU Compute$undefined/per-second
    • T4: $0.000164/s
    • H100: $0.00167/s

DeepInfra

$0.08/month
  • Pay-as-you-go$undefined/mo
    • Per-model token pricing from $0.08 to $2.85 per million input tokens
    • No long-term contract
  • DeepCluster$1.98/month
    • Dedicated NVIDIA B300 GPU clusters at $1.98/GPU-hour

Which should you pick?

Choose Cerebrium if

  • You need ultra-fast cold starts.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Cloud, Docker.
  • You also want elastic scaling.
Cerebrium review

Choose DeepInfra if

  • You need open model hosting.
  • You work on web, api.
  • You also want pay-per-token pricing.
DeepInfra review

Questions people ask

Is Cerebrium or DeepInfra better?
Neither clearly leads. Cerebrium starts at Free and DeepInfra at $0.08/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cerebrium or DeepInfra?
Cerebrium has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Cerebrium and $0.08/month for DeepInfra.
Does Cerebrium or DeepInfra run on more platforms?
Cerebrium runs on Cloud, Docker. DeepInfra runs on web, api.
Can I use Cerebrium for free?
Yes. Cerebrium has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. DeepInfra starts at $0.08/month.
What is Cerebrium best used for?
Cerebrium is most often used for deploying voice agents and conversational ai applications, video and image model serving with low latency, llm inference and completion endpoints, real-time embeddings and vector database operations. Of those, deploying voice agents and conversational ai applications and video and image model serving with low latency are not what DeepInfra is typically brought in for.
What can Cerebrium do that DeepInfra cannot?
Cerebrium covers Ultra-fast cold starts, Elastic scaling, Bring your own code, Multi-region failover. DeepInfra covers Open model hosting, Pay-per-token pricing, Long context support, DeepCluster.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Cerebrium: Is Cerebrium only for inference or can it train models?

Cerebrium supports both inference serving and model training with hyperparameter sweeps. It enables deployment of voice agents, LLMs, video models, and other AI applications.

Source
DeepInfra: Is there a free tier on DeepInfra?

No free tier is published; usage is billed pay-as-you-go from the first token, though a credit card or pre-payment is required before you can send requests.

Source
Cerebrium: How do the cold starts compare to other platforms?

Cerebrium achieves 2-4 second cold starts through memory and GPU snapshotting, significantly faster than traditional 30+ second cold boots. This is competitive with platforms like Beam Cloud.

Source
DeepInfra: How is usage priced?

Language models are billed per million input/output tokens, other models by inference execution time, and audio models per minute of audio processed, with no minimum commitment.

Source
Cerebrium: What compliance certifications does Cerebrium have?

Cerebrium maintains SOC 2 Type II compliance, HIPAA certification, GDPR compliance, and ISO certification. It provides gVisor container isolation and configurable data residency for regulated workloads.

Source
DeepInfra: What are the Standard, Priority, and Flex tiers?

Standard is default best-effort pricing at 1x, Priority costs 1.5x for faster time-to-first-token during peak demand, and Flex costs 0.8x for non-production or asynchronous workloads.

Source
DeepInfra: How does billing scale with spend?

Accounts advance through usage tiers as cumulative payments cross $20, $100, $500, $2,000, and $10,000 thresholds, with invoices generated monthly or at each threshold.

Source
DeepInfra: Is there a limit on concurrent requests?

Yes, accounts are limited to 200 concurrent requests by default, though spending limits can also be configured to prevent unexpected charges.

Source
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