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Cloud · head to head

Cerebrium vs SST

Cerebrium logo

Cerebrium

Cloud

Serverless GPU infrastructure for real-time AI inference and applications

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
SST logo

SST

Cloud

Build full-stack apps on your own infrastructure

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Cerebrium free Hobby tier limited to 3 apps and 5 GPU concurrency; SST primarily optimized for AWS with Cloudflare support
  • They diverge on capability: Cerebrium covers Ultra-fast cold starts, SST covers Single config file.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cerebrium and SST actually diverge.

Attributes where Cerebrium and SST differ
AttributeCerebriumSST
Pricing modelFreemium with monthly plans and per-second compute chargesUnknown
PlatformsCloud, DockerAWS, Cloudflare, Node.js

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 SST

  • Single config file
  • Resource linking
  • Local development
  • Multi-cloud support
  • Multiple deployment stages
  • VPC tunneling

What people use each for

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

Cerebrium

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

SST

  • Deploying Next.js frontends with serverless backendsnot Cerebrium
  • Managing databases and storage alongside application codenot Cerebrium
  • Creating staging environments for feature testingnot 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

SST

  • Primarily optimized for AWS with Cloudflare support
  • Learning curve for developers unfamiliar with infrastructure concepts
  • Limited documentation for some advanced use cases

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

SST

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the SST review.

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 SST if

  • You need single config file.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on AWS, Cloudflare, Node.js.
  • You also want resource linking.
SST review

Questions people ask

Is Cerebrium or SST better?
Neither clearly leads. Cerebrium starts at Free and SST at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cerebrium or SST?
Cerebrium starts at Free and SST at Free.
Does Cerebrium or SST run on more platforms?
Cerebrium runs on Cloud, Docker. SST runs on AWS, Cloudflare, Node.js.
Can I use Cerebrium for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
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 SST is typically brought in for.
What can Cerebrium do that SST cannot?
Cerebrium covers Ultra-fast cold starts, Elastic scaling, Bring your own code, Multi-region failover. SST covers Single config file, Resource linking, Local development, Multi-cloud support.

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
SST: Is SST free?

Yes, SST is open source and free. You only pay for cloud resources from AWS and other providers.

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
SST: What cloud providers does SST support?

SST supports over 150 providers through built-in AWS and Cloudflare components, plus Pulumi and Terraform providers.

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
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