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DeepInfra vs Northflank

DeepInfra logo

DeepInfra

Cloud

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

From
$0.08/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Northflank logo

Northflank

Cloud

The runtime platform for AI-native companies

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Northflank has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: DeepInfra focuses on inference hosting rather than fine-tuning or full training pipelines that competitors like Fireworks AI offer.; Northflank pricing complexity with multiple rate dimensions
  • They diverge on capability: DeepInfra covers Open model hosting, Northflank covers Application deployments.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which DeepInfra and Northflank actually diverge.

Attributes where DeepInfra and Northflank differ
AttributeDeepInfraNorthflank
Starting price$0.08/monthFree
Pricing modelusage-basedUnknown
Free tierNoYes
Platformsweb, apiAWS, GCP, Azure, On-premises

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 DeepInfra

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

Only in Northflank

  • Application deployments
  • GPU support
  • Preview environments
  • Database management
  • Multi-cloud support
  • GitOps integration

What people use each for

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

DeepInfra

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

Northflank

  • Deploying AI inference models with GPU accelerationnot DeepInfra
  • Running training workloads on distributed GPUsnot DeepInfra
  • Building microservices with multi-cloud reliabilitynot DeepInfra

Where each one falls short

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

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.

Northflank

  • Pricing complexity with multiple rate dimensions
  • GPU costs can be expensive for large-scale deployments
  • Learning curve for Kubernetes concepts

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Northflank

Free
  • Sandbox (Free)Free
    • Always-on compute with no sleeping
    • 2 free services
    • 1 free database
  • Pay-as-you-go$undefined/usage
    • CPU: $0.01667 per vCPU per hour
    • Memory: $0.00833 per GB per hour
    • Network egress: $0.06 per GB
  • Enterprise$undefined/custom
    • Custom pricing with volume discounts
    • Invoice-based billing
    • Annual commitments

Which should you pick?

Choose DeepInfra if

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

Choose Northflank if

  • You need application deployments.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on AWS, GCP, Azure, On-premises.
  • You also want gpu support.
Northflank review

Questions people ask

Is DeepInfra or Northflank better?
Neither clearly leads. DeepInfra starts at $0.08/month and Northflank at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, DeepInfra or Northflank?
Northflank has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $0.08/month for DeepInfra and Free for Northflank.
Does DeepInfra or Northflank run on more platforms?
DeepInfra runs on web, api. Northflank runs on AWS, GCP, Azure, On-premises.
Can I use Northflank for free?
Yes. Northflank has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. DeepInfra starts at $0.08/month.
What is DeepInfra best used for?
DeepInfra is most often used for running open-source llm inference without managing gpus, serving speech and image generation models via api, cost-sensitive production inference at scale, reserved gpu capacity via deepcluster for steady workloads. Of those, running open-source llm inference without managing gpus and serving speech and image generation models via api are not what Northflank is typically brought in for.
What can DeepInfra do that Northflank cannot?
DeepInfra covers Open model hosting, Pay-per-token pricing, Long context support, DeepCluster. Northflank covers Application deployments, GPU support, Preview environments, Database management.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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
Northflank: What is included in the free Sandbox tier?

The Sandbox includes always-on compute, 2 free services, 1 free database, 2 free cron jobs, and is perfect for testing applications.

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
Northflank: How much does CPU cost on Northflank?

CPU costs $0.01667 per vCPU per hour on pay-as-you-go pricing.

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
Northflank: What GPUs are available?

GPU options include NVIDIA L4 at $0.80/hr through H100 at $2.74/hr.

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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