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Software · head to head

Hugging Face vs Together AI

Hugging Face logo

Hugging Face

Software

The AI community building the future

From
Free
Rated
-
Together AI logo

Together AI

Software

Open-source AI at scale

From
Free
Rated
-

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Hugging Face model discovery across 3 million models lacks robust filtering and sorting by quality metrics; Together AI fine tuning carries a minimum charge of $4.00 per job regardless of dataset size
  • They diverge on capability: Hugging Face covers Model hub, Together AI covers Open-source models.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Hugging Face and Together AI actually diverge.

Attributes where Hugging Face and Together AI differ
AttributeHugging FaceTogether AI
Pricing modelUnknownusage-based
PlatformsWeb, APIApi, Cloud
Founded20162022

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 Hugging Face

  • Model hub
  • Datasets
  • Spaces
  • Transformers library
  • GitHub
  • Cloud providers
  • MLOps tools
  • Web support

Only in Together AI

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

Both cover

  • Api support

What people use each for

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

Hugging Face

  • ai tools managementnot Together AI
  • Workflow automationnot Together AI
  • Reportingnot Together AI

Together AI

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

Where each one falls short

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

Hugging Face

  • Model discovery across 3 million models lacks robust filtering and sorting by quality metrics
  • Community-driven content means variable model quality and documentation
  • Private models and datasets require Pro subscription
  • Enterprise support and SLAs require custom arrangements

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

Hugging Face

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Hugging Face 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 Hugging Face if

  • You need model hub.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want datasets.

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 Hugging Face or Together AI better?
Neither clearly leads. Hugging Face 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, Hugging Face or Together AI?
Hugging Face starts at Free and Together AI at Free.
Does Hugging Face or Together AI run on more platforms?
Hugging Face runs on Web, API. Together AI runs on Api, Cloud.
Can I use Hugging Face for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Hugging Face best used for?
Hugging Face is most often used for ai tools management, workflow automation, reporting. Of those, ai tools management and workflow automation are not what Together AI is typically brought in for.
What can Hugging Face do that Together AI cannot?
Hugging Face covers Model hub, Datasets, Spaces, Transformers library. Together AI covers Open-source models, Fine-tuning, Fast inference, Embeddings. Both handle Api support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Hugging Face: Is Hugging Face free to use?

Yes. Hugging Face allows users to host and collaborate on unlimited public models, datasets, and applications at no cost. Models can be accessed and used freely from the Hub.

Source
Hugging Face: How many models are available on Hugging Face?

Hugging Face Hub currently hosts nearly 3 million machine learning models across various tasks including text generation, image processing, and video generation.

Source
Hugging Face: What is the Hugging Face Inference API?

Hugging Face provides access to 45,000+ models from leading AI providers through a single unified API with no service fees, simplifying access to diverse models.

Source
Hugging Face: What content types does Hugging Face support?

Hugging Face supports text, image, video, audio, and 3D content models, allowing collaboration across multiple modalities and use cases.

Source
Hugging Face: What is the transformers library?

Transformers is a Hugging Face library built for natural language processing applications, providing pre-built models and utilities for NLP tasks.

Source

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