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Software · head to head

OpenAI API vs Google Vertex AI

OpenAI API logo

OpenAI API

Software

GPT and DALL-E APIs for developers

From
$0.15/per-million-tokens
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Google Vertex AI logo

Google Vertex AI

Software

Unified ML platform to build, deploy, and scale AI models

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: OpenAI API new accounts start with a $100 approved monthly usage limit and must spend cumulatively to graduate tiers; Google Vertex AI vendor lock-in to Google Cloud ecosystem makes migration to other platforms difficult
  • They diverge on capability: OpenAI API covers GPT models, Google Vertex AI covers AutoML.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which OpenAI API and Google Vertex AI actually diverge.

Attributes where OpenAI API and Google Vertex AI differ
AttributeOpenAI APIGoogle Vertex AI
Starting price$0.15/per-million-tokensOn request
Pricing modelusage-basedUnknown
PlatformsApiCloud, Web
Founded20152008

Identical on both: free tier (No), 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 OpenAI API

  • GPT models
  • DALL-E
  • Whisper
  • Embeddings
  • REST API
  • SDKs
  • Azure OpenAI
  • Api support

Only in Google Vertex AI

  • AutoML
  • Custom training
  • Feature Store
  • Model monitoring
  • Prediction serving
  • BigQuery
  • Cloud Storage
  • TensorFlow

What people use each for

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

OpenAI API

  • Calling hosted language models from an applicationnot Google Vertex AI
  • Generating images, audio and embeddings through one APInot Google Vertex AI
  • Building agents and tool calling workflows on managed modelsnot Google Vertex AI

Google Vertex AI

  • Machine learningnot OpenAI API
  • Data analysisnot OpenAI API
  • Model trainingnot OpenAI API
  • Predictive analyticsnot OpenAI API

Where each one falls short

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

OpenAI API

  • New accounts start with a $100 approved monthly usage limit and must spend cumulatively to graduate tiers
  • Reaching the top Tier 5 monthly cap of $200,000 requires $1,000 of cumulative paid usage
  • Rate limits apply simultaneously across requests per minute, requests per day, tokens per minute, tokens per day and images per minute, and the first one hit blocks the request
  • API access is restricted to approved geographies

Google Vertex AI

  • Vendor lock-in to Google Cloud ecosystem makes migration to other platforms difficult
  • Requires familiarity with Google Cloud Platform infrastructure and concepts
  • Cost can escalate quickly with large training and inference workloads

Pricing, plan by plan

OpenAI API

$0.15/per-million-tokens
  • GPT-4o mini$0.15/per-million-input-tokens
    • Fast
    • Affordable
  • GPT-4o$5/per-million-input-tokens
    • Multimodal
    • 128K context

Google Vertex AI

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Google Vertex AI review.

Which should you pick?

Choose OpenAI API if

  • You need gpt models.
  • You work on Api.
  • You also want dall-e.
OpenAI API review

Choose Google Vertex AI if

  • You need automl.
  • You work on Cloud, Web.
  • You also want custom training.
Google Vertex AI review

Questions people ask

Is OpenAI API or Google Vertex AI better?
Neither clearly leads. OpenAI API starts at $0.15/per-million-tokens and Google Vertex AI at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, OpenAI API or Google Vertex AI?
OpenAI API starts at $0.15/per-million-tokens and Google Vertex AI at On request.
Does OpenAI API or Google Vertex AI run on more platforms?
OpenAI API runs on Api. Google Vertex AI runs on Cloud, Web.
What is OpenAI API best used for?
OpenAI API is most often used for calling hosted language models from an application, generating images, audio and embeddings through one api, building agents and tool calling workflows on managed models. Of those, calling hosted language models from an application and generating images, audio and embeddings through one api are not what Google Vertex AI is typically brought in for.
What can OpenAI API do that Google Vertex AI cannot?
OpenAI API covers GPT models, DALL-E, Whisper, Embeddings. Google Vertex AI covers AutoML, Custom training, Feature Store, Model monitoring.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Google Vertex AI: What is the pricing model for Google Vertex AI?

Vertex AI uses a pay-as-you-go model with no upfront costs or lock-in fees. Costs vary by service: training is billed by compute resources and time (30-second increments), online predictions by machine type per hour, and batch predictions by compute time or per-record for specific AutoML types.

Source
Google Vertex AI: What types of data can Vertex AI handle?

Vertex AI supports image, video, text, and tabular data types with tools for uploading, storing, and managing large datasets.

Source
Google Vertex AI: Does Vertex AI support custom model training?

Yes. Vertex AI supports both AutoML for automated machine learning and custom training code in Python, R, and other languages.

Source
Google Vertex AI: What deployment options are available in Vertex AI?

Vertex AI supports online predictions for real-time use cases and batch predictions for large-scale processing.

Source

Related pages

More on OpenAI API

More on Google Vertex AI

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