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Thanos vs Together AI

Thanos logo

Thanos

Cloud

Highly available Prometheus with long-term object storage

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Together AI logo

Together AI

AI

Open-source AI at scale

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Thanos several components — sidecar, store, querier, compactor, ruler — each with its own configuration and failure modes; Together AI free tier limits not clearly specified in pricing documentation
  • They diverge on capability: Thanos covers Global query, Together AI covers Open-source models.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Thanos and Together AI actually diverge.

Attributes where Thanos and Together AI differ
AttributeThanosTogether AI
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feeusage-based
PlatformsKubernetes, Linux, DockerApi, Cloud
CategoryCloudAI
FoundedUnknown2022

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

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 Thanos

  • Global query
  • Object storage retention
  • Deduplication
  • Downsampling

Only in Together AI

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

What people use each for

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

Thanos

  • Querying metrics across many clusters or regions from one placenot Together AI
  • Retaining metrics for years without local disk growthnot Together AI
  • Removing the gap that appears when a single Prometheus instance restartsnot Together AI

Together AI

  • LLM inference for production AI applicationsnot Thanos
  • Content generation at scalenot Thanos
  • Code execution and embeddingsnot Thanos
  • Model fine-tuning and trainingnot Thanos
  • Startup and enterprise AI deploymentnot Thanos

Where each one falls short

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

Thanos

  • Several components — sidecar, store, querier, compactor, ruler — each with its own configuration and failure modes
  • The compactor is a common source of operational trouble and must not run twice against the same bucket
  • Query latency over object storage is meaningfully higher than local Prometheus
  • Object storage costs and API request charges become real at high volume

Together AI

  • Free tier limits not clearly specified in pricing documentation
  • Pricing varies significantly by model and use case
  • Requires account setup for production access
  • Batch API discounts apply only to non-urgent workloads

Pricing, plan by plan

Thanos

Free
  • ThanosFree
    • Full functionality
    • No usage limits
    • Community support

Together AI

Free
  • Serverless Inference$0.03/1M input tokens
    • Chat and Vision models
    • Image generation
    • Video generation
  • Provisioned Throughput$21600/month
    • Up to 83% savings vs commercial alternatives
    • Reserved capacity
    • Guaranteed throughput
  • Dedicated Inference$5.49/hour
    • H100 GPU instance
    • Single-tenant deployment
    • No resource sharing
  • GPU Clusters$3.99/GPU-hour
    • On-demand capacity
    • Volume discounts available
    • Reserved options with up to 35% savings

Which should you pick?

Choose Thanos if

  • You need global query.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Kubernetes, Linux, Docker.
  • You also want object storage retention.
Thanos review

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.
Together AI review

Questions people ask

Is Thanos or Together AI better?
Neither clearly leads. Thanos 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, Thanos or Together AI?
Thanos starts at Free and Together AI at Free.
Does Thanos or Together AI run on more platforms?
Thanos runs on Kubernetes, Linux, Docker. Together AI runs on Api, Cloud.
Can I use Thanos for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Thanos best used for?
Thanos is most often used for querying metrics across many clusters or regions from one place, retaining metrics for years without local disk growth, removing the gap that appears when a single prometheus instance restarts. Of those, querying metrics across many clusters or regions from one place and retaining metrics for years without local disk growth are not what Together AI is typically brought in for.
What can Thanos do that Together AI cannot?
Thanos covers Global query, Object storage retention, Deduplication, Downsampling. Together AI covers Open-source models, Fine-tuning, Fast inference, Embeddings.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Thanos: Is Thanos free?

Yes, open source and CNCF-incubating. Costs are the object storage it uses.

Together AI: Does Together AI offer a free tier?

Yes, Together AI advertises 'Start for free, scale on demand,' but specific free tier usage limits are not detailed on the pricing page.

Source
Thanos: Does Thanos replace Prometheus?

No. It runs alongside existing Prometheus servers, adding global query, deduplication and long-term storage.

Together AI: What are Together AI's highest model prices?

Serverless inference pricing ranges from free for base models up to $4.40 per 1M input tokens for premium models. Video generation costs $0.14 to $3.20 per video depending on resolution.

Source
Thanos: Thanos or VictoriaMetrics?

Thanos layers onto Prometheus using object storage and is the more established multi-cluster answer. VictoriaMetrics is a separate store aiming at lower resource use and fewer moving parts.

Together AI: How much can I save with Provisioned Throughput?

Together AI offers up to 83% savings compared to commercial alternatives when using their Provisioned Throughput option with reserved capacity.

Source
Together AI: What is Together AI's fine-tuning pricing?

Standard fine-tuning costs $0.48 to $2.90 per 1M tokens depending on model size, with a minimum charge of $4.00 per job.

Source
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