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AI · head to head

Together AI vs Vault

Together AI logo

Together AI

AI

Open-source AI at scale

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Vault logo

Vault

Cloud

Manage Secrets and Protect Sensitive Data

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Together AI free tier limits not clearly specified in pricing documentation; Vault vault 1.15.0 and later is licensed under the Business Source License 1.1, not an OSI open source licence, with IBM Corporation as licensor
  • They diverge on capability: Together AI covers Open-source models, Vault covers Secrets management.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Together AI and Vault differ
AttributeTogether AIVault
Pricing modelusage-basedopen-source
PlatformsApi, CloudLinux, Windows, Mac, Cloud
CategoryAICloud
Founded20222015

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 Together AI

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

Only in Vault

  • Secrets management
  • Encryption
  • Authentication
  • Authorization
  • Audit logging
  • API access
  • High availability
  • Replication

What people use each for

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

Together AI

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

Vault

  • Centrally storing and rotating secrets, API keys and database credentialsnot Together AI
  • Issuing short-lived dynamic credentials to applications instead of static passwordsnot Together AI
  • Encryption as a service and PKI certificate issuancenot Together AI

Where each one falls short

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

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

Vault

  • Vault 1.15.0 and later is licensed under the Business Source License 1.1, not an OSI open source licence, with IBM Corporation as licensor
  • The Additional Use Grant forbids offering Vault to third parties on a hosted or embedded basis in a paid product that competes with IBM's paid versions of Vault
  • Each version only converts to MPL 2.0 four years after that version is published, and the Change Date is tracked per version
  • Replication, HSM support, namespaces, performance standby nodes, FIPS builds, control group authorisation, multi-factor authentication, secrets sync and lease count quotas all require a Vault Enterprise licence
  • A Vault Enterprise licence must be applied to the cluster before any Enterprise feature can be used

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Vault

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Secrets management
    • Encryption as a service
    • Identity management
  • EnterpriseFree
    • Advanced features
    • Premium support
    • Dedicated updates

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Vault if

  • You need secrets management.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, Mac, Cloud.
  • You also want encryption.
Vault review

Questions people ask

Is Together AI or Vault better?
Neither clearly leads. Together AI starts at Free and Vault at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Together AI or Vault?
Together AI starts at Free and Vault at Free.
Does Together AI or Vault run on more platforms?
Together AI runs on Api, Cloud. Vault runs on Linux, Windows, Mac, Cloud.
Can I use Together AI for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Together AI best used for?
Together AI is most often used for llm inference for production ai applications, content generation at scale, code execution and embeddings, model fine-tuning and training. Of those, llm inference for production ai applications and content generation at scale are not what Vault is typically brought in for.
What can Together AI do that Vault cannot?
Together AI covers Open-source models, Fine-tuning, Fast inference, Embeddings. Vault covers Secrets management, Encryption, Authentication, Authorization.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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
Vault: Is HashiCorp Vault free to use?

Yes, Vault is available as a free, open-source project. The community version includes secrets management, certificate generation and rotation, encryption services, and credential management. Vault Enterprise is a commercial offering with additional features.

Source
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
Vault: What are the differences between open-source Vault and Vault Enterprise?

Open-source Vault is free and self-hosted. Vault Enterprise includes additional features and commercial support. HashiCorp also offers Vault Dedicated on the HashiCorp Cloud Platform as a fully managed cloud option.

Source
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
Vault: Can I try HashiCorp Cloud Platform Vault without payment?

Yes, HashiCorp offers a free trial option for HCP Vault Dedicated. New users also receive a $500 credit to use across HashiCorp Cloud Platform services.

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
Vault: What does Vault manage and protect?

Vault provides identity-based secrets management for users, machines, services, and AI agents. It automates authentication and authorization for access to secrets, passwords, certificates, encryption keys, and other sensitive data across your infrastructure.

Source
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