# Together AI vs. Vivgrid: A Cloud for Models, a Platform for Agents > Source: https://vivgrid.com/blog/together-ai-vs-vivgrid Evaluating Together AI? It runs and fine-tunes open models. Vivgrid runs enterprise agents — every model on one key, cloud-hosted tools, and evals. A hardware store sells you everything you need to build a house: lumber, pipes, wiring, and every tool. It doesn't build the house. Together AI is one of the best hardware stores in AI. In July 2026 it [raised $800M at an $8.3B valuation](https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260701243402/en/Together-AI-Raises-$800-Million-at-$8.3-Billion-Valuation-to-Make-Frontier-AI-Accessible-to-All), with more than $1B in annual bookings. Cursor, Cognition, ElevenLabs, and Salesforce run on it. If you need GPUs, fast open-source inference, or a place to fine-tune, Together is a great place to shop. But if you're shipping an **agent**, the question isn't only where the parts come from. It's who helps you build, test, and run the house. ## What Together AI gets right Together calls itself the [AI Native Cloud](https://www.together.ai), and it earns the name: - **Fast open-source inference.** Serverless, batch, provisioned throughput, and dedicated endpoints for models like DeepSeek, GLM, Kimi, and MiniMax. - **Research-driven performance.** Custom kernels and optimizations that push speed up and cost down. - **GPU clusters.** From a single instance to thousands of GPUs, [billed by the hour](https://www.together.ai/pricing). - **Fine-tuning.** Supervised fine-tuning and DPO on open-source models. - **Building blocks.** Code sandboxes and managed storage with no egress fees. If your team wants raw infrastructure and has engineers ready to assemble it, that's a strong foundation. ## Building the house: where Vivgrid differs ### 1. Frontier and open models, one key Together's catalog is built around open-source models. That's its mission, and it keeps costs low. Most production agents still need a frontier model for their hardest steps, though. On Vivgrid, `gpt-6-astra`, `claude-opus-5`, and `gemini-3.8-flash` sit next to `deepseek-v4-pro`, `glm-5.3`, and `kimi-k3` — [one OpenAI-compatible endpoint, one API key](/docs/models). Use GPT or Claude for planning and an open model for the high-volume steps, without a second vendor, a second bill, or a second SDK. ### 2. Sandboxes run code. Managed Skills run your tools. Together's sandboxes are a safe place for an agent to run code it just wrote. That's useful for coding agents and data analysis. Most enterprise agents need something else: reliable access to the systems your business already runs, like your CRM, billing, or ticketing. That code shouldn't be improvised. It should be typed, reviewed, and versioned. [Managed Skills](/docs/managed-skills) is built for that. Write a Function Tool or MCP Tool, run `viv deploy`, and every agent calls the new version right away. API keys live with the skill, not in your client. Every call shows up in your logs. ### 3. Change the agent without shipping the app On a raw inference API, your prompts, tool definitions, and model choice live in application code. Every change is a release. On Vivgrid, they live on the server. Your API calls [don't even need a `model` field](/docs/quick-start). Pick the model in the console, update a prompt, and every agent picks up the change on the next request. ### 4. Know it works before customers do A cloud can tell you a model is fast. It can't tell you your agent still refunds the right orders after this morning's prompt change. [Alchemist](/docs/agent-evaluation) runs recursive and regression evaluations on real agent behavior before every prompt change, tool update, or model swap goes live. ### 5. See the business, not just the GPUs Infrastructure metrics tell you about tokens, throughput, and utilization. Your product team needs different answers: what customers ask, what each conversation costs, and where the agent falls short. [Observability & Insights](/docs/observability) gives you real-time request logs, latency breakdowns, and cost per request. On Growth and Enterprise, Agent Insights turns that traffic into product decisions. ### 6. Private GPUs, only where they matter Vivgrid Enterprise supports BYOC: connect your own GPU cluster, and Vivgrid **automatically detects requests containing sensitive data** and routes them to it. Everything else keeps using the frontier and open models you've chosen. Sensitive data stays on hardware you control. Every other request still gets frontier quality. ## Together AI and Vivgrid compared | | Together AI | Vivgrid | | ---------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- | | **Built for** | Running, training, and fine-tuning open models | Building and running production AI agents | | **Models** | Open-source library | Frontier (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google) + open-weight, one key | | **Agent tools** | Code sandboxes; bring your own tool hosting | Managed Skills: Function and MCP tools, deployed with `viv` | | **Prompt and model changes** | In your application code | Server-side, no client release | | **Evaluation** | Bring your own | Alchemist, for release-gating agent behavior | | **Insights** | Usage and infrastructure metrics | Request logs, cost per request, Agent Insights | | **Private compute** | Dedicated endpoints and GPU clusters | BYOC with automatic sensitive-request routing | | **GPU clusters** | Yes, up to thousands of GPUs | Not offered | | **Fine-tuning** | SFT, DPO | Not offered | ## Same open model, two platforms Together and Vivgrid both serve GLM 5.3 and Kimi K3 through an OpenAI-compatible API. You can compare them on your own traffic without rewriting anything. Point the same client at `https://api.together.xyz/v1` and `https://api.vivgrid.com/v1`, and replay your real prompts. Start with list price. As of September 2026: | Model | Together AI (input / output per 1M) | Vivgrid (input / output per 1M) | | ------- | ----------------------------------- | ------------------------------- | | GLM 5.3 | \$1.40 / \$4.40 | \$1.20 / \$4.20 | | Kimi K3 | \$3.00 / \$15.00 | \$3.00 / \$15.00 | Per-token price is only part of the bill. Measure three more things: - **Time to first token.** What users feel in a chat window. - **Output tokens per second.** What long agent runs feel. - **Cost per completed task.** An agent that needs fewer retries and tool round-trips costs less, even at the same token price. On Vivgrid you can also send the hardest step to a frontier model and the rest to an open one. Together's kernel research makes it one of the fastest places to run open models. If raw speed on one open model is what decides it for you, run the test yourself. ## Bottom line **Choose Together AI if** you're building on infrastructure. You need GPU clusters, want to fine-tune open models, or run high-volume open-source inference with a team that owns the stack around it. **Choose Vivgrid if** you're building an agent. You want frontier and open models on one key, tools that deploy without an app release, and proof that every change works before customers see it. Together sells great parts. Vivgrid helps you build the house and keep it running. --- _Vivgrid is the Managed Skills platform: cloud-hosted LLM function calling that lets enterprise AI agents run their tools in the cloud — with observability, evaluation, and globally distributed inference built in. Start with the [Quick Start](/docs/quick-start), see [pricing](/pricing), or talk to us at [hi@vivgrid.com](mailto:hi@vivgrid.com)._ _Together AI details are based on Together AI's public website, pricing page, and funding announcement as of July 7, 2026. Product names are trademarks of their respective owners._ ## FAQ ### Is Vivgrid a Together AI alternative? For teams shipping agents, yes. Together is an AI-native cloud for running, training, and fine-tuning open-source models on its GPUs. Vivgrid runs the agent: frontier and open models on one key, cloud-hosted tools, evaluation before release, and insight into what customers ask. ### Can I use GPT, Claude, or Gemini through Together AI? Together’s catalog is built around open-source models. On Vivgrid, OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google models sit on the same key as open models like GLM, DeepSeek, and Kimi. ### Is Vivgrid faster than Together AI? It depends on the model and your traffic. Both serve the same open models through an OpenAI-compatible API, so the most reliable answer comes from running your own prompts against both base URLs and measuring time to first token, output speed, and cost per completed task. ### What is the difference between Together Code Sandbox and Vivgrid Managed Skills? A sandbox is a safe place for an agent to run code it just wrote, which suits coding and data-analysis agents. Managed Skills hosts typed, reviewed, versioned tools that connect an agent to systems you already run, like your CRM, billing, or ticketing. ### Does Vivgrid offer GPU clusters or fine-tuning like Together AI? No. Vivgrid does not rent GPU clusters or fine-tune models. If you need raw GPUs or custom training, Together is the better fit.