# Cerebras API pricing and models

Cerebras publishes per-token prices for 2 text models, as of October 20, 2026. The lowest output rate is $0.75 per million tokens, on GPT OSS 120B, and the highest-scoring model it serves is Qwen3.8-27B, at 73 on our 100-point score.

Cerebras serves models on its wafer-scale chips. Its shared, pay-per-token endpoint lists two models, and the rest of its catalog is sold as dedicated capacity.

Source: [Cerebras pricing page](https://www.cerebras.ai/pricing), read 2026-10-20. Prices in US dollars per million tokens.

## Models we score

| Model | Score | Input | Output | Cached input | Context | Listed speed | vs maker |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qwen 3.8 27B (`qwen-3.8-27b`) | 73 | $0.99 | $1.49 | — | 128K | 1850 tok/s | — |
| GPT OSS 120B (`gpt-oss-120b`) | 55 | $0.35 | $0.75 | — | 131K | 3000 tok/s | — |

## Billing notes

- The self-serve Developer tier is pay as you go. Enterprise capacity is quoted by sales, with no public price.
- Context is shorter on the free trial than on paid accounts. The table shows the paid limits.

## What we measured (2026-09-01)

Cerebras hosts neither reference model, so it receives no score. On gpt-oss-120b it was the fastest platform in the run: a 0.35-second median, 1.1-second p95, and no failed requests, on a two-model catalog.

| Model run | Invoiced /1M blended | Median latency | p95 latency | Succeeded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| gpt-oss-120b | $0.367 | 0.35 s | 1.10 s | 100.0% |

Method and invoices: https://benchlm.ai/openrouter-alternatives

## Hosts that sell the same models

- [OpenRouter](https://benchlm.ai/hosts/openrouter): 2 shared, 2 cheaper per output token (GPT-OSS 120B: $0.60 vs $0.75)
- [DeepInfra](https://benchlm.ai/hosts/deepinfra): 2 shared, 1 cheaper per output token (GPT-OSS 120B: $0.17 vs $0.75)
- [Groq](https://benchlm.ai/hosts/groq): 2 shared, 1 cheaper per output token (GPT-OSS 120B: $0.60 vs $0.75)
- [Nebius Token Factory](https://benchlm.ai/hosts/nebius): 2 shared, 1 cheaper per output token (GPT-OSS 120B: $0.60 vs $0.75)
- [Novita AI](https://benchlm.ai/hosts/novita): 2 shared, 1 cheaper per output token (GPT-OSS 120B: $0.25 vs $0.75)
- [Baseten](https://benchlm.ai/hosts/baseten): 1 shared, 1 cheaper per output token (GPT-OSS 120B: $0.50 vs $0.75)

## FAQ

### How much does the Cerebras API cost?

Cerebras bills per million tokens, with separate input and output rates for each model. On October 20, 2026 its output rates ran from $0.75 on GPT OSS 120B to $1.49 across 2 paid models. Input is usually cheaper than output, so a long prompt with a short reply costs less than the output rate suggests.

### Which models can you run on Cerebras?

2 text models are listed, and 2 of them match a model we score. The highest-scoring is Qwen3.8-27B at 73. The table on this page has every model with its input, output and cached-input rate, the context window, and the date we read the price.

### Is Cerebras fast?

In our paid September 1, 2026 run, Cerebras returned a median of 0.35 seconds and a p95 of 1.10 seconds on gpt-oss-120b, over 450 requests. Its docs list 1,850 to 3,000 tokens per second, depending on the model.

### What are the alternatives to Cerebras?

OpenRouter lists 2 of the same models and charges less output per token on 2 of them. DeepInfra and Groq also overlap. Price is only part of the choice: speed, rate limits and which model snapshot a host serves differ too.

Canonical page: https://benchlm.ai/hosts/cerebras