LLM APIs · A-tier

Groq

Very fast inference API for open models. Pick it when latency is the product.

External model signals

Groq is scored here as a product. Two public boards rank the models it serves. Token usage informs momentum. Blind votes inform capability. Their numbers stay on their sites.

OpenRouter rankings. OpenRouter ranks models by tokens processed through the OpenRouter API. OpenRouter states that a higher token total shows how much a model is used, not which model is best for a task. That usage informs momentum.
Arena (LMArena leaderboard). Arena, also called LMArena, ranks models by blind human votes. People compare anonymous answers, and only those anonymous votes count toward the public board. Arena fits the votes with a Bradley-Terry model. Those votes inform capability. Method: Arena FAQ.

Checked 14 Oct 2026. The OpenRouter rankings page showed usage through 13 Oct 2026. Rankings data is licensed CC BY 4.0. The figures move, so StackPick links the boards. Rankings data: CC BY 4.0. How these boards enter the score.

Best for

Chat and voice products where time-to-first-token is the constraint.

What it is

Groq runs open models on its own inference hardware and sells that speed through an API. You are not buying a Groq-trained frontier model; you are buying low latency on models Groq hosts. A free developer tier has been available.

inferencelatencyopen-modelsLLM APIs

Score breakdown

Capability 40%86
Ease 25%84
Value 20%86
Momentum 15%82

Pricing

Freemium

Starting price: check site

A free developer tier and paid usage have been offered. Model availability changes. Check the console.

Dates

Released 2024 (year precision).

Added to StackPick 14 Oct 2026.

Alternatives

B-tier · 79

Fireworks

Production traffic on open models when you want serverless, not a cluster.

B-tier · 76

Cerebras Inference

Low-latency open-model inference when you are already benchmarking Groq.

A-tier · 87

OpenRouter

Switching models without rewriting the client, or failing over when one lab is down.

Comparisons

vs OpenRouter

Questions

What is Groq best for?

Chat and voice products where time-to-first-token is the constraint.

How much does Groq cost?

Freemium. Starting price: check site. A free developer tier and paid usage have been offered. Model availability changes. Check the console.

What are alternatives to Groq?

Fireworks, Cerebras Inference, OpenRouter are the alternatives we file next to it. Open a comparison when one exists.

How do model leaderboards relate to Groq?

Groq is scored here as a product. OpenRouter rankings (https://openrouter.ai/rankings) inform momentum from token usage. Arena (https://arena.ai) informs capability from blind votes on the models it serves. Figures stay on those sites.