Proprietary AI models: API-only, and what that locks you into

Prices from official vendor price lists · October 2026
151 closed-weight models available only through the vendor API — no self-hosting, no infrastructure to run. Output prices run from $0.063 to $180 per 1M tokens across the 117 models with a paid per-token price; 23 have a free tier.
Proprietary API
Services found: 151
#AI modelCapabilitiesAPI $/1M (in / out)Context windowPrice / moOutput $/1MOverviewVisit site
21

Grok 4.5

xAI
Text & chatVisionReasoning
$2 / $6500K tokensAPI only6View
22

GPT-5.5

OpenAI
Text & chatVisionReasoning
$5 / $301.05M tokensAPI only30View
23

Claude Sonnet 5

Anthropic
Text & chatVisionReasoning
$2 / $101M tokensAPI only10View
24

GPT-5.6 Luna

OpenAI
Text & chatVisionReasoning
$0.2 / $1.21.05M tokensAPI only1.2View
25

Gemini 3.6 Flash

Google
Text & chatVisionAudio
$0.75 / $3.751.05M tokensAPI only3.75View
26

Muse Spark 1.1

Meta
Text & chatVisionAudio
$1.25 / $4.251.05M tokensAPI only4.25View
27

Claude Sonnet 4.6

Anthropic
Text & chatVisionReasoning
$3 / $151M tokensAPI only15View
28

MiMo-V2.5-Pro

Xiaomi
Text & chatReasoningTool calling
$0.435 / $0.871.05M tokensAPI only0.87View
29

Inkling Small

Thinkingmachines
Text & chatVisionAudio
$0.45 / $1.21.05M tokensAPI only1.2View
30

Inkling

Thinkingmachines
Text & chatVisionAudio
$1.87 / $4.68²1.05M tokensAPI only4.68View
31

Grok 4.3

xAI
Text & chatVisionReasoning
$1.25 / $2.51M tokensAPI only2.5View
32

GPT-5.4 Mini

OpenAI
Text & chatVisionReasoning
$0.75 / $4.5400K tokensAPI only4.5View
33

Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite

Google
Text & chatVisionAudio
$0.3 / $2.51.05M tokensAPI only2.5View
34

MiMo-V2.5

Xiaomi
Text & chatVisionAudio
$0.14 / $0.281.05M tokensAPI only0.28View
35

GPT-5.4 Nano

OpenAI
Text & chatVisionReasoning
$0.2 / $1.25400K tokensAPI only1.25View
36

Claude Sonnet 4.5

Anthropic
Text & chatVisionReasoning
$3 / $151M tokensAPI only15View
37

LongCat 2.0

Meituan
Text & chatLong context 1M+Multilingual
$0.75 / $2.951.05M tokensAPI only2.95View
38

Claude Haiku 4.5

Anthropic
Text & chatVisionReasoning
$1 / $5200K tokensAPI only5View
39

Mistral Medium 3.5

Mistral AI
Text & chatVisionReasoning
$1.5 / $7.5256K tokensAPI only7.5View
40

Mistral Small 4

Mistral AI
Text & chatVisionReasoning
$0.15 / $0.6256K tokensAPI only0.6View

Browse by need

Reasoning models169 modelsCoding assistants17 modelsVision and images156 modelsLong context 1M+82 modelsFree tier available80 modelsOpen weights88 models

These 151 models are available only through the vendor own API: no weights to download, no self-hosting, no fine-tuning beyond what the vendor exposes. In exchange you get no infrastructure to run and immediate access to whatever ships next.

Prices run from $0.87 to $50 per million output tokens. The frontier tier is entirely proprietary - GPT-6 Astra, Claude Fable 5.1, Claude Opus 5 - and that gap is the honest argument for closed models. The arguments against are equally practical: pricing changes without your consent, models get retired on the vendor schedule, and your data leaves your perimeter.

No infrastructureNothing to provision, patch or scale — the vendor absorbs all of it.
The frontier lives hereEvery top-quality model today is closed. There is no open equivalent yet.
Vendor risk is realPrices change, models retire, and your data crosses a boundary.

Models with this capability

The 151 models below all support this capability. Prices are input and output per 1M tokens from the vendor official price list; for dirhams multiply by 3.6725. Tap a card to open the model page.

Claude Fable 5.1
#1
Anthropic
in $10out $501M tokens
GPT-6 Astra
#2
OpenAI
in $10out $501.05M tokens
GPT-6.1 Sol
#3
OpenAI
in $2out $101.05M tokens
GPT-6 Sol
#4
OpenAI
in $2out $101.05M tokens
GPT-6 Luna
#5
OpenAI
in $0.1out $0.51.05M tokens
Claude Opus 5.5
#6
Anthropic
in $4out $201M tokens
Claude Sonnet 5.5
#7
Anthropic
in $2out $101M tokens
Grok 4.7
#8
xAI
in $2out $6500K tokens

How to choose

  • Check the deprecation policy before building on a specific model version.
  • Pin snapshot versions where the vendor offers them, rather than floating aliases.
  • Read the data-retention terms if you handle personal or regulated information.
  • Keep an open-weight fallback identified, even if you never use it.

Common mistakes

Building on a floating aliasA silent model update can change behaviour overnight.
No exit planTeams discover lock-in at the moment prices rise, not before.

Who this suits

Small teamsNo GPU budget, no ops capacity, immediate access to the best models.
EnterprisesCompliance certifications and support contracts that self-hosting cannot match.
PrototypingValidating an idea before committing infrastructure.

Related filters

Open weights88 models you can download and self-host
Frontier tier41 flagship models, the best each vendor sells
Priority tier65 models with a paid fast lane
Prompt caching147 models with cheap repeated context
All 239 modelsThe full rating with filters and prices

Frequently asked questions

Why choose a closed model?

The frontier tier is entirely proprietary. If you need the best available quality, there is no open alternative yet.

What are the risks?

Pricing changes without your consent, models get retired on the vendor schedule, and your data leaves your perimeter.

What is the open alternative?

90 models in this rating publish weights — GLM, Qwen, DeepSeek, Mistral, Gemma and others.

Can I fine-tune a proprietary model?

Sometimes, within the vendor platform. You never receive the weights.

What happens when a model retires?

You migrate. Vendors publish timelines, but the work lands on you.

Frequently searched

By capabilityReasoningCodingVisionLong context 1M+Free tierOpen weightsLow latencyRealtime voiceImage generation
By vendorAnthropic (13)OpenAI (30)Google DeepMind (17)xAI (8)Meta (6)DeepSeek (9)Mistral AI (11)Alibaba (Qwen) (34)Z.ai (12)Moonshot AI (5)
Popular modelsClaude Fable 5.1GPT-6 AstraClaude Opus 5Claude Fable 5GPT-5.6 SolGLM 5.3Grok 4.6Kimi K3GPT-5.6 Terra
By deliveryBatch APIPrompt cachingPriority tierFrontier tierProprietary APITool callingStructured JSONWeb searchMultilingual

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