AI Token Router vs Groq: how to choose
Across 9 dimensions compared below, AI Token Router comes out ahead on 4 and Groq on 4, and 1 are a genuine tie -- so the honest answer is that it depends on which dimensions matter to your workload, and both sections naming a winner are on this page rather than only the flattering one.
Groq: Custom LPU silicon built for very fast inference. · Of the 9 dimensions below, Groq wins 4.
Raw throughput
AI Token Router
Standard GPU-class serving speeds
Groq
500–1000 tokens/sec on their published models — an architectural outlier, not a tuning claim
Hardware
AI Token Router
None owned
Groq
Own silicon (LPU/LPX) and a cost curve nobody renting GPUs can copy
Built-in agentic tooling
AI Token Router
Not offered — you bring your own tools
Groq
Compound and Compound Mini ship with web search and code execution built in
Speech-to-text
AI Token Router
Not offered — we do /v1/audio/speech (TTS) only
Groq
Whisper Large V3 and V3 Turbo, billed per hour of audio
Pricing transparency
AI Token Router
Every model's rate published, with the official rate beside it — 36–43% below official
Groq
No rate card on groq.com. Rates live in console docs for some models, and flagship Llama models are marked "Enterprise pricing" with no public number at all
Model catalog
AI Token Router
24 open-weight models catalogued across text, image, speech and video
Groq
A narrow production list — GPT-OSS and Llama text models plus Whisper. No image models, no video models
Video generation
AI Token Router
Yes — /v1/video/generations, billed at a fixed 5-second duration during rollout
Groq
None
Platform fee
AI Token Router
None. No minimum spend, no subscription
Groq
None published
Billing model
AI Token Router
Prepaid credits, self-serve; balance is a hard ceiling, exhaustion returns 429 insufficient_credits
Groq
Console billing, with a sales conversation standing between you and a price on their flagship models
Figures reflect each provider’s published information as of September 2026. If something here is out of date, tell us and we’ll correct it — including in Groq’s favour.
When you should choose Groq
If latency is the product — a voice agent, a live coding assistant, anything where a human is waiting on the first token — Groq wins and it is not close. Their speed comes from custom silicon rather than a scheduling trick, which means it holds up under load in a way GPU-based competitors cannot match by trying harder. They are also well capitalised and building serious capacity, and Compound gives you web search and code execution without wiring up tools yourself. If your workload is one or two big text models and you need them fast, go there.
When you should choose us
The gap worth knowing about is pricing: groq.com publishes no rate card, and their flagship Llama models are listed as "Enterprise pricing" rather than a number, so you cannot price your workload before you talk to someone. We publish every rate, with the model's official rate beside it. We also carry image and video models, which they do not carry at all.