Claude vs Grok API
Two model provider options for LLM API. When each fits, what it costs, who moves from one to the other, and what makers who chose it say.
ClaudeModel providerllms.txtIn Lovable, ReplitAsk your AI about this, with this page as the source:ChatGPT ↗Claude ↗Perplexity ↗
Which fits you
Choose Claude if- You want the strongest general models and the widest ecosystem of examples and integrations
Use it whenYour feature is an agent that calls tools, writes code or works through long documents.
Trade-offNo image generation or embedding models of its own, so those need a second provider.
Choose Grok API if- Grok models with built-in web and X search, plus image, video and voice APIs.
Use it whenYour feature needs live posts from X or current web results in the model's answers.
Trade-offReal-time data only arrives when you enable the search tools, which are billed as tool calls.
At a glance
| Claude | Grok API | |
|---|---|---|
| Used by | 251 makers' products · 285 open-source projects | 6 makers' products · 33 open-source projects |
| Cost at default usageinput tokens 50 million tokens, output tokens 10 million tokens | $10/mo Claude Haiku 5.5 | — |
| Downloads | 31.6M/wk4.1× vs npm | 2.3M/wk4.8× vs npm |
| Pricing | Pay per token. · paid from Pay per token | Pay per token; image, video and voice priced per unit. · paid from Pay per token |
| Free tier | No | No |
| Open source | No | No |
| Incidents, 90 daysfrom its status page | 50+ (21 major) | no public status feed |
Cost as you grow
At 1M tokens Claude costs less ($0.20 vs $1.75); and still does at 5B tokens ($1,000 vs $8,750).
The numbers, plan by plan
| Input tokens per month | Claude | Grok API |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $0.20 Claude Haiku 5.5 | $1.75 Grok 4.3 |
| 5 | $1.00 Claude Haiku 5.5 | $8.75 Grok 4.3 |
| 10 | $2.00 Claude Haiku 5.5 | $18 Grok 4.3 |
| 50 | $10 Claude Haiku 5.5 | $88 Grok 4.3 |
| 100 | $20 Claude Haiku 5.5 | $175 Grok 4.3 |
| 500 | $100 Claude Haiku 5.5 | $875 Grok 4.3 |
| 1,000 | $200 Claude Haiku 5.5 | $1,750 Grok 4.3 |
| 5,000 | $1,000 Claude Haiku 5.5 | $8,750 Grok 4.3 |
What makers say
Makers on using it for LLM API, from Product Hunt and Starter Story interviews, each linked to the source. Products with a page of their own and fuller notes first.
On ClaudeTaskade Genesis works beautifully with Claude. It brings strong reasoning and long-range thinking to any Genesis app, helping systems plan, adapt, and make sense of complex inputs.
We're excited about Claude-3.5 Sonnet and the upcoming 3.5 Opus. We'll introduce Opus to AICamp users upon release. We use Sonnet for its superior pair programming capabilities.
Huge shoutout to the Anthropic team — their Claude models are the backbone of some of our agents. Fast, reliable, and beautifully open‑source. Exactly what the AI world needs more of.
On Grok APIGrok pairs real-time knowledge with strong reasoning in a way that makes it genuinely useful for live, in-the-moment automations. We chose it because it doesn't just know a lot, it knows what's happening right now.
Fast models for real-time reasoning Grok adds fast, context-aware reasoning that helps expand the range of workflows our agents can handle.
very helpful for enabling us to make the best router possible!
Loved and watch-outs
Themes that recur in makers' words and Hacker News comments, each linked to what it summarises.
ClaudeMost loved
Watch-outs
On Product Hunt: 5.0★, 1,012 reviews · mentioned most: AI assistant, code generation, contextual understanding · complaints: message limits, typography issues- Outages are frequent, with uptime below three nines across the API and apps. HNHN 2HN 3HN 4
- API pricing is a large multiple of subscription pricing, making heavy agent use expensive. HNHN 2HN 3
- Postmortems confirmed periods of degraded output, including a lowered default reasoning effort in Claude Code. HN
Grok APIOn Product Hunt: 4.7★, 18 reviews · mentioned most: creative problem-solvingWho uses each
Claude251 makers' products
8base
AI Emaily
Airial TravelGrok API6 makers' products
Chinilla
IFTTT
n8nChat
Weave Engineering Intelligence
BlacksmithUsed by both — often one replacing the other, or each for a different part of the product
What makers pair each with
With ClaudeTransactional Email
Claude + Resend:
Accordio AI
Agentcard
AI Code Reviews by MatterAI
Anything
Basement Browser
Blink.new
Built for Devs
Byterover
Cekura
CentryAI
EarlyAIEasySite AIand 61 more
Accordio AIAgentcardAI Code Reviews by MatterAIAnythingBasement BrowserBlink.newBuilt for DevsByteroverCekuraCentryAIEarlyAIEasySite AIand 61 more
Basalt
Clarify
CoAgentor
Dart
Doraverse
Entelligence.ai
FirstQuadrant
Kommunicate
Nerve
Taskade
TextJam
THEO Growth
TuskFrontend Framework
Claude + Next.js:Accordio AIAgentcard
AgentXAI Code Reviews by MatterAI
AICampAirKarenAnything
Astrid
Ava Studio
Basejump AIBasement Browser
Bebop.aiand 110 more
Accordio AIAgentcardAgentXAI Code Reviews by MatterAIAICampAirKarenAnythingAstridAva StudioBasejump AIBasement BrowserBebop.aiand 110 more
giselle
Incerto
onlook
QualGent
reflex
Tempo
Vamah.ai
inbox-zero
Cal.com
Hedy AI
UXAudit.Now
CrowdinHosting
Claude + Amazon Web Services:
Agentplace.ioAnythingAstridBlink.newCekura
Chronicle
Databox
FetchSandbox
Floot
GraphBit
Hello Inbox
Human Behaviorand 61 more
Agentplace.ioAnythingAstridBlink.newCekuraChronicleDataboxFetchSandboxFlootGraphBitHello InboxHuman Behaviorand 61 more
CubeOne AI
LaunchSafe
Magic Patterns
Mocha
Modelence App Builder
Orango
OS Ninja
muno
Propane
RunLLM
Youkti
BetterClaw
ClawMetry
Calk AI
Codebuff
ComplyDo
Entendo
Zed
Knock
Replit
ZushWith Grok APIFrontend Framework
Grok API + React:agentfieldarchestradoryever-gauzyscirasourcebotArcReelatlasblumecherry-studiocherry-studio-appconarand 12 more
Firecrawl
GrowthBookAI SDK & Agent Framework
Mastra
TwentyNeither quite right?
See the whole LLM API decision →
OpenAI APIModel providerThe broadest model lineup — text, images, speech, embeddings — and the largest ecosystem.vs Claude →vs Grok API →
Gemini APIModel providerVery long context and multimodal input, with a free tier to start.vs Claude →vs Grok API →
GroqOpen models, hostedVery low-latency inference on open models, for real-time features.vs Claude →vs Grok API →
Mistral AIModel providerA European provider whose API covers chat, coding, OCR and speech models.vs Claude →
DeepSeekModel providerLow per-token prices on strong reasoning and coding models, with OpenAI- and Anthropic-format endpoints.vs Claude →
OpenRouterGateway (many providers, one API)Trying many models from many providers with one API key and one bill, without opening an account at each.vs Claude →
LiteLLMGateway (many providers, one API)Running your own OpenAI-compatible proxy in front of your own provider keys, with retries, routing and per-key budgets.