Inference.net lists 2 models and Microsoft 2. Inference.net is cheaper on a typical model ($0.08 per 1M tokens median). Below: line-up, price tiers, the cheapest model for each capability, and what each costs for five real workloads.
| Inference.net | Microsoft | |
|---|---|---|
| Models listed | 2 | 2 |
| Models with published pricing | 2 | 2 |
| Typical price (median, 3:1 blend per 1M) | $0.08 | $0.35 |
| Cheapest paid model | Inference.net: Schematron V2 Turbo ($0.06) | Microsoft: Phi 4 ($0.09) |
| Longest context | Inference.net: Schematron V2 Small (128K) | WizardLM-2 8x22B (66K) |
| Free models | 0 | 0 |
| Newest model | Inference.net: Schematron V2 Small (2026-09-12) | Microsoft: Phi 4 (2025-01-10) |
| Price changes in the last 90 days | 0 | 1 |
For each workload: the cheapest model from each provider that can actually do it (fits the context window; tool calling required for the agent), and its monthly cost at list price.
| Workload (per month) | Inference.net | Microsoft |
|---|---|---|
| Customer-support chatbot 50,000 conversations — each a 6-turn conversation | $5.25 with Inference.net: Schematron V2 Turbo | $8.05 with Microsoft: Phi 4 |
| RAG search over documents 20,000 questions — each a question answered from ~8 retrieved passages | $5.10 with Inference.net: Schematron V2 Turbo | $9.80 with Microsoft: Phi 4 |
| Coding / tool-using agent 2,000 tasks — each a multi-step task with tool calls and file context | no suitable model | no suitable model |
| Batch summarisation 10,000 documents — each a 6,000-word report summarised to a page | $3.30 with Inference.net: Schematron V2 Turbo | $6.44 with Microsoft: Phi 4 |
| Long-document analysis 500 documents — each a 150-page contract or codebase read in one pass | $1.65 with Inference.net: Schematron V2 Turbo | no suitable model |
| You need | Inference.net | Microsoft |
|---|---|---|
| Any model | Inference.net: Schematron V2 Turbo ($0.06) | Microsoft: Phi 4 ($0.09) |
| With tool calling | none listed | none listed |
| With image input | none listed | none listed |
| With reasoning mode | none listed | none listed |
| 128K+ context | Inference.net: Schematron V2 Turbo ($0.06) | none listed |
| 1M+ context | none listed | none listed |
| Model type | Inference.net | Microsoft |
|---|---|---|
| text->text | 2 | 2 |
| Price per 1M (3:1 blend) | Inference.net | Microsoft |
|---|---|---|
| Free | 0 | 0 |
| Under $0.50 | 2 | 1 |
| $0.50 – $3 | 0 | 1 |
| $3 – $10 | 0 | 0 |
| $10 and up | 0 | 0 |
Inference.net is cheaper on a typical model: a median of $0.08 per 1M tokens (3:1 input/output) against $0.35 for Microsoft. The cheapest paid models are Inference.net: Schematron V2 Turbo at $0.06 and Microsoft: Phi 4 at $0.09.
It depends on the job: both list 2 models, Inference.net the lower typical price, Inference.net the longest context (128K tokens). The workload table above shows which wins for chat, RAG, agents, batch jobs and long documents.
Neither — both list 2 models.
Inference.net: Inference.net's longest is Inference.net: Schematron V2 Small at 128K tokens; Microsoft's is WizardLM-2 8x22B at 66K.
Neither lists a free model; both are pay-per-token.
Inference.net: 0 of 2 models accept images. Microsoft: 0 of 2.