Avian
Avian is an AI-powered data analytics platform that serves as a natural language data operating system for businesses. Users can analyse data from Google Analyt...
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What is Avian?
Avian is a fast, affordable AI inference API that provides pay-per-token access to forefront large language models including DeepSeek V3.2, Kimi K2.5, GLM-5.1, and MiniMax M2.5. The platform delivers industry-leading inference speeds up to 489 tokens/sec using NVIDIA B200 GPUs with speculative decoding, making it 4x faster than OpenAI's GPT-4o. It is fully OpenAI-compatible, allowing developers to drop it in as a replacement by changing just one line of code.
Key features include access to every model through a single API key with no subscription required, built-in vision analysis, web search, web reader, and native tool calling across all models. The API supports streaming responses via server-sent events, function calling with valid JSON arguments, and JSON mode for guaranteed valid JSON output. Avian offers 20+ coding tool integrations including Cursor, Claude Code, Cline, Windsurf, Kilo Code, and Aider.
Avian is designed for developers who ship fast, particularly those building AI-powered coding assistants, coding agents, and production AI applications. Enterprises benefit from SOC/2 approved infrastructure on Microsoft Azure, GDPR & CCPA compliance, zero data retention, and privately hosted models. Trusted by professionals at Bank of America, Boeing, Google, eBay, Intel, Salesforce, and General Motors.
The platform pioneered DeepSeek R1 deployment at scale in January 2025 and continues to push inference speed boundaries across all frontier models. With 0ms cold start and always-warm inference, there are no rate limits—your prepaid credit balance is the only constraint.
Avian pricing
Pricing model: Freemium
Avian uses simple pay-as-you-go per-token pricing with prepaid credits—no subscriptions or commitments. Add credits starting at $50, $100, $150, or $250 API credit packages. Credits never expire and there is no minimum spend beyond initial top-up. Model pricing per million tokens: DeepSeek V4 Flash at $0.105 input/$0.21 output with 1M context; DeepSeek V4 Pro at $1.305 input/$2.61 output with 1M context; DeepSeek V3.2 at $0.23 input/$0.33 output with 163K context and $0.012 cache; MiniMax M2.5 at $0.27 input/$1.08 output with 196K context and $0.15 cache; GLM-5 at $0.95 input/$2.55 output with 205K context and $0.2 cache; Kimi K2.5 at $0.45 input/$2.2 output with 262K context and $0.225 cache; GLM-5.1 at $1 input/$3.2 output with 202K context; Kimi K2.6 at $0.95 input/$4 output with 262K context. Dedicated deployments on NVIDIA H200 or H100 GPUs available with reserved throughput—contact sales for pricing.
Avian pros
- 489 tokens/sec inference speed—industry fastest
- 4x faster than OpenAI GPT-4o
- ~90% cheaper than GPT-4o at $0.33 per 1M output tokens
- OpenAI-compatible API—drop-in replacement with one line change
- No subscription required—pure pay-per-token pricing
- Access all models through single API key
- NVIDIA B200 GPUs with speculative decoding
- 0ms cold start—always warm inference
- No rate limits—only credit balance limits requests
- Built-in vision analysis across all models
- Native web search and web reader built in
- Native tool calling supported on all models
- Streaming support via server-sent events
- Function calling with valid JSON arguments guaranteed
- JSON mode ensures valid parseable JSON output
- SOC/2 approved infrastructure on Microsoft Azure
- Zero data retention—no data stored
- GDPR & CCPA compliant
- 99.9% uptime SLA
- Works with 20+ coding tools including Cursor and Claude Code
- DeepSeek V3.2 with 163K context window
- Kimi K2.5 with 262K context window
- GLM-5.1 with 202K context window
- MiniMax M2.5 with 196K context window
Avian cons
- No free tier—prepaid credits required to start
- Minimum $50 credit top-up needed
- Credits must be purchased upfront
- Limited to specific model providers (DeepSeek, Kimi, GLM, MiniMax)
- No traditional monthly subscription plans
- Cache pricing still adds cost on top of base tokens
- Dedicated deployment pricing requires sales contact
- Newer platform founded in 2022 with less maturity
- Primarily focused on developers not enterprise users directly
- No built-in data analytics platform like older Avian version
- API key must be managed and secured by user
- No usage-based billing after credit purchase
- Limited model diversity compared to multi-provider platforms
- No team or organizational billing features mentioned
- Documentation focuses on developers not beginners
Frequently asked questions about Avian
What models does Avian offer?
Avian offers access to Kimi K2.5, Kimi K2.6, DeepSeek V3.2, DeepSeek V4 Flash, DeepSeek V4 Pro, MiniMax M2.5, GLM-5, and GLM-5.1. All models are available to every user—just add credits and start making requests. All models run on NVIDIA B200 GPUs with speculative decoding for industry-leading speeds.
How does Avian pricing work?
Avian uses a simple prepaid credit system. Add credits to your account starting at $50, then each API request deducts the token cost from your balance. Pricing is per million tokens with different rates for input, output, and cache. No subscriptions, no monthly fees—you only pay for the tokens you use. Credits never expire.
Is the Avian API OpenAI-compatible?
Yes. The Avian API follows the OpenAI Chat Completions format exactly. Just change the base URL to https://api.avian.io/v1 in any OpenAI SDK and it works out of the box. All API requests require a valid API key passed in the Authorization header as a Bearer token.
Do Avian credits expire?
No. Credits never expire. Use them whenever you need—there's no time limit on your prepaid balance. You can add credits at any time and they remain in your account indefinitely until used.
Are there rate limits on Avian?
No. As long as you have credits in your account, you can make as many API requests as you need. Your balance is the only limit. The platform offers production-grade speed with no rate limits and 99.9% uptime SLA.
How fast is Avian inference?
Avian delivers 489 tokens/sec on DeepSeek V3.2, which is 4x faster than OpenAI's GPT-4o at 120 tok/s and about 5x faster than Anthropic's Claude 3.5 at 90 tok/s. On DeepSeek R1, Avian achieved 351 tok/s—industry best. All models run on NVIDIA B200 GPUs with speculative decoding and 0ms cold start.
Is my data stored by Avian?
No. Avian has zero data retention—your code and data never leave their SOC/2 approved Microsoft Azure infrastructure and no data is stored. The platform is fully GDPR & CCPA compliant with privately hosted models you can trust with production workloads.
What coding tools work with Avian?
Avian works with 20+ coding tools including Cursor, Claude Code, Cline, Windsurf, Kilo Code, and Aider. This enables AI-powered coding where Cursor autocomplete feels instant, Claude Code edits land quicker, and coding agents iterate in seconds instead of minutes.
How do I get started with Avian?
Create an Avian account at new.avian.io or sign in, then navigate to the API Key page and click 'New API Key' to generate your key. Save it safely and do not share it. Add prepaid credits starting at $50, then change your OpenAI SDK base URL to https://api.avian.io/v1 and start making requests. Setup takes under 60 seconds.
Does Avian offer dedicated deployments?
Yes. Need guaranteed capacity? Deploy models on dedicated NVIDIA H200 or H100 GPUs with reserved throughput and custom configurations. Contact sales for pricing on dedicated deployments. This is separate from the standard pay-per-token pricing and provides reserved throughput for enterprise workloads.