OpenAI vs Groq: LLM APIs Comparison (2026)

An independent side-by-side comparison of OpenAI and Groq for llm apis buyers — pricing, features, integrations, and how often each is cited by major AI engines.

AI Citation Scorecard

How often each is cited by major AI engines when buyers ask llm apis questions. Last 90 days across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude, and Copilot.

OpenAI leads overall — 83% cited vs Groq 17% across 12 probes.
ChatGPT
OpenAILeads
1 / 1 probes
100%
Excellent
Groq
0 / 1 probes
0%
Invisible
Perplexity
OpenAI
1 / 2 probes
50%
Excellent
Groq
1 / 2 probes
50%
Excellent
Gemini
OpenAILeads
1 / 1 probes
100%
Excellent
Groq
0 / 1 probes
0%
Invisible
Claude
OpenAILeads
1 / 1 probes
100%
Excellent
Groq
0 / 1 probes
0%
Invisible
Copilot
OpenAILeads
1 / 1 probes
100%
Excellent
Groq
0 / 1 probes
0%
Invisible
Scale:NoneLowFairStrongExcellent

Probes run hourly; each (engine × query) combo retests every ~3 days.

Pricing

OpenAI
Starting price
$0/month
Free tier
Yes
openai.com ↗
Groq
Starting price
—
Free tier
Yes
groq.com ↗

Key Features

OpenAI
  • ✓Limited access to GPT-5.5 Instant
  • ✓Limited messages and uploads
  • ✓Limited faster image generation
  • ✓Advanced reasoning with GPT-5.5 Thinking
  • ✓Unlimited GPT-5.3 and file uploads
  • ✓5x or 20x more usage
  • ✓Unlimited memory
  • ✓Unlimited subject to abuse guardrails
Groq
  • ✓Fast responses
  • ✓Scalable performance
  • ✓Predictable pricing
  • ✓No surprise inference bills

When to choose OpenAI

Choose OpenAI if your team prioritizes its strengths over Groq's. Full guidance populates as OpenAI's feature data is indexed.

When to choose Groq

Choose Groq if your team prioritizes its strengths over OpenAI's. Full guidance populates as Groq's feature data is indexed.

AI visibility profiles

Is one of these your brand?

Get the full report by email: every llm apis buyer question we ask, which engines name you, and who gets named instead.

OpenAI

openai.com

Groq

groq.com

Free check

Check any brand's AI visibility — free

We ask the buyer questions in this market across ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity and Copilot, and show you who gets named.

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