How xAI competes with OpenAI in developer tools
xAI is launching Grok Code Fast 1. This is a compact agentic model for coding. $0.20 for 1 million input tokens, $1.50 for output — and just $0.02 when using cache!
Cursor, Windsurf, Opencode — the model is available in practically every modern coding tool! The last week it was tested under codename sonic, and now it’s open to everyone.
In GitHub Copilot this model is available, as well as for Pro, Pro Plus, Business and Enterprise plans in Visual Studio Code. Gradual release is already launched. Corporate account administrators activate the policy in Copilot settings, and the model appears in the selector for all organization users!
Individual subscribers connect through Bring Your Own Key. You use your own xAI API key and get full access to model capabilities. Choose Manage Models in the selector, specify xAI, enter the key — and Grok Code Fast 1 is at your service!
With input token caching, the price drops to $0.02 for 1 million — that’s 10 times cheaper than the base rate! For comparison — competitors charge dollars for similar volume.
Free access will be open until September 2. After that, standard pricing kicks in.
It’s interesting that xAI is entering the GitHub Copilot ecosystem, directly competing with OpenAI in the AI developer tools market.
