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WorkThe story, in brief

How fast is 10 tokens per second really?

10 tokens per second sounds fast. Here's what it actually means for your AI infrastructure decisions.

Reporting by Simon Willison 1 min brief
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The KeyNews take

Why it matters

A technical deep-dive on token throughput metrics that challenges how companies should evaluate AI model performance and cost efficiency—critical context for infrastructure planning decisions.

The key facts

8 to know

  1. Focus on tokens-per-second as a performance metric

  2. Published by Simon Willison (Datasette creator, influential AI technologist)

  3. Addresses infrastructure evaluation methodology

  4. May 2026 publication date (recent analysis)

  5. Focus on demystifying tokens-per-second as a performance metric

  6. Analysis of perceived vs. actual speed in practical deployments

  7. Relevant to infrastructure decision-making and model selection

  8. Published by Simon Willison (trusted AI technical analyst)

Go to the source

Simon Willisonsimonwillison.net

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