What is the difference between Akamai Cloud and Microsoft Azure?

Akamai Cloud and Microsoft Azure are both cloud GPU providers offering different pricing models, features, and GPU availability. Use our comparison tool to see real-time pricing and feature differences.

Which is cheaper: Akamai Cloud or Microsoft Azure?

Pricing varies by GPU model and usage requirements. Check our real-time comparison table to find the best deals for your specific needs.

Can I switch between Akamai Cloud and Microsoft Azure?

Yes, both providers offer flexible cloud GPU services. However, consider factors like data transfer costs, setup time, and specific features when switching between providers.

How many GPU models are available for comparison?

We track pricing for 9 different GPU models across both Akamai Cloud and Microsoft Azure, with 0 models available from both providers.

Akamai Cloud vs Microsoft Azure

Compare GPU and LLM inference API pricing between Akamai Cloud and Microsoft Azure. Find the best rates for AI training, inference, and ML workloads.

Akamai Cloud

Provider 1

GPUs Available

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Microsoft Azure

Provider 2

GPUs Available

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Comparison Overview

Total GPU Models

Akamai Cloud GPUs

Microsoft Azure GPUs

Direct Comparisons

GPU Pricing Comparison

Total GPUs: 9Both available: 0Akamai Cloud: 3Microsoft Azure: 6

Showing 9 of 9 GPUs

Last updated: 9/25/2026, 12:56:35 AM

GPU Model ↑	Akamai Cloud Price	Microsoft Azure Price	Price Diff ↕	Sources
A100 SXM 80GB VRAM • Microsoft Azure	Not Available	$3.67/hr★ Best	—	Azure Retail Prices API
A100 SXM 80GB VRAM • Not Available Microsoft Azure $3.67/hour Updated: 9/24/2026 ★Best Price Azure Retail Prices API
H100 NVL 94GB VRAM • Microsoft Azure	Not Available	$6.98/hr★ Best	—	Azure Retail Prices API
H100 NVL 94GB VRAM • Not Available Microsoft Azure $6.98/hour Updated: 9/24/2026 ★Best Price Azure Retail Prices API
H100 SXM 80GB VRAM • Microsoft Azure	Not Available	$11.06/hr★ Best 8x GPU	—	Azure Retail Prices API
H100 SXM 80GB VRAM • Not Available Microsoft Azure $11.06/hour 8x GPU configuration Updated: 9/24/2026 ★Best Price Azure Retail Prices API
H200 141GB VRAM • Microsoft Azure	Not Available	$10.60/hr★ Best 8x GPU	—	Azure Retail Prices API
H200 141GB VRAM • Not Available Microsoft Azure $10.60/hour 8x GPU configuration Updated: 9/24/2026 ★Best Price Azure Retail Prices API
MI300X 192GB VRAM • Microsoft Azure	Not Available	$6.00/hr★ Best 8x GPU	—	Azure Retail Prices API
MI300X 192GB VRAM • Not Available Microsoft Azure $6.00/hour 8x GPU configuration Updated: 9/24/2026 ★Best Price Azure Retail Prices API
Quadro RTX 6000 24GB VRAM • Akamai Cloud	$1.50/hr★ Best	Not Available	—	Akamai Cloud
Quadro RTX 6000 24GB VRAM • Akamai Cloud $1.50/hour Updated: 9/22/2026 ★Best Price Not Available Akamai Cloud
RTX 4000 Ada 20GB VRAM • Akamai Cloud	$0.52/hr★ Best	Not Available	—	Akamai Cloud
RTX 4000 Ada 20GB VRAM • Akamai Cloud $0.52/hour Updated: 9/22/2026 ★Best Price Not Available Akamai Cloud
RTX PRO 6000 96GB VRAM • Akamai Cloud	$3.00/hr★ Best	Not Available	—	Akamai Cloud
RTX PRO 6000 96GB VRAM • Akamai Cloud $3.00/hour Updated: 9/22/2026 ★Best Price Not Available Akamai Cloud
Tesla T4 16GB VRAM • Microsoft Azure	Not Available	$0.34/hr★ Best	—	Azure Retail Prices API
Tesla T4 16GB VRAM • Not Available Microsoft Azure $0.34/hour Updated: 9/24/2026 ★Best Price Azure Retail Prices API

A100 SXM 80GB VRAM • Microsoft Azure	Not Available	$3.67/hr★ Best	—	Azure Retail Prices API
A100 SXM 80GB VRAM • Not Available Microsoft Azure $3.67/hour Updated: 9/24/2026 ★Best Price Azure Retail Prices API
H100 NVL 94GB VRAM • Microsoft Azure	Not Available	$6.98/hr★ Best	—	Azure Retail Prices API
H100 NVL 94GB VRAM • Not Available Microsoft Azure $6.98/hour Updated: 9/24/2026 ★Best Price Azure Retail Prices API
H100 SXM 80GB VRAM • Microsoft Azure	Not Available	$11.06/hr★ Best 8x GPU	—	Azure Retail Prices API
H100 SXM 80GB VRAM • Not Available Microsoft Azure $11.06/hour 8x GPU configuration Updated: 9/24/2026 ★Best Price Azure Retail Prices API
H200 141GB VRAM • Microsoft Azure	Not Available	$10.60/hr★ Best 8x GPU	—	Azure Retail Prices API
H200 141GB VRAM • Not Available Microsoft Azure $10.60/hour 8x GPU configuration Updated: 9/24/2026 ★Best Price Azure Retail Prices API
MI300X 192GB VRAM • Microsoft Azure	Not Available	$6.00/hr★ Best 8x GPU	—	Azure Retail Prices API
MI300X 192GB VRAM • Not Available Microsoft Azure $6.00/hour 8x GPU configuration Updated: 9/24/2026 ★Best Price Azure Retail Prices API
Quadro RTX 6000 24GB VRAM • Akamai Cloud	$1.50/hr★ Best	Not Available	—	Akamai Cloud
Quadro RTX 6000 24GB VRAM • Akamai Cloud $1.50/hour Updated: 9/22/2026 ★Best Price Not Available Akamai Cloud
RTX 4000 Ada 20GB VRAM • Akamai Cloud	$0.52/hr★ Best	Not Available	—	Akamai Cloud
RTX 4000 Ada 20GB VRAM • Akamai Cloud $0.52/hour Updated: 9/22/2026 ★Best Price Not Available Akamai Cloud
RTX PRO 6000 96GB VRAM • Akamai Cloud	$3.00/hr★ Best	Not Available	—	Akamai Cloud
RTX PRO 6000 96GB VRAM • Akamai Cloud $3.00/hour Updated: 9/22/2026 ★Best Price Not Available Akamai Cloud
Tesla T4 16GB VRAM • Microsoft Azure	Not Available	$0.34/hr★ Best	—	Azure Retail Prices API
Tesla T4 16GB VRAM • Not Available Microsoft Azure $0.34/hour Updated: 9/24/2026 ★Best Price Azure Retail Prices API

LLM API Pricing Comparison

Total models: 9Both available: 0Akamai Cloud: 0Microsoft Azure: 9

Showing 9 of 9 models

Prices per 1M tokens · Last updated: 9/25/2026, 12:56:35 AM

Model ↑	Akamai Cloud	Microsoft Azure	Input Diff ↕
GPT-4.1 OpenAI	Not available	$2.00 in $8.00 out	—
GPT-4o OpenAI	Not available	$2.50 in $10.00 out	—
GPT-4o mini OpenAI	Not available	$0.150 in $0.600 out	—
GPT-5.4 OpenAI	Not available	$2.50 in $15.00 out	—
GPT-5.5 OpenAI	Not available	$5.00 in $30.00 out	—
GPT-5.6 Sol OpenAI	Not available	$4.00 in $20.00 out	—
GPT-6 Astra OpenAI	Not available	$10.00 in $50.00 out	—
o3 OpenAI	Not available	$2.00 in $8.00 out	—
o4-mini OpenAI	Not available	$1.10 in $4.40 out	—

Features Comparison

Akamai Cloud

RTX-Class GPU Plans
Workstation and Blackwell-generation RTX cards exposed as predictable GPU Linodes
Global Akamai Backbone
GPU instances available across the broader Akamai compute and CDN footprint
Predictable Monthly Pricing
Flat monthly pricing on GPU Linodes with hourly fallback

Microsoft Azure

Microsoft Foundry
Unified AI platform with a catalog of models, agents, and tools for building and governing AI applications
Enterprise Integration
Seamless integration with Microsoft ecosystem and enterprise tools
Hybrid Capabilities
Strong hybrid and multi-cloud support with Azure Arc
Advanced Security
Industry-leading security features and compliance certifications
Global Scale
Extensive worldwide network of data centers and edge locations

Pros & Cons

Akamai Cloud

Advantages

Predictable flat-rate pricing model
Global region coverage inherited from the Akamai network
Blackwell-generation RTX PRO 6000 available alongside older RTX SKUs

Considerations

Catalog focused on RTX cards; H100/H200/B200 are not part of the public lineup
Limited multi-GPU and large-cluster offerings versus dedicated neoclouds
Less optimized for frontier-scale training

Microsoft Azure

Advantages

Strong enterprise integration and support
Comprehensive AI and machine learning services
Advanced security and compliance features
Extensive hybrid cloud capabilities

Considerations

Complex pricing and billing structure
Can be expensive for certain workloads
Steeper learning curve for new users

Compute Services

Akamai Cloud

Microsoft Azure

Azure Virtual Machines

GPU-enabled VMs for various workloads

Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)

Managed Kubernetes service with GPU support

Integrated GPU node pools
Automated scaling and updates

Azure Machine Learning

End-to-end ML platform with GPU acceleration

Automated ML capabilities
Integrated MLOps

Pricing Options

Akamai Cloud

Monthly GPU Linodes

Flat monthly pricing for GPU-equipped virtual machines

Hourly Billing

Hourly billing fallback when instances run for less than a month

Microsoft Azure

Pay as you go

Pay for compute capacity by the second, with no long-term commitments or upfront payments

Reserved VM Instances

Significant cost reduction versus pay-as-you-go rates in exchange for a one-year or three-year term; suited to stable, predictable workloads

Spot VMs

Unused Azure compute capacity at deep discounts for interruptible workloads

Azure Hybrid Benefit

Cost savings for existing Windows Server and SQL Server licenses

Azure savings plan for compute

Save money across select compute services globally by committing to spend a fixed hourly amount for 1 or 3 years

Getting Started

Akamai Cloud

Get Started

1
Create an account
Sign up at the Akamai Cloud / Linode console
2
Choose a GPU Linode plan
Select RTX 4000 Ada, Quadro RTX 6000 or RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell with the desired GPU count
3
Deploy and connect
Provision the instance via console, CLI or API and connect over SSH

Microsoft Azure

Get Started

1
Create an Azure account
Sign up for Azure and get started with free credits
2
Set up your environment
Configure your subscription, resource groups, and access controls
3
Choose compute services
Select from VMs, containers, or serverless based on your needs
4
Deploy resources
Launch your first GPU-enabled instance or AI service

Support & Global Availability

Akamai Cloud

Global Regions

Global region coverage across North America, Europe, Asia and Australia

Support

Documentation, community resources and 24/7 paid support tiers

Microsoft Azure

Global Regions

60+ regions worldwide with multiple availability zones

Support

Basic, Developer, Standard, and Professional Direct support plans with 24/7 options. Extensive documentation and community resources.