Microsoft Azure vs Salad Cloud
Compare GPU pricing, features, and specifications between Microsoft Azure and Salad Cloud cloud providers. Find the best deals for AI training, inference, and ML workloads.
Microsoft Azure
Provider 1
Salad Cloud
Provider 2
Comparison Overview
GPU Pricing Comparison
| GPU Model ↑ | Microsoft Azure Price | Salad Cloud Price | Price Diff ↕ | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|
A100 SXM 80GB VRAM • Salad Cloud | Not Available |  $3.20/hr★ Best | — | |
A100 SXM 80GB VRAM • | ||||
L40S 48GB VRAM • Salad Cloud | Not Available | $2.56/hr★ Best | — | |
L40S 48GB VRAM • | ||||
RTX 3070 8GB VRAM • Salad Cloud | Not Available | $0.04/hr★ Best | — | |
RTX 3070 8GB VRAM • | ||||
RTX 3070 Ti 8GB VRAM • Salad Cloud | Not Available | $0.06/hr★ Best | — | |
RTX 3070 Ti 8GB VRAM • | ||||
RTX 3080 10GB VRAM • Salad Cloud | Not Available | $0.06/hr★ Best | — | |
RTX 3080 10GB VRAM • | ||||
RTX 3080 Ti 12GB VRAM • Salad Cloud | Not Available | $0.08/hr★ Best | — | |
RTX 3080 Ti 12GB VRAM • | ||||
RTX 3090 24GB VRAM • Salad Cloud | Not Available | $0.09/hr★ Best | — | |
RTX 3090 24GB VRAM • | ||||
RTX 3090 Ti 24GB VRAM • Salad Cloud | Not Available | $0.10/hr★ Best | — | |
RTX 3090 Ti 24GB VRAM • | ||||
RTX 4060 Ti 8GB VRAM • Salad Cloud | Not Available | $0.08/hr★ Best | — | |
RTX 4060 Ti 8GB VRAM • | ||||
RTX 4070 12GB VRAM • Salad Cloud | Not Available | $0.07/hr★ Best | — | |
RTX 4070 12GB VRAM • | ||||
RTX 4070 Ti 12GB VRAM • Salad Cloud | Not Available | $0.08/hr★ Best | — | |
RTX 4070 Ti 12GB VRAM • | ||||
RTX 4070 Ti SUPER 16GB VRAM • Salad Cloud | Not Available | $0.09/hr★ Best | — | |
RTX 4070 Ti SUPER 16GB VRAM • | ||||
RTX 4080 16GB VRAM • Salad Cloud | Not Available | $0.11/hr★ Best | — | |
RTX 4080 16GB VRAM • | ||||
RTX 4090 24GB VRAM • Salad Cloud | Not Available | $0.16/hr★ Best | — | |
RTX 4090 24GB VRAM • | ||||
RTX A5000 24GB VRAM • Salad Cloud | Not Available | $0.09/hr★ Best | — | |
RTX A5000 24GB VRAM • | ||||
A100 SXM 80GB VRAM • Salad Cloud | Not Available | $3.20/hr★ Best | — | |
A100 SXM 80GB VRAM • | ||||
L40S 48GB VRAM • Salad Cloud | Not Available | $2.56/hr★ Best | — | |
L40S 48GB VRAM • | ||||
RTX 3070 8GB VRAM • Salad Cloud | Not Available | $0.04/hr★ Best | — | |
RTX 3070 8GB VRAM • | ||||
RTX 3070 Ti 8GB VRAM • Salad Cloud | Not Available | $0.06/hr★ Best | — | |
RTX 3070 Ti 8GB VRAM • | ||||
RTX 3080 10GB VRAM • Salad Cloud | Not Available | $0.06/hr★ Best | — | |
RTX 3080 10GB VRAM • | ||||
RTX 3080 Ti 12GB VRAM • Salad Cloud | Not Available | $0.08/hr★ Best | — | |
RTX 3080 Ti 12GB VRAM • | ||||
RTX 3090 24GB VRAM • Salad Cloud | Not Available | $0.09/hr★ Best | — | |
RTX 3090 24GB VRAM • | ||||
RTX 3090 Ti 24GB VRAM • Salad Cloud | Not Available | $0.10/hr★ Best | — | |
RTX 3090 Ti 24GB VRAM • | ||||
RTX 4060 Ti 8GB VRAM • Salad Cloud | Not Available | $0.08/hr★ Best | — | |
RTX 4060 Ti 8GB VRAM • | ||||
RTX 4070 12GB VRAM • Salad Cloud | Not Available | $0.07/hr★ Best | — | |
RTX 4070 12GB VRAM • | ||||
RTX 4070 Ti 12GB VRAM • Salad Cloud | Not Available | $0.08/hr★ Best | — | |
RTX 4070 Ti 12GB VRAM • | ||||
RTX 4070 Ti SUPER 16GB VRAM • Salad Cloud | Not Available | $0.09/hr★ Best | — | |
RTX 4070 Ti SUPER 16GB VRAM • | ||||
RTX 4080 16GB VRAM • Salad Cloud | Not Available | $0.11/hr★ Best | — | |
RTX 4080 16GB VRAM • | ||||
RTX 4090 24GB VRAM • Salad Cloud | Not Available | $0.16/hr★ Best | — | |
RTX 4090 24GB VRAM • | ||||
RTX A5000 24GB VRAM • Salad Cloud | Not Available | $0.09/hr★ Best | — | |
RTX A5000 24GB VRAM • | ||||
Features Comparison
Microsoft Azure
- Azure AI
Comprehensive suite of AI services and tools for building intelligent 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
Salad Cloud
- Community GPU Pool
Community-powered consumer GPUs for stateless and high-volume workloads with very competitive pricing.
- Secure GPU Clusters
Data center-grade A100, L40S, and H100 NVL capacity with managed orchestration for compliant workloads.
- Managed Container Engine
Deploy containers without managing nodes; scale replicas across thousands of GPUs via the Salad portal.
- Transparent Pricing Calculator
Public pricing calculator shows hourly rates for all GPU types across both Community and Secure tiers.
- Developer Hub & Docs
Portal access, Developer Hub, and product documentation at docs.salad.com.
Pros & Cons
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
Salad Cloud
Advantages
- Very competitive GPU pricing across both community and secure tiers
- Mix of community GPUs and secure data center clusters with A100/L40S/H100 options
- Managed container engine reduces infrastructure and orchestration overhead
- Developer portal, calculator, and docs make costs and deployment steps clear
Considerations
- Community GPU pool is best for stateless or fault-tolerant workloads where node variability is acceptable
- Secure tier GPU lineup is limited to the published SKUs (H100 NVL, A100, L40S) and 8x cluster configurations
Compute Services
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
Salad Cloud
Salad Container Engine - Secure
Managed container orchestration on data center GPUs such as H100 NVL, A100, and L40S with competitive hourly pricing.
Salad Container Engine - Community
Community-powered GPU pool for flexible, stateless workloads with very competitive pricing.
Pricing Options
Microsoft Azure
Pay-as-you-go
Flexible pricing with no upfront commitment
Reserved VM Instances
Save up to 72% with 1 or 3-year commitments
Spot VMs
Up to 90% savings for interruptible workloads
Azure Hybrid Benefit
Cost savings for existing Windows Server and SQL Server licenses
Salad Cloud
Community GPU Pricing
Extremely cost-effective community tier with consumer GPUs for stateless and fault-tolerant workloads.
Secure Tier Pricing
Competitive hourly rates for data center-grade H100 NVL, A100, and L40S GPUs with managed orchestration.
On-demand, no contracts
Hourly billing via the Salad portal and calculator with no prepayments or long-term commitments required.
Transparent pricing calculator
Public pricing calculator available showing all GPU types and hourly rates across both tiers.
Getting Started
Microsoft Azure
- 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
Salad Cloud
- 1
Create a SaladCloud account
Sign up and log in at portal.salad.com to access the dashboard and calculator.
- 2
Choose a container engine tier
Pick Community for the lowest-cost consumer GPUs or Secure for data center-grade H100/A100/L40S clusters.
- 3
Select GPU type and replicas
Use the pricing calculator to pick a GPU SKU (e.g., L40S, A100, H100 NVL) and set the number of replicas.
- 4
Deploy your container
Provide your image, command, and environment settings, then launch via the portal or API.
- 5
Monitor and iterate
Track deployments and status in the portal; adjust replicas or GPU class as needed.
Support & Global Availability
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.
Salad Cloud
Global Regions
Distributed global community GPU network with secure data center clusters (locations not explicitly listed on public pages).
Support
Documentation and Developer Hub at docs.salad.com, portal dashboards with a status page, community Discord, and sales contact for secure clusters.
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