What is the difference between Microsoft Azure and Salad Cloud?

Microsoft Azure and Salad Cloud 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: Microsoft Azure or Salad Cloud?

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 Microsoft Azure and Salad Cloud?

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 25 different GPU models across both Microsoft Azure and Salad Cloud, with 0 models available from both providers.

Microsoft Azure vs Salad Cloud GPU Cloud Pricing 2026

GPU Pricing Comparison

Total GPUs: 25Both available: 0Microsoft Azure: 6Salad Cloud: 19

Showing 15 of 25 GPUs

Last updated: 4/30/2026, 2:57:07 AM

GPU Model ↑	Microsoft Azure Price	Salad Cloud Price	Price Diff ↕	Sources
A10 24GB VRAM • Microsoft Azure	$0.59/hr★ Best	Not Available	—	Microsoft Azure
A10 24GB VRAM • Microsoft Azure $0.59/hour Updated: 4/27/2026 ★Best Price Not Available Microsoft Azure
A100 PCIE 40GB VRAM • Microsoft Azure	$0.68/hr★ Best	Not Available	—	Microsoft Azure
A100 PCIE 40GB VRAM • Microsoft Azure $0.68/hour Updated: 4/27/2026 ★Best Price Not Available Microsoft Azure
A100 SXM 80GB VRAM • Microsoft Azure	$0.75/hr★ Best 8x GPU	Not Available	—	Microsoft Azure
A100 SXM 80GB VRAM • Microsoft Azure $0.75/hour 8x GPU configuration Updated: 4/27/2026 ★Best Price Not Available Microsoft Azure
H100 SXM 80GB VRAM • Microsoft Azure	$2.27/hr★ Best 8x GPU	Not Available	—	Microsoft Azure
H100 SXM 80GB VRAM • Microsoft Azure $2.27/hour 8x GPU configuration Updated: 4/27/2026 ★Best Price Not Available Microsoft Azure
RTX 3070 8GB VRAM • Salad Cloud	Not Available	$0.04/hr★ Best	—	Salad API
RTX 3070 8GB VRAM • Not Available Salad Cloud $0.04/hour Updated: 4/29/2026 ★Best Price Salad API
RTX 3070 Ti 8GB VRAM • Salad Cloud	Not Available	$0.06/hr★ Best	—	Salad API
RTX 3070 Ti 8GB VRAM • Not Available Salad Cloud $0.06/hour Updated: 4/29/2026 ★Best Price Salad API
RTX 3080 10GB VRAM • Salad Cloud	Not Available	$0.06/hr★ Best	—	Salad API
RTX 3080 10GB VRAM • Not Available Salad Cloud $0.06/hour Updated: 4/29/2026 ★Best Price Salad API
RTX 3080 Ti 12GB VRAM • Salad Cloud	Not Available	$0.08/hr★ Best	—	Salad API
RTX 3080 Ti 12GB VRAM • Not Available Salad Cloud $0.08/hour Updated: 4/29/2026 ★Best Price Salad API
RTX 3090 24GB VRAM • Salad Cloud	Not Available	$0.09/hr★ Best	—	Salad API
RTX 3090 24GB VRAM • Not Available Salad Cloud $0.09/hour Updated: 4/29/2026 ★Best Price Salad API
RTX 3090 Ti 24GB VRAM • Salad Cloud	Not Available	$0.10/hr★ Best	—	Salad API
RTX 3090 Ti 24GB VRAM • Not Available Salad Cloud $0.10/hour Updated: 4/29/2026 ★Best Price Salad API
RTX 4060 Ti 8GB VRAM • Salad Cloud	Not Available	$0.08/hr★ Best	—	Salad API
RTX 4060 Ti 8GB VRAM • Not Available Salad Cloud $0.08/hour Updated: 4/29/2026 ★Best Price Salad API
RTX 4070 12GB VRAM • Salad Cloud	Not Available	$0.07/hr★ Best	—	Salad API
RTX 4070 12GB VRAM • Not Available Salad Cloud $0.07/hour Updated: 4/29/2026 ★Best Price Salad API
RTX 4070 Ti 12GB VRAM • Salad Cloud	Not Available	$0.08/hr★ Best	—	Salad API
RTX 4070 Ti 12GB VRAM • Not Available Salad Cloud $0.08/hour Updated: 4/29/2026 ★Best Price Salad API
RTX 4070 Ti SUPER 16GB VRAM • Salad Cloud	Not Available	$0.09/hr★ Best	—	Salad API
RTX 4070 Ti SUPER 16GB VRAM • Not Available Salad Cloud $0.09/hour Updated: 4/29/2026 ★Best Price Salad API
RTX 4080 16GB VRAM • Salad Cloud	Not Available	$0.11/hr★ Best	—	Salad API
RTX 4080 16GB VRAM • Not Available Salad Cloud $0.11/hour Updated: 4/29/2026 ★Best Price Salad API

A10 24GB VRAM • Microsoft Azure	$0.59/hr★ Best	Not Available	—	Microsoft Azure
A10 24GB VRAM • Microsoft Azure $0.59/hour Updated: 4/27/2026 ★Best Price Not Available Microsoft Azure
A100 PCIE 40GB VRAM • Microsoft Azure	$0.68/hr★ Best	Not Available	—	Microsoft Azure
A100 PCIE 40GB VRAM • Microsoft Azure $0.68/hour Updated: 4/27/2026 ★Best Price Not Available Microsoft Azure
A100 SXM 80GB VRAM • Microsoft Azure	$0.75/hr★ Best 8x GPU	Not Available	—	Microsoft Azure
A100 SXM 80GB VRAM • Microsoft Azure $0.75/hour 8x GPU configuration Updated: 4/27/2026 ★Best Price Not Available Microsoft Azure
H100 SXM 80GB VRAM • Microsoft Azure	$2.27/hr★ Best 8x GPU	Not Available	—	Microsoft Azure
H100 SXM 80GB VRAM • Microsoft Azure $2.27/hour 8x GPU configuration Updated: 4/27/2026 ★Best Price Not Available Microsoft Azure
RTX 3070 8GB VRAM • Salad Cloud	Not Available	$0.04/hr★ Best	—	Salad API
RTX 3070 8GB VRAM • Not Available Salad Cloud $0.04/hour Updated: 4/29/2026 ★Best Price Salad API
RTX 3070 Ti 8GB VRAM • Salad Cloud	Not Available	$0.06/hr★ Best	—	Salad API
RTX 3070 Ti 8GB VRAM • Not Available Salad Cloud $0.06/hour Updated: 4/29/2026 ★Best Price Salad API
RTX 3080 10GB VRAM • Salad Cloud	Not Available	$0.06/hr★ Best	—	Salad API
RTX 3080 10GB VRAM • Not Available Salad Cloud $0.06/hour Updated: 4/29/2026 ★Best Price Salad API
RTX 3080 Ti 12GB VRAM • Salad Cloud	Not Available	$0.08/hr★ Best	—	Salad API
RTX 3080 Ti 12GB VRAM • Not Available Salad Cloud $0.08/hour Updated: 4/29/2026 ★Best Price Salad API
RTX 3090 24GB VRAM • Salad Cloud	Not Available	$0.09/hr★ Best	—	Salad API
RTX 3090 24GB VRAM • Not Available Salad Cloud $0.09/hour Updated: 4/29/2026 ★Best Price Salad API
RTX 3090 Ti 24GB VRAM • Salad Cloud	Not Available	$0.10/hr★ Best	—	Salad API
RTX 3090 Ti 24GB VRAM • Not Available Salad Cloud $0.10/hour Updated: 4/29/2026 ★Best Price Salad API
RTX 4060 Ti 8GB VRAM • Salad Cloud	Not Available	$0.08/hr★ Best	—	Salad API
RTX 4060 Ti 8GB VRAM • Not Available Salad Cloud $0.08/hour Updated: 4/29/2026 ★Best Price Salad API
RTX 4070 12GB VRAM • Salad Cloud	Not Available	$0.07/hr★ Best	—	Salad API
RTX 4070 12GB VRAM • Not Available Salad Cloud $0.07/hour Updated: 4/29/2026 ★Best Price Salad API
RTX 4070 Ti 12GB VRAM • Salad Cloud	Not Available	$0.08/hr★ Best	—	Salad API
RTX 4070 Ti 12GB VRAM • Not Available Salad Cloud $0.08/hour Updated: 4/29/2026 ★Best Price Salad API
RTX 4070 Ti SUPER 16GB VRAM • Salad Cloud	Not Available	$0.09/hr★ Best	—	Salad API
RTX 4070 Ti SUPER 16GB VRAM • Not Available Salad Cloud $0.09/hour Updated: 4/29/2026 ★Best Price Salad API
RTX 4080 16GB VRAM • Salad Cloud	Not Available	$0.11/hr★ Best	—	Salad API
RTX 4080 16GB VRAM • Not Available Salad Cloud $0.11/hour Updated: 4/29/2026 ★Best Price Salad API

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

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

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

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

Salad Cloud

Get Started

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.