What is the difference between Crusoe and Thunder Compute?

Crusoe and Thunder Compute 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: Crusoe or Thunder Compute?

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 Crusoe and Thunder Compute?

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 6 different GPU models across both Crusoe and Thunder Compute, with 0 models available from both providers.

Crusoe vs Thunder Compute GPU & LLM API Pricing 2026

GPU Pricing Comparison

Total GPUs: 6Both available: 2Crusoe: 6Thunder Compute: 2

Showing 6 of 6 GPUs

Last updated: 8/18/2026, 5:56:51 PM

GPU Model ↑	Crusoe Price	Thunder Compute Price	Price Diff ↕	Sources
A100 SXM 80GB VRAM • CrusoeThunder Compute	$1.45/hr	$0.84/hr★ Best	↑+$0.61(+72.6%)	Shadeform API Thunder Compute
A100 SXM 80GB VRAM • Crusoe $1.45/hour Updated: 8/18/2026 Thunder Compute $0.84/hour Updated: 8/14/2026 ★Best Price Price Difference:↑+$0.61(+72.6%) Shadeform API Thunder Compute
A40 48GB VRAM • Crusoe	$1.10/hr★ Best	Not Available	—	Shadeform API
A40 48GB VRAM • Crusoe $1.10/hour Updated: 8/18/2026 ★Best Price Not Available Shadeform API
H100 SXM 80GB VRAM • CrusoeThunder Compute	$5.50/hr	$1.99/hr★ Best	↑+$3.51(+176.4%)	Crusoe Thunder Compute
H100 SXM 80GB VRAM • Crusoe $5.50/hour Updated: 8/17/2026 Thunder Compute $1.99/hour Updated: 8/14/2026 ★Best Price Price Difference:↑+$3.51(+176.4%) Crusoe Thunder Compute
H200 141GB VRAM • Crusoe	$6.00/hr★ Best	Not Available	—	Crusoe
H200 141GB VRAM • Crusoe $6.00/hour Updated: 8/17/2026 ★Best Price Not Available Crusoe
L40S 48GB VRAM • Crusoe	$1.45/hr★ Best	Not Available	—	Shadeform API
L40S 48GB VRAM • Crusoe $1.45/hour Updated: 8/18/2026 ★Best Price Not Available Shadeform API
MI300X 192GB VRAM • Crusoe	$3.45/hr★ Best	Not Available	—	Crusoe
MI300X 192GB VRAM • Crusoe $3.45/hour Updated: 8/17/2026 ★Best Price Not Available Crusoe

A100 SXM 80GB VRAM • CrusoeThunder Compute	$1.45/hr	$0.84/hr★ Best	↑+$0.61(+72.6%)	Shadeform API Thunder Compute
A100 SXM 80GB VRAM • Crusoe $1.45/hour Updated: 8/18/2026 Thunder Compute $0.84/hour Updated: 8/14/2026 ★Best Price Price Difference:↑+$0.61(+72.6%) Shadeform API Thunder Compute
A40 48GB VRAM • Crusoe	$1.10/hr★ Best	Not Available	—	Shadeform API
A40 48GB VRAM • Crusoe $1.10/hour Updated: 8/18/2026 ★Best Price Not Available Shadeform API
H100 SXM 80GB VRAM • CrusoeThunder Compute	$5.50/hr	$1.99/hr★ Best	↑+$3.51(+176.4%)	Crusoe Thunder Compute
H100 SXM 80GB VRAM • Crusoe $5.50/hour Updated: 8/17/2026 Thunder Compute $1.99/hour Updated: 8/14/2026 ★Best Price Price Difference:↑+$3.51(+176.4%) Crusoe Thunder Compute
H200 141GB VRAM • Crusoe	$6.00/hr★ Best	Not Available	—	Crusoe
H200 141GB VRAM • Crusoe $6.00/hour Updated: 8/17/2026 ★Best Price Not Available Crusoe
L40S 48GB VRAM • Crusoe	$1.45/hr★ Best	Not Available	—	Shadeform API
L40S 48GB VRAM • Crusoe $1.45/hour Updated: 8/18/2026 ★Best Price Not Available Shadeform API
MI300X 192GB VRAM • Crusoe	$3.45/hr★ Best	Not Available	—	Crusoe
MI300X 192GB VRAM • Crusoe $3.45/hour Updated: 8/17/2026 ★Best Price Not Available Crusoe

LLM API Pricing Comparison

Total models: 13Both available: 0Crusoe: 13Thunder Compute: 0

Showing 13 of 13 models

Prices per 1M tokens · Last updated: 8/18/2026, 5:56:51 PM

Model ↑	Crusoe	Thunder Compute	Input Diff ↕
DeepSeek V3 DeepSeek	$0.500 in $1.50 out	Not available	—
DeepSeek V4 Flash DeepSeek	$0.140 in $0.280 out	Not available	—
DeepSeek V4 Pro DeepSeek	$1.74 in $3.48 out	Not available	—
Gemma 4 31B Google	$0.140 in $0.400 out	Not available	—
GLM-5.1 Zhipu	$1.20 in $4.40 out	Not available	—
GLM-5.2 Zhipu	$1.40 in $4.40 out	Not available	—
GPT-OSS-120B OpenAI	$0.050 in $0.200 out	Not available	—
Kimi K2 Moonshot	$0.700 in $3.50 out	Not available	—
Llama 3.3 70B Meta	$0.250 in $0.750 out	Not available	—
Nemotron 3 Nano 30B NVIDIA	$0.050 in $0.200 out	Not available	—
Nemotron 3 Nano Omni 30B A3B Reasoning NVIDIA	$0.300 in $1.83 out	Not available	—
Nemotron 3 Ultra 550B A55B NVIDIA	$1.00 in $3.20 out	Not available	—
Qwen 3 235B Alibaba	$0.220 in $0.800 out	Not available	—

Features Comparison

Crusoe

Energy-First Infrastructure
Vertically integrated power sourcing across wind, solar, hydropower, geothermal, natural gas, and carbon capture
Fast Spin Up
Machines are deployed quickly when they are launched
Persistent Storage
Persistent and shared disks, object storage, and a container registry for AI datasets
SXM Support
Provides instances with NVIDIA SXM GPU interconnects
SLA Guarantee
99.5% uptime commitment backed by 24/7 enterprise-grade support
Managed Inference
LLM inference with up to 9.9x faster time-to-first-token and 5x higher throughput versus vLLM

Thunder Compute

Rapid deployment
Spin up a dedicated cloud GPU in seconds.
Flexible configurations
Customize vCPUs, RAM, and storage.
Networking
Supports 7-10 Gbps networking speeds.
Development tools
Integrated VS Code extension for easier development.
Snapshot capabilities
Ability to take snapshots for later use.

Pros & Cons

Crusoe

Advantages

Great GPU availability for on-demand use
Published hourly on-demand rates for most GPU types
Renewable and low-carbon energy sourcing with vertical integration from power to cloud
99.5% uptime commitment with 24/7 enterprise support

Considerations

Contact sales required for newest GPU models (GB200, B200, MI355X)
Spot capacity is quoted by sales rather than published as a self-service rate
Data center footprint concentrated in the United States with limited European capacity

Thunder Compute

Advantages

User-friendly interface
Quick scaling options
Integrated development environment

Considerations

Limited availability in regions
Potential performance variability depending on load

Compute Services

Crusoe

GPU Instances

High-performance GPU instances powered by NVIDIA GPUs

CPU Instances

General-purpose and storage-optimized CPU instances for data processing

Managed Inference

Fully managed LLM inference spanning serverless, self-serve dedicated, and tailored deployments

Open models including DeepSeek V4, GLM 5.2, Kimi K2.6, Llama 3.3, Gemma 4, Qwen3, GPT-OSS, and Nemotron 3
Serverless Inference billed per million input, output, and cached tokens

Thunder Compute

Pricing Options

Crusoe

On-Demand Instances

Pay by the hour for maximum agility and unthrottled compute

Spot Instances

Use spare capacity at significant discounts compared to on-demand pricing

Reserved Instances

Lock in guaranteed resources at lowest rates with custom commitments

Pay-as-you-go Inference

Flexible pricing for LLM inference based on token usage

Provisioned Throughput

Guaranteed inference capacity with AI Model Units, priced lower for longer commitments

Dedicated Inference Deployments

Hourly per-GPU pricing for self-serve dedicated endpoints, with monthly and volume rates via sales

Serverless Fine-Tuning

Per-token pricing tiered by the parameter count of the base model being tuned

Thunder Compute

Getting Started

Crusoe

Get Started

1
Create an account
Sign up for Crusoe Cloud services through their website
2
Select GPU instance
Choose from available GPU types including L40S, A100, H100, H200, B200, GB200, and AMD options
3
Configure storage
Set up persistent storage options for your workloads
4
Launch instance
Deploy via the console, or provision programmatically with the Crusoe CLI or Terraform

Thunder Compute

Get Started

1
Create an account
Sign up for an account on the Thunder Compute platform.
2
Choose a template
Select a pre-built template for your AI workflow.
3
Customize your setup
Adjust the vCPUs, RAM, and storage as necessary.
4
Launch your instance
Start your GPU instance with a single click.
5
Connect to your environment
Use the VS Code extension to access your persistent environment.

Support & Global Availability

Crusoe

Global Regions

Data centers sited near low-cost energy in the United States, including a large-scale campus in Abilene, Texas, plus European capacity in Iceland and Norway

Support

Documentation, learning hub, and 24/7 enterprise-grade support with a 99.5% uptime commitment; SOC 2, ISO 27001, and ISO 42001 certifications

Thunder Compute

Global Regions

Available in the US and possibly other regions.

Support

24/7 support via email and chat.