RunPod vs Salad Cloud
Compare GPU pricing, features, and specifications between RunPod and Salad Cloud cloud providers. Find the best deals for AI training, inference, and ML workloads.
RunPod
Provider 1
Salad Cloud
Provider 2
Comparison Overview
Average Price Difference: $1.09/hour between comparable GPUs
GPU Pricing Comparison
| GPU Model ↑ | RunPod Price | Salad Cloud Price | Price Diff ↕ | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|
A100 PCIE 40GB VRAM • RunPod |  $1.89/hr★ Best | Not Available | — | |
A100 PCIE 40GB VRAM • | ||||
A100 SXM 80GB VRAM • RunPodSalad Cloud | $0.79/hr★ Best |  $4.00/hr | ↓$3.21(80.3%) | |
A100 SXM 80GB VRAM • RunPod$0.79/hour Updated: 12/9/2025 ★Best Price Salad Cloud$4.00/hour Updated: 11/18/2025 Price Difference:↓$3.21(80.3%) | ||||
A40 48GB VRAM • RunPod | $0.40/hr★ Best | Not Available | — | |
A40 48GB VRAM • | ||||
B200 192GB VRAM • RunPod | $5.98/hr★ Best | Not Available | — | |
B200 192GB VRAM • | ||||
H100 80GB VRAM • RunPod | $1.35/hr★ Best | Not Available | — | |
H100 80GB VRAM • | ||||
H200 141GB VRAM • RunPod | $3.59/hr★ Best | Not Available | — | |
H200 141GB VRAM • | ||||
L40 40GB VRAM • RunPod | $0.69/hr★ Best | Not Available | — | |
L40 40GB VRAM • | ||||
L40S 48GB VRAM • RunPodSalad Cloud | $0.40/hr★ Best | $2.56/hr | ↓$2.16(84.4%) | |
L40S 48GB VRAM • RunPod$0.40/hour Updated: 12/9/2025 ★Best Price Salad Cloud$2.56/hour Updated: 11/18/2025 Price Difference:↓$2.16(84.4%) | ||||
RTX 3090 24GB VRAM • RunPodSalad Cloud | $0.14/hr | $0.10/hr★ Best | ↑+$0.04(+40.0%) | |
RTX 3090 24GB VRAM • RunPod$0.14/hour Updated: 12/9/2025 Salad Cloud$0.10/hour Updated: 11/18/2025 ★Best Price Price Difference:↑+$0.04(+40.0%) | ||||
RTX 4090 24GB VRAM • RunPodSalad Cloud | $0.20/hr | $0.16/hr★ Best | ↑+$0.04(+25.0%) | |
RTX 4090 24GB VRAM • RunPod$0.20/hour Updated: 12/9/2025 Salad Cloud$0.16/hour Updated: 11/18/2025 ★Best Price Price Difference:↑+$0.04(+25.0%) | ||||
RTX 6000 Ada 48GB VRAM • RunPod | $0.40/hr★ Best | Not Available | — | |
RTX 6000 Ada 48GB VRAM • | ||||
RTX A4000 16GB VRAM • RunPod | $0.09/hr★ Best | Not Available | — | |
RTX A4000 16GB VRAM • | ||||
RTX A5000 24GB VRAM • RunPodSalad Cloud | $0.11/hr | $0.09/hr★ Best | ↑+$0.02(+22.2%) | |
RTX A5000 24GB VRAM • RunPod$0.11/hour Updated: 12/9/2025 Salad Cloud$0.09/hour Updated: 11/18/2025 ★Best Price Price Difference:↑+$0.02(+22.2%) | ||||
RTX A6000 48GB VRAM • RunPod | $0.25/hr★ Best | Not Available | — | |
RTX A6000 48GB VRAM • | ||||
Tesla V100 32GB VRAM • RunPod | $0.17/hr★ Best | Not Available | — | |
Tesla V100 32GB VRAM • | ||||
A100 PCIE 40GB VRAM • RunPod | $1.89/hr★ Best | Not Available | — | |
A100 PCIE 40GB VRAM • | ||||
A100 SXM 80GB VRAM • RunPodSalad Cloud | $0.79/hr★ Best | $4.00/hr | ↓$3.21(80.3%) | |
A100 SXM 80GB VRAM • RunPod$0.79/hour Updated: 12/9/2025 ★Best Price Salad Cloud$4.00/hour Updated: 11/18/2025 Price Difference:↓$3.21(80.3%) | ||||
A40 48GB VRAM • RunPod | $0.40/hr★ Best | Not Available | — | |
A40 48GB VRAM • | ||||
B200 192GB VRAM • RunPod | $5.98/hr★ Best | Not Available | — | |
B200 192GB VRAM • | ||||
H100 80GB VRAM • RunPod | $1.35/hr★ Best | Not Available | — | |
H100 80GB VRAM • | ||||
H200 141GB VRAM • RunPod | $3.59/hr★ Best | Not Available | — | |
H200 141GB VRAM • | ||||
L40 40GB VRAM • RunPod | $0.69/hr★ Best | Not Available | — | |
L40 40GB VRAM • | ||||
L40S 48GB VRAM • RunPodSalad Cloud | $0.40/hr★ Best | $2.56/hr | ↓$2.16(84.4%) | |
L40S 48GB VRAM • RunPod$0.40/hour Updated: 12/9/2025 ★Best Price Salad Cloud$2.56/hour Updated: 11/18/2025 Price Difference:↓$2.16(84.4%) | ||||
RTX 3090 24GB VRAM • RunPodSalad Cloud | $0.14/hr | $0.10/hr★ Best | ↑+$0.04(+40.0%) | |
RTX 3090 24GB VRAM • RunPod$0.14/hour Updated: 12/9/2025 Salad Cloud$0.10/hour Updated: 11/18/2025 ★Best Price Price Difference:↑+$0.04(+40.0%) | ||||
RTX 4090 24GB VRAM • RunPodSalad Cloud | $0.20/hr | $0.16/hr★ Best | ↑+$0.04(+25.0%) | |
RTX 4090 24GB VRAM • RunPod$0.20/hour Updated: 12/9/2025 Salad Cloud$0.16/hour Updated: 11/18/2025 ★Best Price Price Difference:↑+$0.04(+25.0%) | ||||
RTX 6000 Ada 48GB VRAM • RunPod | $0.40/hr★ Best | Not Available | — | |
RTX 6000 Ada 48GB VRAM • | ||||
RTX A4000 16GB VRAM • RunPod | $0.09/hr★ Best | Not Available | — | |
RTX A4000 16GB VRAM • | ||||
RTX A5000 24GB VRAM • RunPodSalad Cloud | $0.11/hr | $0.09/hr★ Best | ↑+$0.02(+22.2%) | |
RTX A5000 24GB VRAM • RunPod$0.11/hour Updated: 12/9/2025 Salad Cloud$0.09/hour Updated: 11/18/2025 ★Best Price Price Difference:↑+$0.02(+22.2%) | ||||
RTX A6000 48GB VRAM • RunPod | $0.25/hr★ Best | Not Available | — | |
RTX A6000 48GB VRAM • | ||||
Tesla V100 32GB VRAM • RunPod | $0.17/hr★ Best | Not Available | — | |
Tesla V100 32GB VRAM • | ||||
Features Comparison
RunPod
- Secure Cloud GPUs
Access to a wide range of GPU types with enterprise-grade security
- Pay-as-you-go
Only pay for the compute time you actually use
- API Access
Programmatically manage your GPU instances via REST API
- Fast cold-starts
Pods typically ready in 20-30 s
- Hot-reload dev loop
SSH & VS Code tunnels built-in
- Spot-to-on-demand fallback
Automatic migration on pre-empt
Salad Cloud
- Community GPU Pool
Community-powered GPUs for stateless and high-volume workloads with pricing advertised from $0.02/hr per GPU.
- 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.
- Published Hourly Rates
Pricing calculator lists L40S at $0.32/hr, A100 80 GB at $0.50/hr, A100 40 GB at $0.40/hr, and H100 NVL at $0.99/hr per GPU.
- Developer Hub & Docs
Portal access, Developer Hub, and product documentation at docs.salad.com.
Pros & Cons
RunPod
Advantages
- Competitive pricing with pay-per-second billing
- Wide variety of GPU options
- Simple and intuitive interface
Considerations
- GPU availability can vary by region
- Some features require technical knowledge
Salad Cloud
Advantages
- Very low published GPU pricing, including sub-$1/hr H100 NVL and $0.02/hr community options
- 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
RunPod
Pods
On‑demand single‑node GPU instances with flexible templates and storage.
Instant Clusters
Spin up multi‑node GPU clusters in minutes with auto networking.
Salad Cloud
Salad Container Engine - Secure
Managed container orchestration on data center GPUs such as H100 NVL, A100, and L40S with pricing shown under $1/hr per GPU.
Salad Container Engine - Community
Community-powered GPU pool for flexible, stateless workloads with headline pricing from $0.02/hr per GPU.
Pricing Options
RunPod
Salad Cloud
Community GPUs from $0.02/hr
Community tier advertises GPU pricing starting at $0.02/hr for stateless workloads.
Consumer GPU hourly rates
Pricing calculator lists RTX A5000 at $0.09/hr and RTX 5090 at $0.25/hr per GPU.
Secure tier hourly rates
Published secure pricing includes L40S at $0.32/hr, A100 40 GB at $0.40/hr, A100 80 GB at $0.50/hr, and H100 NVL at $0.99/hr per GPU (8x clusters).
On-demand, no contracts
Hourly billing via the Salad portal and calculator with no prepayments required.
Getting Started
RunPod
- 1
Create an account
Sign up for RunPod using your email or GitHub account
- 2
Add payment method
Add a credit card or cryptocurrency payment method
- 3
Launch your first pod
Select a template and GPU type to launch your first instance
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
RunPod
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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