Salad Cloud vs Vast.ai
Compare GPU pricing, features, and specifications between Salad Cloud and Vast.ai cloud providers. Find the best deals for AI training, inference, and ML workloads.
Salad Cloud
Provider 1
Vast.ai
Provider 2
Comparison Overview
Average Price Difference: $1.18/hour between comparable GPUs
GPU Pricing Comparison
| GPU Model ↑ | Salad Cloud Price | Vast.ai Price | Price Diff ↕ | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|
A10 24GB VRAM • Vast.ai | Not Available |  $0.16/hr★ Best | — | |
A10 24GB VRAM • | ||||
A100 PCIE 40GB VRAM • Vast.ai | Not Available | $0.87/hr★ Best | — | |
A100 PCIE 40GB VRAM • | ||||
A100 SXM 80GB VRAM • Salad CloudVast.ai |  $4.00/hr | $0.50/hr★ Best | ↑+$3.50(+704.8%) | |
A100 SXM 80GB VRAM • Salad Cloud$4.00/hour Updated: 11/18/2025 Vast.ai$0.50/hour Updated: 12/6/2025 ★Best Price Price Difference:↑+$3.50(+704.8%) | ||||
A40 48GB VRAM • Vast.ai | Not Available | $0.29/hr★ Best | — | |
A40 48GB VRAM • | ||||
H100 80GB VRAM • Vast.ai | Not Available | $2.27/hr★ Best | — | |
H100 80GB VRAM • | ||||
H200 141GB VRAM • Vast.ai | Not Available | $3.06/hr★ Best | — | |
H200 141GB VRAM • | ||||
L40 40GB VRAM • Vast.ai | Not Available | $0.39/hr★ Best | — | |
L40 40GB VRAM • | ||||
L40S 48GB VRAM • Salad CloudVast.ai | $2.56/hr | $0.44/hr★ Best | ↑+$2.12(+478.9%) | |
L40S 48GB VRAM • Salad Cloud$2.56/hour Updated: 11/18/2025 Vast.ai$0.44/hour Updated: 12/5/2025 ★Best Price Price Difference:↑+$2.12(+478.9%) | ||||
RTX 3090 24GB VRAM • Salad CloudVast.ai | $0.10/hr★ Best | $0.15/hr | ↓$0.05(32.5%) | |
RTX 3090 24GB VRAM • Salad Cloud$0.10/hour Updated: 11/18/2025 ★Best Price Vast.ai$0.15/hour Updated: 12/8/2025 Price Difference:↓$0.05(32.5%) | ||||
RTX 4080 16GB VRAM • Vast.ai | Not Available | $0.14/hr★ Best | — | |
RTX 4080 16GB VRAM • Not Available Vast.ai$0.14/hour Updated: 12/23/2024 ★Best Price | ||||
RTX 4090 24GB VRAM • Salad CloudVast.ai | $0.16/hr★ Best | $0.26/hr | ↓$0.10(38.1%) | |
RTX 4090 24GB VRAM • Salad Cloud$0.16/hour Updated: 11/18/2025 ★Best Price Vast.ai$0.26/hour Updated: 12/8/2025 Price Difference:↓$0.10(38.1%) | ||||
RTX 6000 Ada 48GB VRAM • Vast.ai | Not Available | $0.13/hr★ Best | — | |
RTX 6000 Ada 48GB VRAM • | ||||
RTX A4000 16GB VRAM • Vast.ai | Not Available | $0.08/hr★ Best | — | |
RTX A4000 16GB VRAM • | ||||
RTX A5000 24GB VRAM • Salad CloudVast.ai | $0.09/hr★ Best | $0.20/hr | ↓$0.11(55.1%) | |
RTX A5000 24GB VRAM • Salad Cloud$0.09/hour Updated: 11/18/2025 ★Best Price Vast.ai$0.20/hour Updated: 12/8/2025 Price Difference:↓$0.11(55.1%) | ||||
RTX A6000 48GB VRAM • Vast.ai | Not Available | $0.37/hr★ Best | — | |
RTX A6000 48GB VRAM • | ||||
A10 24GB VRAM • Vast.ai | Not Available | $0.16/hr★ Best | — | |
A10 24GB VRAM • | ||||
A100 PCIE 40GB VRAM • Vast.ai | Not Available | $0.87/hr★ Best | — | |
A100 PCIE 40GB VRAM • | ||||
A100 SXM 80GB VRAM • Salad CloudVast.ai | $4.00/hr | $0.50/hr★ Best | ↑+$3.50(+704.8%) | |
A100 SXM 80GB VRAM • Salad Cloud$4.00/hour Updated: 11/18/2025 Vast.ai$0.50/hour Updated: 12/6/2025 ★Best Price Price Difference:↑+$3.50(+704.8%) | ||||
A40 48GB VRAM • Vast.ai | Not Available | $0.29/hr★ Best | — | |
A40 48GB VRAM • | ||||
H100 80GB VRAM • Vast.ai | Not Available | $2.27/hr★ Best | — | |
H100 80GB VRAM • | ||||
H200 141GB VRAM • Vast.ai | Not Available | $3.06/hr★ Best | — | |
H200 141GB VRAM • | ||||
L40 40GB VRAM • Vast.ai | Not Available | $0.39/hr★ Best | — | |
L40 40GB VRAM • | ||||
L40S 48GB VRAM • Salad CloudVast.ai | $2.56/hr | $0.44/hr★ Best | ↑+$2.12(+478.9%) | |
L40S 48GB VRAM • Salad Cloud$2.56/hour Updated: 11/18/2025 Vast.ai$0.44/hour Updated: 12/5/2025 ★Best Price Price Difference:↑+$2.12(+478.9%) | ||||
RTX 3090 24GB VRAM • Salad CloudVast.ai | $0.10/hr★ Best | $0.15/hr | ↓$0.05(32.5%) | |
RTX 3090 24GB VRAM • Salad Cloud$0.10/hour Updated: 11/18/2025 ★Best Price Vast.ai$0.15/hour Updated: 12/8/2025 Price Difference:↓$0.05(32.5%) | ||||
RTX 4080 16GB VRAM • Vast.ai | Not Available | $0.14/hr★ Best | — | |
RTX 4080 16GB VRAM • Not Available Vast.ai$0.14/hour Updated: 12/23/2024 ★Best Price | ||||
RTX 4090 24GB VRAM • Salad CloudVast.ai | $0.16/hr★ Best | $0.26/hr | ↓$0.10(38.1%) | |
RTX 4090 24GB VRAM • Salad Cloud$0.16/hour Updated: 11/18/2025 ★Best Price Vast.ai$0.26/hour Updated: 12/8/2025 Price Difference:↓$0.10(38.1%) | ||||
RTX 6000 Ada 48GB VRAM • Vast.ai | Not Available | $0.13/hr★ Best | — | |
RTX 6000 Ada 48GB VRAM • | ||||
RTX A4000 16GB VRAM • Vast.ai | Not Available | $0.08/hr★ Best | — | |
RTX A4000 16GB VRAM • | ||||
RTX A5000 24GB VRAM • Salad CloudVast.ai | $0.09/hr★ Best | $0.20/hr | ↓$0.11(55.1%) | |
RTX A5000 24GB VRAM • Salad Cloud$0.09/hour Updated: 11/18/2025 ★Best Price Vast.ai$0.20/hour Updated: 12/8/2025 Price Difference:↓$0.11(55.1%) | ||||
RTX A6000 48GB VRAM • Vast.ai | Not Available | $0.37/hr★ Best | — | |
RTX A6000 48GB VRAM • | ||||
Features Comparison
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.
Vast.ai
Pros & Cons
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
Vast.ai
Advantages
- Cost-effective (5-6X cheaper than traditional cloud services)
- Flexible pricing with on-demand and interruptible options
- Real-time bidding system for cost optimization
- Docker ecosystem for quick software deployment
Considerations
- Primarily focused on Linux-based Docker instances
- No Windows support
- Limited GUI options (SSH, Jupyter, or command-only)
Compute Services
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.
Vast.ai
Marketplace Instances
On‑demand GPU rentals with live bidding and filters.
Pricing Options
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.
Vast.ai
Getting Started
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.
Vast.ai
Support & Global Availability
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.
Vast.ai
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