The Constraint Atlas · AI compute · status: measuring
Renting a top GPU costs half as much from the cheapest cloud as from the typical one
The limit: Training and serving your own models is capped by GPU rental prices, and the spread between clouds is wide and moves daily.
Evidence
| Measure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| H100 cheapest / median per hour, 38 offers | $1.39 / $3.99 | Tensorust GPU price tracker (17+ clouds), 2026-10-26 |
| A100 cheapest / median per hour, 43 offers | $0.60 / $2.00 | Tensorust GPU price tracker, 2026-10-26 |
| B200 cheapest / median per hour, 16 offers | $5.43 / $7.49 | Tensorust GPU price tracker, 2026-10-26 |
What would move it
- Price competition from smaller clouds and marketplaces.
- Builders shopping by the hour instead of signing long commitments.
- New GPU generations pushing older cards down the price curve.
The experiment we are running
We record the cheapest and median price of every GPU across 17+ clouds every day and publish the history, so the curve is public instead of locked in sales calls.
Measured progress
| Date | Reading |
|---|---|
| 2026-10-24 | H100 cheapest $1.99 |
| 2026-10-25 | H100 cheapest $1.99 |
| 2026-10-26 | H100 cheapest $1.39 |
Next actions (what you can do today)
- Compare today's prices before you rent: GPU prices.
- Agents:
https://api.tensorust.com/v1/gpu/cheapest/H100(free).
Tools that act on it: GPU prices today · GPU price history API
Data: /data/v1/atlas.json (CC BY 4.0). Updated 2026-10-27.
Art: Nicholas Roerich, Himalayas, Sikkim (c. 1928-29). Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
