Lightning AI vs RunPod
As of , RunPod lists the lower on-demand rate on 3 of the 4 GPUs both offer on-demand; Lightning AI wins on 1. Not counted: 1 more shared GPU, on community capacity or a marketplace floor. On the priciest shared card both list on-demand, NVIDIA H200: Lightning AI $4.50 vs RunPod $5.29 (Secure Cloud) per GPU-hour on-demand — Lightning AI is $0.79 (15%) cheaper.
On-demand, per GPU-hour
| GPU |  Lightning AI |  RunPod | Difference | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA H200 median $4.54 · 56 providers · lowest Beam $2.09 from | $4.50 captured Deploy ↗ | $5.29 Secure Cloud captured Deploy ↗ | $0.79 (15%) | Lightning AI |
| NVIDIA L40S median $1.52 · 42 providers · lowest CloudRift $0.63 | $3.54 captured Deploy ↗ | $1.09 Secure Cloud captured Deploy ↗ | $2.45 (69%) | RunPod |
| NVIDIA A100 40GB median $1.98 · 22 providers · lowest CloudGPU $0.63 | $2.19 captured Deploy ↗ | $1.00 Community Cloud captured Deploy ↗ | — | not the same market |
| NVIDIA A100 80GB median $1.99 · 63 providers · lowest CloudRift $1.05 | $1.85 captured Deploy ↗ | $1.79 Secure Cloud captured Deploy ↗ | $0.06 (3%) | RunPod |
| NVIDIA L4 median $0.80 · 24 providers · lowest Hikube $0.27 GPU only | $0.79 captured Deploy ↗ | $0.59 Secure Cloud captured Deploy ↗ | $0.20 (25%) | RunPod |
How this is compared
Cloud GPU rental prices of Lightning AI and RunPod, compared per GPU-hour on the GPUs both list. Where a provider has several tiers or regions, its cheapest on-demand rate is used and labelled. Community capacity (RunPod Community Cloud) and marketplace floors are shown only where a provider has nothing else, and never decide which is cheaper.
GPU by GPU
- NVIDIA H200: Lightning AI $4.50 vs RunPod $5.29 (Secure Cloud) per GPU-hour on-demand — Lightning AI is $0.79 (15%) cheaper.
- NVIDIA L40S: Lightning AI $3.54 vs RunPod $1.09 (Secure Cloud) per GPU-hour on-demand — RunPod is $2.45 (69%) cheaper.
- NVIDIA A100 40GB: Lightning AI $2.19 vs RunPod $1.00 (Community Cloud) per GPU-hour — not the same market, not counted.
- NVIDIA A100 80GB: Lightning AI $1.85 vs RunPod $1.79 (Secure Cloud) per GPU-hour on-demand — RunPod is $0.06 (3%) cheaper.
- NVIDIA L4: Lightning AI $0.79 vs RunPod $0.59 (Secure Cloud) per GPU-hour on-demand — RunPod is $0.20 (25%) cheaper.
Not compared: GPUs only one of the two lists, reserved/committed tiers, and anything either provider prices only on request. See each provider's page for its full list.
Data updated: