RunPod vs ApexVPS: Monthly GPU Rental Compared (2026)
Written by the ApexVPS team • Last updated: September 2026 • 8 min read
If you plan to run an NVIDIA H100 flat out for a full month, ApexVPS’s flat $1,990/month rental costs about 4% less than RunPod’s on-demand H100 PCIe at $2.89/hr — which adds up to roughly $2,081 over a 720-hour month — and about 21% less than an H100 SXM at $3.49/hr (≈$2,513). For an A100 80GB the picture flips: RunPod’s $1.39/hr totals about $1,001 over the same month, below ApexVPS’s flat $1,290/month. The short answer: hourly billing wins for short or bursty jobs, and a flat monthly rental wins for always-on H100 workloads.
Both are real GPU cloud providers with genuine strengths. This comparison uses public list prices checked in September 2026, with links to sources at the end, and simple 720-hour multiplication for monthly equivalents — no invented numbers.
The two pricing models in one table
| RunPod (on-demand) | ApexVPS (flat monthly) | |
|---|---|---|
| A100 80GB | $1.39/hr ≈ $1,001 per 720-hour month | $1,290/month, unlimited usage |
| H100 80GB | $2.89/hr PCIe ≈ $2,081/month; $3.49/hr SXM ≈ $2,513/month; from $1.99/hr Community Cloud ≈ $1,433/month | $1,990/month, unlimited usage |
| T4 | Hourly pod rates vary by cloud tier and availability | $249/month, unlimited usage |
| Billing model | Per-second GPU metering drawn from a prepaid account balance; storage is metered while the pod runs | One flat invoice per month (or year, −30%); dedicated vCPU, RAM, NVMe and bandwidth included |
| Commitment | None — stop the pod and the meter stops | One month minimum; 30-day money-back guarantee refunded in USDT |
| Payment | Card-funded account balance | Crypto only (BTC, ETH, USDT + 30 coins), email-only signup, no KYC |
Sources: RunPod cloud GPU pricing and H100 PCIe model page, checked September 2026. Monthly equivalents are plain 720-hour multiplications of the listed hourly rate.
Where RunPod wins
- Short or bursty jobs. A two-hour training run on an A100 costs about $2.78 on RunPod; a monthly plan makes no sense there.
- Cheapest A100 sticker price. At $1.39/hr, a full month of A100 (≈$1,001) undercuts ApexVPS’s $1,290 flat rate — if the secure-cloud rate stays available for your whole run.
- Catalog breadth. Dozens of GPU types, including consumer cards like the RTX 4090, plus serverless endpoints for inference APIs.
- Zero commitment. Per-second billing means you can stop mid-experiment and pay nothing further.
Where ApexVPS wins
- Always-on H100 workloads. A dedicated H100 running 24/7 for a month costs $1,990 flat at ApexVPS versus ≈$2,081 (PCIe) or ≈$2,513 (SXM) of on-demand RunPod time.
- A whole dedicated server, not just a GPU pod. Every plan includes dedicated vCPU, RAM, NVMe storage and a bandwidth allowance (up to 12 TB on H100) in the same flat price.
- No meter to watch. No prepaid balance to top up, no per-hour counter, no surprise line items — the invoice is the price on the page.
- Crypto-native and no-KYC. Pay in Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDT or 30+ coins with email-only signup; 30-day money-back guarantee refunded in USDT.
Break-even math, honestly
The break-even point is a simple division: flat monthly price ÷ hourly rate. For the H100 PCIe, $1,990 ÷ $2.89/hr ≈ 689 hours — about 96% of the month. Run your H100 more than roughly 29 days out of 30 and the flat rental is cheaper; against the SXM rate ($3.49/hr) the flat plan wins from about 570 hours, around 79% of the month.
For the A100 the same math favors RunPod: $1,290 ÷ $1.39/hr ≈ 928 hours, more than the 720 hours a month contains, so RunPod’s hourly A100 stays cheaper even at 24/7 usage — before storage and data-transfer extras, and assuming the listed rate is available uninterrupted for the entire month. ApexVPS’s answer on A100 is predictability: one invoice, a dedicated machine, and no meter.
Verdict
Choose RunPod for short experiments, bursty inference, the broadest GPU catalog, or the cheapest A100 hourly rate. Choose ApexVPS for month-long H100 workloads, a fixed invoice you can budget, a dedicated server with storage and bandwidth included, and crypto-only no-KYC payment. If that second profile is yours, the monthly GPU plans from $249 are the next stop.
Sources
- RunPod — Cloud GPU pricing (A100 PCIe from $1.39/hr, H100 PCIe from $2.89/hr), checked September 2026
- RunPod — H100 PCIe model page (Community Cloud from $1.99/hr), checked September 2026
- ApexVPS — GPU plans and specifications
Frequently Asked Questions
Is ApexVPS cheaper than RunPod?
It depends on the GPU and your uptime. For an H100 running 24/7, ApexVPS’s flat $1,990/month beats RunPod’s on-demand PCIe rate (≈$2,081 over 720 hours) and SXM rate (≈$2,513). For an A100 80GB, RunPod’s $1.39/hr totals about $1,001 per month — cheaper than ApexVPS’s $1,290. For anything under roughly 689 hours of H100 usage per month, RunPod’s hourly billing costs less.
Does ApexVPS offer hourly GPU billing like RunPod?
No. ApexVPS GPU servers are flat monthly (or yearly, −30%) rentals with unlimited usage — no hourly meter, no prepaid balance, no per-minute billing. The dedicated card is yours 24/7 for the whole term.
Can I pay for a GPU server with cryptocurrency?
At ApexVPS, yes — checkout is crypto-only, accepting Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDT and 30+ coins with email-only signup and no KYC. RunPod’s on-demand pods are billed from an account balance funded by card.