Does a GPU server pay off?
Calculate the ROI of a rental GPU server — with live market prices from Vast.ai. Pick a model, enter cost and utilization, see the payback period and annual ROI.
Loading live prices from Vast.ai… · Prices refresh automatically every week.
Market prices by GPU model
| GPU | VRAM | Power | Market | ≈ gross / mo per GPU | Offers |
|---|
Indicative estimate. Real income depends on utilization, region, electricity price and market demand. A ~30% system overhead (CPU, cooling, losses) is added to GPU power draw.
About the GPU ROI calculator
This calculator shows how long a rental GPU server takes to pay off and what annual return (ROI) to expect. It suits investors in GPU hardware, companies weighing their own AI infrastructure, and anyone deciding whether to rent or buy GPUs for AI training and inference.
The prices are real — the median market rental price for each GPU model, pulled directly from the public Vast.ai offers and refreshed automatically every week. We use the median (not the average) so that single extreme offers do not skew the result.
How it is calculated
- Gross income / mo = market price ($/h) × number of GPUs × utilization × 730 hours
- Your share = gross income × share after Vast.ai commission
- Power cost = power (kW) × number of GPUs × 1.3 (system overhead) × 730 × utilization × electricity price
- Net profit / mo = your share − power cost
- Payback period = hardware cost ÷ net profit
- Annual ROI = net profit × 12 ÷ hardware cost
Frequently asked questions
Where do the prices come from?
From the public Vast.ai API — the median market rental price for each GPU model. Values refresh automatically every week.
How accurate is the estimate?
It is a guide based on current market prices and your chosen utilization. Real income varies with demand, region, machine reliability and electricity cost.
What is "utilization"?
The share of time the GPU is actually rented out. On a well-tuned machine it is often 60–90%, but it depends on the model and the market.
What commission does Vast.ai take?
Vast.ai deducts a commission from host earnings; you typically keep around 80–85%. This parameter is adjustable in the calculator.
Do you help with the build?
Yes. We design, assemble and launch GPU servers for clients — from configuration to deployment and rental setup. See the AI infrastructure service.
Want a server like this?
We build GPU infrastructure for clients — tell us what you need.