GPU guide
RunPod alternative in Canada: GPUs by the hour, in Canadian dollars
Updated on
Short answer
GPU Cloud rents NVIDIA GPUs hosted in Montreal, billed by the hour in Canadian dollars, with a shorter catalog than RunPod’s. At the Bank of Canada rate of October 9, 2026, GPU Cloud’s hourly rate is lower on the RTX A6000, A100 PCIe, RTX PRO 6000 and H100 PCIe, but RunPod is cheaper on the L40.
Prices side by side, in Canadian dollars
| GPU | GPU Cloud (CAD) | RunPod, listed price (USD) | RunPod converted (CAD) | Difference for GPU Cloud |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA RTX A6000 | $0.67 | USD 0.59 | $0.84 | −$0.17 |
| NVIDIA L40 | $1.34 | USD 0.82 | $1.17 | +$0.17 |
| NVIDIA A100 PCIe | $1.81 | USD 1.79 | $2.55 | −$0.74 |
| NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 | $2.48 | USD 2.49 | $3.55 | −$1.07 |
| NVIDIA H100 PCIe | $3.35 | USD 2.89 | $4.12 | −$0.77 |
GPU Cloud prices: catalog, taxes extra. RunPod prices: table of https://www.runpod.io/pricing, read on October 11, 2026, converted at the Bank of Canada rate of October 9, 2026 (1 USD = CA$1.4271). RunPod prices may have changed since: check them on their page.
To compare with Lambda too: its pricing page (https://lambda.ai/pricing) lists a 1x H100 PCIe instance at USD 3.29 per hour, that is CA$4.70 at the same rate, against CA$3.35 at GPU Cloud.
RunPod also lists Community Cloud prices, lower on some GPUs, for machines hosted by third parties. The table compares the price of its main table, the one most people see first.
What really differs between the two
- Billing: RunPod bills by the second; GPU Cloud bills by the hour, and the first hour is charged when you deploy. For jobs of a few minutes, per-second billing can cost less.
- Currency: RunPod bills in US dollars, and your bank may add conversion fees; at GPU Cloud, the price shown in Canadian dollars is the price billed.
- Location: RunPod has data centers in several countries; GPU Cloud has a single region, in Montreal, so a server cannot be launched outside Canada by mistake.
- Catalog: RunPod offers many more cards, consumer GPUs included, and a serverless service. GPU Cloud focuses on data center GPUs, from the RTX A6000 to 8x H100 servers.
- Server: GPU Cloud gives you a full Ubuntu server with CUDA, Docker and SSH access, plus one-click templates (Jupyter, Ollama, vLLM, ComfyUI, PyTorch). The site, the console and support are in French and English.
The compared GPUs, with their availability
| GPU | GPUs per server | Server GPU memory | On demand, per hour | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA RTX A6000 | 1 | 48 GB | $0.67 | |
| NVIDIA L40 | 1 | 48 GB | $1.34 | |
| NVIDIA A100 PCIe | 1 | 80 GB | $1.81 | |
| NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 | 1 | 96 GB | $2.48 | |
| NVIDIA H100 PCIe | 1 | 80 GB | $3.35 |
Prices in Canadian dollars, taxes extra, read from the catalog when the page is built. Availability is read live; a machine out of stock shows the closest equivalent machine in stock.
Moving from RunPod to GPU Cloud
- Your Docker image works as is: run it on an Ubuntu server with CUDA and Docker, with
docker run --gpus all. - Your data moves with
rsyncorscpover SSH, or downloads again from Hugging Face straight to the server. - For a ready environment without Docker, the PyTorch template installs PyTorch and CUDA in /opt/pytorch.
Good to know before you launch
- Billing is hourly, at the server’s hourly rate, from prepaid credit. There is no per-minute billing, and the first hour is charged when you deploy.
- A stopped server is still billed at the full hourly rate. To pay less, hibernate it ($0.02 per hour (about $14.60 per month), disk kept) or delete it. A Spot machine cannot be hibernated: delete it when you are done.
- The minimum top-up is CA$25.00, paid by credit card.
- Servers and their disks stay in Canada (region canada-montreal, in Montreal). Account information (identity, billing, e-mails) may be processed outside Quebec, as the privacy policy explains.
Frequently asked questions
Is GPU Cloud cheaper than RunPod?
It depends on the GPU. At the prices read on October 11, 2026 and converted to Canadian dollars, GPU Cloud’s hourly rate is lower on the RTX A6000, A100 PCIe, RTX PRO 6000 and H100 PCIe, but RunPod is cheaper on the L40.
Does GPU Cloud bill by the second like RunPod?
No. GPU Cloud bills by the hour, from prepaid credit, and the first hour is charged when you deploy.
Can I pay in Canadian dollars?
Yes. Every GPU Cloud price is shown and billed in Canadian dollars, by credit card, taxes extra.
Where are GPU Cloud’s servers?
In Montreal, Canada. It is the only region: the servers and their disks stay in Canada.
Is GPU Cloud related to RunPod?
No. RunPod and Lambda are trademarks of their owners; GPU Cloud has no tie with them. Their prices are quoted as listed on their public pages, with the date.
Need GPUs? We’ve got you.
Launch an NVIDIA GPU server by the hour in Canada, paid in Canadian dollars by credit card, or reserve a sold-out GPU: it launches as soon as one frees up.
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