GPU guide
Rent a GPU by the hour in Canada: prices, steps and billing
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Short answer
At GPU Cloud, you rent an NVIDIA GPU server by the hour, from CA$0.67/h (RTX A6000) to CA$3.35/h (H100 PCIe) for 1 GPU, with no subscription, from prepaid credit paid by credit card. You pick the GPU in the console, the server starts in Montreal within minutes, then you hibernate or delete it when you are done.
GPUs by the hour, with their live 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.
Servers with 2 to 8 GPUs and the Spot prices are on the GPU pricing page for Canada.
Renting a GPU by the hour, step by step
1.Create your account
Sign up with your e-mail address. The console is in English and French.
2.Add credit
Top up your prepaid credit by credit card, from CA$25.00. GPU hours are charged to this credit.
3.Pick the GPU and the number of GPUs
In the console, pick the model (48 GB (RTX A6000 or L40) of memory per GPU to start) and the number of GPUs of the server. The hourly price is shown before you confirm.
4.Choose how to use it
Add your SSH key for full access, or a one-click template (JupyterLab, Ollama, vLLM, ComfyUI) installed for you and served over HTTPS.
5.Deploy and connect
The console shows the start-up progress, then the IP address and the credentials. You work as on your own Linux machine with an NVIDIA GPU.
6.Stop the charges when you are done
Hibernate the server ($0.02 per hour (about $14.60 per month)) to keep its disk and resume later, or delete it. A server that is only stopped is still billed at the full hourly rate.
Example: a 4-hour work session
Hypothesis: you work 4 hours in a row, then delete the server. Formula: hourly rate × 4, taxes extra.
- NVIDIA RTX A6000 (48 GB): $2.68 for 4 hours, or $2.16 on Spot.
- NVIDIA H100 PCIe (80 GB): $13.40 for 4 hours.
Hourly, daily, weekly and hibernated prices are detailed in the guide how much a GPU costs per hour in Canada.
Which GPU to rent by the hour?
- 48 GB (RTX A6000 or L40): the starting point for a notebook, inference of a 7 to 13 billion parameter model, image generation or a first LoRA fine-tuning.
- 80 GB (A100 PCIe or H100 PCIe): to train bigger or serve a model that does not fit in 48 GB.
- 96 GB (RTX PRO 6000): even more memory per GPU, for a large model on a single GPU.
- Several GPUs per server (2 to 8): for a 70 billion parameter model in 16-bit or distributed training. See the guide GPUs for LLM fine-tuning.
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
Can I rent a GPU for a single hour?
Yes. The first hour is charged when you deploy; delete the server when you are done and nothing else is billed.
Do I need a subscription or a commitment?
No. Hourly rental has no commitment. A monthly or annual term, paid in advance, is also available for a server that runs all the time.
How do I pay for hourly rental?
By credit card, topping up a prepaid credit of at least CA$25.00. Prices and invoices are in Canadian dollars, taxes extra.
Do I keep my files between two sessions?
Yes, if you hibernate the server ($0.02 per hour (about $14.60 per month)): the disk is kept. A Spot machine cannot be hibernated, and deleting a server erases its disks.
Can I rent a GPU from code?
Yes, with the REST API or the MCP server for AI assistants, using a key created in the console. The documentation is on the Developers page.
What is the Spot price?
A lower price (from CA$0.54/h) for a machine that can be interrupted without notice. It is billed by the hour only and cannot be hibernated.
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 GPU for a given date.
Other guides
- Your AI says you need a GPU? Run your Python script on a GPU in minutes
- CUDA out of memory: causes, fixes, and when to move to a GPU with more VRAM
- torch.cuda.is_available() returns False: causes and fixes (Mac, PC without NVIDIA, Docker)
- How much does a GPU cost per hour in Canada, in Canadian dollars?
- OpenAI API too expensive? Host your LLM on a GPU by the hour, in Canada
- GPU cloud in Montreal, Canada: NVIDIA GPU servers hosted in the country
- Rent an H100 in Canada: PCIe, NVLink or SXM, by the hour
- Which GPU to fine-tune an LLM? Memory, machine and cost
- Cheap GPU cloud: how to pay as little as possible for a GPU