# Renting out GPUs: marketplaces vs contracts

After a 20% fee, a B300 listed at $7.50 an hour has to rent 77% of its hours to match a $4.60 contract that bills all of them. Change the numbers below.

1 B300 server, 3 years. On the marketplace you keep about $3.00 of every GPU-hour you own; on the contract, $4.60.

Marketplace

$7.50 list, 50% rented, 20% fee

$12Knet a month

- **Rent you keep, month 1:** $18K
- **Data center and our fee:** -$5.3K
- **Upfront:** $578K
- **Pays for itself:** Not in 3 yrs
- **Net after 3 years:** -$102K

3-year contract

$4.60 for every hour, take-or-pay

$22Knet a month

- **Rent you keep, month 1:** $27K
- **Data center and our fee:** -$5.3K
- **Upfront:** $602K
- **Pays for itself:** 29 months
- **Net after 3 years:** $298K

Both cases: our ballpark server price, colocation at $280 per kW a month, 3 months to go live, our $1K a month per 4 servers, resale at 25% after 3 years. The contract pays our 2.5% fee for finding the customer. Before taxes, insurance and financing. Illustrative, not a forecast or investment advice.

## The marketplace keeps a fifth to a quarter

Marketplace income is three numbers multiplied: the hourly price, the share the marketplace leaves you, and the share of hours rented.

| Marketplace | Host keeps | Terms |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [Vast.ai](https://vast.ai/article/how-much-money-can-you-earn-renting-out-your-gpu-on-vast-ai) | About 80% of what renters pay | No host fee since June 2024; renters pay about 25% above the host’s price |
| [TensorDock](https://www.tensordock.com/host.html) | 75% | 25% revenue share; vetted hosts set their own prices |
| [Runpod](https://web.archive.org/web/20260218192426/https://docs.runpod.io/hosting/overview) | 76% in its 2024 docs | Runpod sets on-demand prices; no new Community Cloud hosts |

Each marketplace’s own pages and docs, October 10, 2026. The calculator starts at a 20% fee.

## Marketplaces vet hosts before the first rental

The data center tiers ask for a certified facility and a registered business. Runpod has closed Community Cloud to new hosts.

| Tier | Requirements |
| --- | --- |
| [Vast.ai verified](https://docs.vast.ai/host/verification-stages) | A dedicated machine, 500 Mbps up and down, a public IPv4 address, Ubuntu Server, system RAM at least 95% of GPU memory, reliability above 90% |
| [Vast.ai datacenter](https://docs.vast.ai/host/datacenter-status) | An ISO/IEC 27001 certificate, a registered business, a signed hosting agreement, an owner ID check, at least 5 GPU servers |
| [Runpod](https://web.archive.org/web/20260218192426/https://docs.runpod.io/hosting/overview) | At least 20 GPUs and KYC; Community Cloud closed to new hosts |
| [Runpod Secure Cloud](https://web.archive.org/web/20260119043850/https://docs.runpod.io/hosting/partner-requirements) | 100 kW of GPU servers in a Tier III+ facility; SOC 2, ISO 27001 or PCI DSS; 100 Gbps of diverse internet; a shared storage cluster |
| [TensorDock](https://www.tensordock.com/host.html) | Vetted hosts, a static IP, 24/7 uptime with downtime penalties |

## The hours rented and the price both move against you

No marketplace publishes occupancy. Vast.ai’s own host example assumes 80% ([Vast.ai](https://vast.ai/article/how-much-money-can-you-earn-renting-out-your-gpu-on-vast-ai)). The calculator starts at 50% for a passive listing.

Hourly prices fall as newer GPUs ship. H100s rented for about $8 an hour in 2023 and about $2 by late 2024 ([Latent Space](https://www.latent.space/p/gpu-bubble)). The calculator lowers marketplace prices 10% a year.

Gaming cards earn little. Vast.ai says RTX 5090 hosts typically earn $0.30-0.60 per GPU-hour ([Vast.ai](https://vast.ai/article/how-much-money-can-you-earn-renting-out-your-gpu-on-vast-ai)), before home electricity.

## A contract bills every hour at a lower rate

The customer pays whether it uses the GPUs or not. It rents every GPU for a fixed term, usually 1-3 years. Large contracts include a prepayment: Microsoft pays IREN 20% of each tranche before delivery ([IREN 8-K](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1878848/000114036125040072/ef20058139_8k.htm)).

The risk moves to the customer. If it stops paying, the servers earn nothing until they are rented again. Stability AI’s cloud suppliers forgave about $100M of unpaid bills in its June 2024 rescue ([TechCrunch](https://techcrunch.com/2024/06/25/stability-ai-lands-a-lifeline-from-sean-parker-greycroft)), so check the customer before you sign.

We find the customer. For servers we run, we charge 2.5% of the contract, only if it signs.

## Want your GPUs on a contract? Tell us what you have.

- A call with our CTO about what you need
- Ballpark costs and timelines for your budget
- A straight answer if it’s not a fit

Prefer email? [hello@amcompute.com](mailto:hello@amcompute.com)

## Renting out GPUs: questions

**How much does Vast.ai take from hosts?**

No host fee since June 2024. Hosts earn the price they set, and renters pay about 25% above it, so hosts keep about 80% of what the renter pays.

**Do GPU marketplaces withhold taxes?**

Vast.ai does not; hosts report their own earnings. Ask your tax advisor how rental income applies to you.

## Own the servers. We’ll find the customer and run them.

[Plan a deployment](https://managedgpus.com/guides/rent-out-gpus#discuss)

Source: https://managedgpus.com/guides/rent-out-gpus