Modal vs RunPod vs Lambda vs Vast for vLLM hosting
Modal usually enters the conversation as the ergonomic reference point. The live price data on this page focuses on the tracked GPU clouds buyers compare against it most often once cost, inventory depth, and direct GPU control become the deciding factors.
RunPod, Lambda, and Vast side by side for vLLM buyers
Use this snapshot when the question is not how to serve with vLLM, but which provider best matches your blend of price sensitivity, inventory stability, and deployment control.
Teams that want a documented path from prototype to OpenAI-compatible vLLM APIs.
$0.59/hr
RTX 4090 · 24GB
$1.39/hr
A100 PCIE
- Strong fit for managed vLLM APIs and bursty traffic patterns.
- Often carries practical A100, H100, and L40-class options.
- Easy handoff from experimentation into production-style endpoints.
- Cold starts and model pull time still matter for latency.
- The cheapest inventory can change quickly across GPU families.
Builders who want straightforward dedicated GPU instances for steadier inference loads.
$0.86/hr
L40 · 48GB
$1.48/hr
A100 SXM4
- Simple dedicated GPU positioning for longer-running inference services.
- Good fit when you want less marketplace churn than spot-style capacity.
- Frequently competitive on 80GB-class training and inference GPUs.
- Less optimized for pure scale-to-zero workflows than serverless-first platforms.
- Inventory breadth can be narrower than broader marketplaces.
Cost-sensitive teams that can trade operational smoothness for lower entry pricing.
$0.35/hr
RTX 4090 · 24GB
$1.07/hr
A100 PCIE
- Often exposes the lowest tracked entry price for vLLM-friendly GPUs.
- Great for experiments, internal tools, and flexible batch inference.
- Marketplace depth makes it useful for bargain hunting.
- Marketplace variability means quality and persistence are less uniform.
- You need to be comfortable evaluating individual offers and host quality.
Live tracked pricing across RunPod, Lambda, and Vast
These are the cheapest on-demand rows we currently track for the providers most frequently evaluated against Modal for open-weight inference.
| Provider | GPU | VRAM | On-demand median | Why it matters | Internal next step |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vast.ai | RTX 4090 | 24GB | $0.35/hr | Cheapest entry point for smaller chat, coding, and internal APIs. | |
| Vast.ai | RTX 5090 | 32GB | $0.47/hr | Cheapest entry point for smaller chat, coding, and internal APIs. | |
| Vast.ai | RTX 6000Ada | 48GB | $0.55/hr | Balanced single-GPU serving for mid-sized open-weight models. | |
| Vast.ai | L40 | 48GB | $0.58/hr | Balanced single-GPU serving for mid-sized open-weight models. | |
| RunPod | RTX 4090 | 24GB | $0.59/hr | Cheapest entry point for smaller chat, coding, and internal APIs. | |
| RunPod | RTX 6000Ada | 48GB | $0.77/hr | Balanced single-GPU serving for mid-sized open-weight models. | |
| Lambda | L40 | 48GB | $0.86/hr | Balanced single-GPU serving for mid-sized open-weight models. | |
| RunPod | L40 | 48GB | $0.93/hr | Balanced single-GPU serving for mid-sized open-weight models. | |
| Vast.ai | A100 PCIE | 80GB | $1.07/hr | 80GB-class serving for larger instruct models and steadier throughput. | |
| Vast.ai | A100 SXM4 | 80GB | $1.12/hr | 80GB-class serving for larger instruct models and steadier throughput. |
Tracked outbound links for this search intent
These links stay visible for buyers who still want the source docs, and each outbound click is tracked so you can measure whether this page reduces immediate leakage.
More vLLM and competitor-intent landing pages
These related pages keep comparison-intent visitors inside the site as they move from one query to the next.
Modal vs RunPod vs Lambda vs Vast for vLLM hosting: how to use this page
These landing pages are built for searchers comparing platforms, not just looking for a deployment tutorial. Start with the live pricing table, then use the provider cards to separate the cheapest GPU row from the platform that best matches your operational needs.
The internal links on this page intentionally point back into the main LLM guide, provider detail pages, and direct comparison pages so you can keep researching on getflops instead of immediately jumping to external documentation.
Cheapest tracked option in this provider set
RTX 4090 on Vast.ai is the current cheapest tracked starting point at $0.35/hr. Cheapest 80GB-plus option: A100 PCIE on Vast.ai at $1.07/hr
How these vLLM price pages are assembled
We filter the live compare payload to GPUs that commonly fit vLLM deployments, keep the latest on-demand median row per provider and GPU, and highlight both the cheapest entry price and the cheapest higher-memory option so buyers can compare cost and headroom together.
Modal vs RunPod vs Lambda vs Vast for vLLM hosting FAQ
What is the cheapest tracked option on the modal vs runpod vs lambda vs vast for vllm hosting page?
RTX 4090 on Vast.ai is the current cheapest tracked starting point at $0.35/hr.
Why are these pages focused on RunPod, Lambda, and Vast.ai?
These providers are the most common next stop when buyers move from tutorial intent to where-should-I-host intent for vLLM: they expose live GPU inventory, direct hourly pricing, and clearer tradeoffs between convenience, capacity stability, and raw cost.
Which GPU tiers matter most for vLLM hosting decisions?
24GB to 48GB GPUs are the cheapest way into smaller instruct and coding models, while 80GB and 141GB-class GPUs matter once you want larger models, more headroom, or better multi-tenant throughput. This page surfaces both the cheapest overall row and the cheapest 80GB-plus option.
How fresh are the price callouts on this page?
Every callout uses the latest stored on-demand median snapshot for the providers and GPUs shown here. The freshest visible row is from Mar 17, 2026, and collectors run on a daily cadence.
Keep researching after modal vs runpod vs lambda vs vast for vllm hosting
Use these internal follow-up pages to move from high-intent search landing pages into the model, provider, and GPU comparisons most likely to matter next.