Choose using the cost of your sessions, including the time between them. A lower GPU hourly price can be offset by model downloads, transfer fees and disks that keep charging while the GPU is stopped.
If you rent a GPU a few evenings a month, storing your models between sessions can cost more than the compute you actually use. Start with a quote for a suitable GPU on each platform, then check whether keeping the files saves enough download and setup work to justify the storage bill.
Billing rules checked 6 November 2026. The calculator uses editable example compute and host rates, not live offers. This is a billing model; it does not establish equivalent performance or availability.
Calculate your sessions and storage
Use the same workload on both sides. Enter a total compute rate for the chosen GPU quantity; keep disk and traffic charges separate. On Vast, use a specific host's rates rather than assuming all offers have the same storage or bandwidth price. Effective download speed is the speed you observe while retrieving your files.
Plan your next GPU session
Keep the disk or download again?
Editable examples · USD before tax · On-demand instances
Start with an example, then enter your quotes. GPU and Vast host rates below are illustrative, not live prices. Runpod disk and transfer defaults follow its published rules, checked 6 Nov 2026.
30-day planning period; monthly disk rates are linearly normalized over 720 hours. Keep includes the first rebuild and storage until the end of the period. Delete rebuilds every session. This version models local disks, not separate network volumes or serverless. It assumes downloads happen while the GPU is billed. Actual billing, availability and completed-job performance can differ.
What changes between the platforms?
| Decision | Runpod Pods | Vast.ai instances |
|---|---|---|
| Quote to compare | Your selected Pod configuration and cloud tier | A specific host offer and rental type |
| Local persistent disk | Different running and stopped rates | Host-specific storage rates |
| Model transfer into the instance | Pods have no ingress or egress fee | Hosts can charge for traffic in both directions |
| After you stop using the GPU | Retained volume disks continue to incur storage costs | Retained instance storage continues to incur costs |
| After deleting compute | A separate network volume can still exist and charge | Check the lifecycle of any separate storage you retain |
Sources: Runpod Pod pricing, Runpod network volumes and Vast instance pricing. This comparison focuses on on-demand GPU instances. Serverless, interruptible rentals and prepaid commitments need their own calculation.
Match GPU model and quantity, usable memory, CPU, RAM, region and access requirements before comparing quotes. Even matching GPU names does not prove the same job duration: disk access, software configuration and other resources can affect the time you pay for. Record cost per completed task when performance matters.
When should you keep the disk?
Keep it when the storage charge until your next session is lower than the additional cost of rebuilding. Rebuilding can include downloading model weights, reinstalling tools, restoring files and paying the GPU while you wait. Add source-side transfer costs if the place you retrieve the files from charges for them.
Retention threshold in hours =
Extra cost of one rebuild
/ Cost of keeping the disk for one stopped hour
Below that interval, keeping the disk is cheaper on the entered costs. Above it, deletion and rebuilding can be cheaper. A zero stopped-storage rate has no finite deletion threshold in this model. The calculation assumes the same usable files can be restored, and excludes failure risk and the value of your time unless you enter those costs.
Deleting files is a different decision from stopping compute. Export results and retain a recoverable copy of anything you need before deleting a disk. Neither strategy guarantees that the same GPU will be available at your next session.
A worked example with editable assumptions
Suppose your files require a 50 GB download and a 100 GB model and working disk. Use a Runpod ordinary volume disk with a 20 GB temporary container disk, an illustrative compute rate of $0.40/hour, and an effective download speed of 500 Mbps. Assume no extra rebuild setup time or source-side fees.
The download takes about 13.3 minutes. Under Runpod's published running and stopped disk defaults, the extra compute and active disk cost of downloading again is about $0.093. Keeping the 100 GB volume while stopped costs about $0.028/hour, using the calculator's 720-hour monthly normalization. The resulting threshold is approximately 3.3 hours.
At an effective 100 Mbps, the same download takes five times as long and the threshold grows to approximately 16.7 hours. Adding manual setup or paid model traffic changes it again. These are calculated examples, not measured host speeds or current GPU quotes.
For 20 two-hour sessions in the full 30-day planning period, the default Runpod example estimates $35.64 with the volume retained throughout, or $18.52 if it is deleted and rebuilt every session. Both include their respective download time and disk costs. A monthly total includes storage after the last session, while the threshold compares a single gap; keep those timeframes distinct.
Choose the right kind of Runpod disk
The temporary container disk is erased when a Pod stops. A volume disk retains files until that Pod is deleted. A separate network volume survives Pod termination, so deleting the Pod alone does not end that volume's charges. See the Pod storage options.
Network volumes are available to Pods in Secure Cloud and constrain deployment to their data center. They can also be populated through an S3-compatible API without starting GPU compute. That changes both the eligible GPU quote and the cost of loading files. Treat it as a separate scenario rather than attaching network-volume pricing to a Community Cloud GPU offer. The calculator above models ordinary local disks. Network-volume setup and limitations
What to copy from a Vast.ai offer
Copy the compute price for the selected configuration, the total disk allocation, running and stopped storage rates, and the separate rates for traffic into and out of the instance. Check whether a displayed hourly total already includes disk costs; entering that total as compute and adding the disk again would count it twice.
A model downloaded into the rented instance is inbound traffic for that instance. Results downloaded back to your computer are outbound traffic. Use the host's stated units and convert them consistently; do not confuse a per-terabyte quote with a per-gigabyte rate. Vast's billing components
Which option fits your next session?
Runpod is worth considering when its selected configuration, transfer terms and storage options fit your workflow. Vast is worth considering when a specific host's complete quote fits the same job at a lower estimated cost. Compare access, capacity and file persistence alongside the bill; a cheap offer you cannot use does not complete your work.
Before switching, note your actual model download duration, setup time and successful task runtime. Recalculate with those measurements. If the result changes when the download speed or host rate moves slightly, treat the choice as sensitive rather than a reliable saving.
If your work can use hosted inference instead of a rented GPU, our Chutes vs OpenRouter comparison covers a different purchase decision: paying for model usage and routing rather than maintaining an instance.