Tool · Run a model

Self-host vs API — at what volume does renting a GPU win?

Open-weight models can run on rented GPUs (~$1–$4/hr for an A100 / H100) or via per-token APIs. Plug in your numbers; we'll show the breakeven curve.

Monthly input tokens

30,000,000

@ 1,000,000/day

Monthly output tokens

15,000,000

@ 500,000/day

Self-host GPU

Nvidia Nvidia H100

needs 74 GB VRAM

Self-host monthly

—

24/7 on cheapest provider

API pricing — cheapest first

Monthly bill at 30,000,000 input + 15,000,000 output tokens.

Provider	$/M in	$/M out	Monthly	vs self-host
Alibaba DashScope	$0.195	$1.56	$29.25	—	Open →
OpenRouter	$0.195	$1.56	$29.25	—	Open →
DeepInfra	$0.26	$2.6	$46.8	—	Open →

Cheapest fitting GPU for Qwen: Qwen3.5-27B at FP16.