# Hyperbolic vs Vast.ai

> Vast.ai scores 62.6 (B) on agent readiness against Hyperbolic's 48 (D), and leads in every scored category. Both do compute gpu. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hyperbolic-vs-vast-ai
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hyperbolic-vs-vast-ai.md (~2,450 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hyperbolic-vs-vast-ai.min.md (~580 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hyperbolic-vs-vast-ai.json (this page as data, same URL with Accept: application/json)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (full text: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- Updated: 2026-10-09

Vast.ai scores 62.6 (B) on agent readiness against Hyperbolic's 48 (D), and leads in every scored category. Both do compute gpu.

- Hyperbolic: grade D, 48/100, rank #730 of 842. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/hyperbolic.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/hyperbolic.json
- Vast.ai: grade B, 62.6/100, rank #384 of 842. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/vast-ai.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/vast-ai.json

## Which one, for what

### Hyperbolic (D)

Good for: Agents that rent whole H100, H200 or B200 machines or multi-node clusters for training and batch work and that have a funded account.

Watch for: API keys carry no scopes or expiry in the reviewed documentation, and the same key can call `DELETE /v2/users/me`

### Vast.ai (B)

Good for: Cost-sensitive training, batch work and self-managed inference where the agent can search listings, set a price cap and tolerate host variance or interruption.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 65 against 52
- Security & auth, 72 against 47
- Payments & pricing, 20 against 15
- Maintenance & community, 81 against 42

Also in its favour:
- No incidents deducted, where Hyperbolic loses 3 points for them

Watch for: No SLA. The terms say availability is not guaranteed and the service can change without notice


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Hyperbolic | Vast.ai | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 52 | 65 | Vast.ai +13 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 77 | 78 | Vast.ai +1 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 55 | 57 | Vast.ai +2 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 47 | 72 | Vast.ai +25 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 15 | 20 | Vast.ai +5 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 42 | 81 | Vast.ai +39 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 61 | 62 | Vast.ai +1 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | -3 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **48 · D** | **62.6 · B** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Hyperbolic | Vast.ai |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Hyperbolic Labs, Inc. | Vast.ai Inc. |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.hyperbolic.ai` | `https://console.vast.ai/api/v0` |
| Transports | HTTP | HTTP |
| Auth | API key | API key |
| Pricing | Pay per use | Pay per use |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Proprietary service under Hyperbolic's Terms of Service. The unmaintained hyperbolic-mcp repository on GitHub is MIT | Proprietary service under Vast.ai's Terms of Use Agreement. The `vastai` CLI and Python SDK on GitHub are MIT |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | 2026-10-05 | 2026-10-02 |
| Terms last updated | 2025-03-24 | 2026-09-01 |
| Privacy policy last updated | no date given | 2025-06-18 |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access | yes | yes |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text | yes |
| Terms or service can change without notice | yes | yes |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes | yes |
| Popularity | none | 223 stars, 33k PyPI/wk |

## Verdicts

**Hyperbolic.** The API serves its own OpenAPI 3.1 document without a key, lists GPU prices on an open endpoint and dates the removal of legacy paths at 1 March 2027. API keys carry no scopes and can delete the account, rental creation has no idempotency key, and renting needs a browser signup and a $5 deposit.

**Vast.ai.** API keys can be limited by permission category and by resource ID, the REST API has a public OpenAPI 3.1 file, and the CLI ships weekly with a skill file for coding agents. Machines belong to independent hosts, prices move with the market, rate-limit thresholds are unpublished, and there is no SLA or free tier.

## Before you call either

### Hyperbolic

1. Read `GET /v2/on-demand/rental-options` first. It needs no key and lists what can be rented now, with `costPerHourCents` per GPU configuration.
2. Send `rentalType` and `gpuCount` to `POST /v2/on-demand/rentals`. Region defaults to `us-central-1` and GPU type to `h100`, so set both from the options list.
3. List active rentals before retrying a failed create call. There is no idempotency key and every ready rental bills hourly.
4. Save an SSH public key with `POST /v2/ssh-keys` before renting. Without `sshPublicKeyIds` the newest saved key is attached.
5. Do not create reserved rentals unless asked. They are paid in full up front and cannot be terminated early.

### Vast.ai

1. Create a scoped key with `vastai create api-key --permissions` for the agent. A default key has full account access, billing and key management included
2. Pass `--raw` on every CLI command for JSON output, and `-y` on `vastai destroy instance`, which otherwise waits for a confirmation prompt
3. Register an SSH key with `vastai create ssh-key` before creating an instance, or the host is unreachable
4. Destroy instances when finished. A stopped instance still bills storage, and a zero balance without a saved card leads to deletion
5. Back off on HTTP 429 yourself when calling REST directly. The CLI retries 429 three times from 0.15 seconds
6. Filter searches with `verified=true` or the Secure Cloud option for sensitive data, and set a `dph_total` price cap

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Hyperbolic or Vast.ai?

Vast.ai scores 62.6 (B) on agent readiness against Hyperbolic's 48 (D), and leads in every scored category.

### Do Hyperbolic and Vast.ai need an API key?

Both need an API key.

### Can an agent call Hyperbolic and Vast.ai without installing anything?

Yes. Hyperbolic has a hosted endpoint at https://api.hyperbolic.ai and Vast.ai at https://console.vast.ai/api/v0.


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hyperbolic-vs-vast-ai.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hyperbolic-vs-vast-ai.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "hyperbolic", "b": "vast-ai"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare hyperbolic vast-ai`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/hyperbolic.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/vast-ai.json

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