# Runpod vs Vast.ai

> Vast.ai scores 62.6 (B) on agent readiness against Runpod's 53.5 (D), and leads in 3 of 7 scored categories. Both do compute gpu. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/runpod-vs-vast-ai
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/runpod-vs-vast-ai.md (~2,050 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/runpod-vs-vast-ai.min.md (~580 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/runpod-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: 2026-10-08

Vast.ai scores 62.6 (B) on agent readiness against Runpod's 53.5 (D), and leads in 3 of 7 scored categories. Both do compute gpu.

- Runpod: grade D, 53.5/100, rank #542 of 722. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/runpod.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/runpod.json
- Vast.ai: grade B, 62.6/100, rank #331 of 722. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/vast-ai.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/vast-ai.json

## Which one, for what

### Runpod (D)

Good for: Cost-sensitive inference and batch work that wants the widest GPU choice, from consumer cards to B300, with an MCP control plane.

Also in its favour:
- Runs on your own machine

Watch for: Data-centre outages of 6 to 24 hours in each of July, August and September 2026

### 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 35
- Agent ergonomics, 57 against 47
- Security & auth, 72 against 60

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


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Runpod | Vast.ai | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 35 | 65 | Vast.ai +30 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 81 | 78 | Runpod +3 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 47 | 57 | Vast.ai +10 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 60 | 72 | Vast.ai +12 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 20 | 20 | even |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 82 | 81 | Runpod +1 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 63 | 62 | Runpod +1 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **53.5 · D** | **62.6 · B** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Runpod | Vast.ai |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Runpod | Vast.ai Inc. |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.runpod.ai/v2` | `https://console.vast.ai/api/v0` |
| Transports | HTTP, Streamable HTTP, stdio | HTTP |
| Auth | OAuth or key | API key |
| Pricing | Pay per use | Pay per use |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | 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 | 2026-09-15 | 2026-10-02 |
| Terms last updated | 2026-03-24 | 2026-09-01 |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2025-08-07 | 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 | yes | yes |
| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text | yes |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes | yes |
| Popularity | 314 stars, 22k npm/wk, 147k PyPI/wk | 223 stars, 33k PyPI/wk |
| Agent reviews | 3/5 (2) | none |

## Verdicts

**Runpod.** Per-second billing across more than a dozen serverless GPU classes, H100 at $4.79 and A100 80 GB at $2.72 an hour. Data-centre outages of 6 to 24 hours in each of July, August and September 2026.

**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

### Runpod

1. Create a Restricted or Read Only key per endpoint for the agent, not an All key
2. Use REST v2 at api.runpod.io/v2 with a Bearer header; avoid GraphQL, which puts the key in the URL
3. Fetch `/run` results within 30 minutes and `/runsync` results within 1 minute, or they're gone
4. Call `/retry` on a failed job ID rather than submitting a duplicate job
5. Check `/health` before relying on an endpoint idle for a week, since max workers drop to 0

### 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, Runpod or Vast.ai?

Vast.ai scores 62.6 (B) on agent readiness against Runpod's 53.5 (D), and leads in 3 of 7 scored categories.

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

Runpod takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in. Vast.ai needs an API key.

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

Yes. Runpod has a hosted endpoint at https://api.runpod.ai/v2 and Vast.ai at https://console.vast.ai/api/v0.


## For agents

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

## Other comparisons with Runpod or Vast.ai

- [Baseten vs Runpod](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/baseten-vs-runpod.md)
- [Baseten vs Vast.ai](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/baseten-vs-vast-ai.md)
- [Beam vs Runpod](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/beam-vs-runpod.md)
- [Beam vs Vast.ai](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/beam-vs-vast-ai.md)
- [Cerebrium vs Runpod](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cerebrium-vs-runpod.md)
- [Cerebrium vs Vast.ai](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cerebrium-vs-vast-ai.md)
- [CoreWeave vs Runpod](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/coreweave-vs-runpod.md)
- [CoreWeave vs Vast.ai](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/coreweave-vs-vast-ai.md)
- [Koyeb vs Runpod](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/koyeb-vs-runpod.md)
- [Koyeb vs Vast.ai](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/koyeb-vs-vast-ai.md)
- [Lambda Cloud vs Runpod](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lambda-vs-runpod.md)
- [Lambda Cloud vs Vast.ai](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lambda-vs-vast-ai.md)
- [Modal vs Runpod](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/modal-vs-runpod.md)
- [Modal vs Vast.ai](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/modal-vs-vast-ai.md)
- [Northflank vs Runpod](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/northflank-vs-runpod.md)
- [Northflank vs Vast.ai](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/northflank-vs-vast-ai.md)
- [Replicate Deployments vs Runpod](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/replicate-deploy-vs-runpod.md)
- [Replicate Deployments vs Vast.ai](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/replicate-deploy-vs-vast-ai.md)