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Azure vs Lium: Pricing, Specs, Strengths & Weaknesses

Side-by-side comparison of GPU compute pricing, regions, billing models, and strengths for Azure and Lium. Rates sourced from public APIs — verify current availability and billing terms before purchasing.

Overview

Attribute
Azure
Lium
Provider type
Hyperscaler
Marketplace
Founded
2010
2023
Headquarters
Redmond, WA
United States
Billing model
Pay-as-you-go, Reserved (1yr/3yr), Spot, Savings Plans
Per-second (spot and secure tiers)
Min commitment
None (pay-as-you-go)
None (15-min balance required to start)
Support tier
Basic → Premier
Standard
Regions
5 regions
1 regions

Strengths & Best For

Azure

Microsoft Azure offers ND H100 v5 (8× H100, NVLink) and NC A100 v4 (4× A100) GPU VM series across 60+ regions, with enterprise compliance certifications including HIPAA, FedRAMP, and SOC 2 built in. Azure AI Foundry hosts Grok models from xAI alongside OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta, and Mistral models. Azure Machine Learning provides managed training and inference pipelines. Deep Active Directory, hybrid cloud, and Microsoft 365 integration makes Azure the natural GPU cloud for Microsoft-centric organizations. Savings plans (1yr/3yr) and reserved instances offer up to 53% off on-demand rates.

Strengths
  • 60+ regions — widest geographic coverage of any GPU cloud
  • Enterprise compliance: HIPAA, FedRAMP, SOC 2, ISO 27001
  • Azure AI Foundry: Grok, OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta, Mistral models
  • Active Directory and hybrid cloud integration
  • Savings plans up to 53% off on-demand rates
  • Azure Machine Learning managed ML pipelines
Weaknesses
  • Most complex billing and quota system of any hyperscaler
  • GPU quota increases require support tickets and can take days
  • Higher on-demand rates vs specialist GPU clouds
Best For
Enterprise ML with compliance requirementsMicrosoft-centric organizations (M365, Active Directory)Teams needing widest global region coverageRegulated industries (healthcare, finance, government)
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Lium

Lium (operated by Datura AI Corp) is a GPU marketplace offering H100, H200, A100, and other GPU nodes with per-second billing and no minimum rental period. A prepaid balance sufficient to cover 15 minutes is required to start a rental; billing stops the moment you end it. Spot and secure node tiers are available. Check the live table for current availability and rates.

Strengths
  • Per-second billing — pay only for what you use
  • Minimum rentable GPUs varies by node — single GPUs to whole 8-GPU nodes
  • Spot and secure node tiers
  • H100, H200, A100 and other GPU models available
  • Marketplace prices move as nodes rent out
Weaknesses
  • Marketplace model — hardware availability varies by node
  • Smaller provider with limited scale
  • Less mature ecosystem vs established providers
Best For
Short-burst GPU workloadsCost-sensitive training with per-second billingTeams wanting flexible on-demand GPU access
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Live GPU Pricing

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Region Coverage

Azure — 5 regions
eastuswestus2westeuropesoutheastasiaaustraliaeast
Lium — 1 regions
Various

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Key differences

Azure

ND H100 v5, NC A100 v4, Grok on Azure AI Foundry — 60+ regions with enterprise compliance

Lium

GPU marketplace — per-second billing, no minimum rental period

AttributeAzureLium
Provider typehyperscalermarketplace
Billing modelPay-as-you-go, Reserved (1yr/3yr), Spot, Savings PlansPer-second (spot and secure tiers)
Min commitmentNone (pay-as-you-go)None (15-min balance required to start)
Regions5 (eastus, westus2, westeurope, +2)1 (Various)
Support tierBasic → PremierStandard
Best forEnterprise ML with compliance requirements, Microsoft-centric organizations (M365, Active Directory)Short-burst GPU workloads, Cost-sensitive training with per-second billing
Founded / HQ2010 · Redmond, WA2023 · United States