Provider Overview
Strengths & Best For
Microsoft Azure offers ND H100 v5 and NC A100 v4 series VMs across 60+ regions, with enterprise compliance certifications including HIPAA, FedRAMP, and SOC 2 built in. Deep Active Directory and hybrid cloud integration makes it the natural GPU cloud for Microsoft-centric organizations running LLM fine-tuning or AI inference at scale. On-demand, reserved, and spot GPU billing options are available with flexible commitment terms.
- Enterprise compliance
- Active Directory integration
- Hybrid cloud
- Microsoft 365 ecosystem
Nebius AI (formerly Yandex Cloud international) is a European AI-focused cloud offering H100, H200, and A100 GPU clusters with competitive pricing and full EU data residency for GDPR-compliant AI training and inference. On-demand, spot, and reserved billing options are available, making it one of the most flexible European GPU cloud choices for cost-sensitive teams. A strong alternative to hyperscalers for EU-based organizations that cannot send data outside European borders.
- EU data residency
- Competitive H100/H200 pricing
- Spot availability
- GDPR compliant
Live GPU Pricing
Region Coverage
Popular Comparisons
Azure — hyperscaler provider
Microsoft Azure offers ND H100 v5 and NC A100 v4 series VMs across 60+ regions, with enterprise compliance certifications including HIPAA, FedRAMP, and SOC 2 built in. Deep Active Directory and hybrid cloud integration makes it the natural GPU cloud for Microsoft-centric organizations running LLM fine-tuning or AI inference at scale. On-demand, reserved, and spot GPU billing options are available with flexible commitment terms.
Nebius AI — specialist provider
Nebius AI (formerly Yandex Cloud international) is a European AI-focused cloud offering H100, H200, and A100 GPU clusters with competitive pricing and full EU data residency for GDPR-compliant AI training and inference. On-demand, spot, and reserved billing options are available, making it one of the most flexible European GPU cloud choices for cost-sensitive teams. A strong alternative to hyperscalers for EU-based organizations that cannot send data outside European borders.
Billing model comparison
Azure uses a Pay-as-you-go, Reserved (1yr/3yr), Spot billing model with a minimum commitment of None (pay-as-you-go). Nebius AI uses On-demand, Spot, Reserved billing with a None minimum. Both providers offer flexible billing options — compare the live pricing table above to find the best rate for your specific GPU model and workload duration.
Which workloads each provider suits best
Azure is best suited for: Enterprise ML, Windows-based workloads, Teams on Microsoft stack. Its key strengths are enterprise compliance, active directory integration, hybrid cloud. Nebius AI is best suited for: EU-based AI teams, GDPR-sensitive workloads, Cost-conscious training. Its key strengths are eu data residency, competitive h100/h200 pricing, spot availability. As a hyperscaler, Azure offers broader ecosystem integration and compliance certifications at a premium price. Nebius AI as a specialist provider typically offers lower per-GPU rates for teams that don't need the full hyperscaler ecosystem.
Support tiers and region coverage
Azure offers Basic → Premier support across 5 regions (eastus, westus2, westeurope and 2 more). Nebius AI offers Standard → Enterprise support across 2 regions (EU-West, US-East). Azure's broader region footprint gives it an advantage for latency-sensitive workloads or teams with data residency requirements in specific geographies.
Provider background: Azure vs Nebius AI
Azure was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in Redmond, WA. Nebius AI was founded in 2023 and is headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Azure has 13 years more operational history than Nebius AI, which may matter for teams evaluating provider stability and long-term contract risk. Use the live pricing table above to compare current on-demand and spot rates for specific GPU models, and the region map to verify coverage in your target geography.