Hyperscale cloud instances
Virtual machines and bare metal from very large general-purpose clouds, with accelerators beside many other services.
8 entries on this site fit
Offer types
Ways to buy compute
12 ways compute is offered, from renting an instance by the hour to leasing a building. Each page says what the type is, who it suits, how contracts are usually shaped, what to ask, and which providers and programmes on this site fit.
These pages are definitions and questions, not sourced statistics, and they do not rank anyone. Start with the offer type chooser, use the comparison of offer types, or take the printable buyer's checklist into a call. Words are explained in the glossary and practical steps in the guides.
GPU clouds and bare metal
Clouds built mainly around accelerators, from single instances to dedicated clusters and whole servers.
30 entries on this site fit
Marketplaces and aggregators
One place to find, compare and rent capacity that belongs to many separate hosts or clouds.
6 entries on this site fit
Decentralised and community networks
Capacity pooled from many independent operators, sometimes paid through a network token.
9 entries on this site fit
Regional and sovereign clouds
Clouds that keep data and operations in a chosen country or bloc, under its law.
14 entries on this site fit
Managed inference and serverless GPU
Call a model or run a function and pay per token, per call or per second, without renting a machine.
15 entries on this site fit
Chip-maker and accelerator clouds
Clouds that give access to a company’s own accelerator chips, not only GPUs.
5 entries on this site fit
National and institutional HPC, and free or funded programmes
Supercomputer time and credits given by application, not bought by the hour.
56 entries on this site fit
Colocation, wholesale, powered shell and build-to-suit
Rent space, power and cooling for your own machines, or a building made ready for you.
6 entries on this site fit
On-premises hardware, and leasing or financing it
Buy or lease the machines and run them in your own building or a colocation site.
3 entries on this site fit
Capacity brokers, reserved contracts, secondary and spot markets
Ways to secure capacity ahead of time, buy it through an intermediary, or take spare capacity cheaply.
17 entries on this site fit
Edge and telecom sites, and converted sites
Compute placed close to users in network and telecom sites, or in buildings converted from other uses.
4 entries on this site fit
Definitions and questions written in our own words, checked on 3 October 2026 and due for review by 3 January 2027. Sourced facts stay on the provider, programme and policy pages this page links to. This is general information to help you ask better questions. It is not legal, tax or procurement advice. For export controls, sanctions and contracts, check the primary rules and talk to a qualified adviser. Something wrong? Tell us.