Head to head

RTX 3090 vs RTX 4090

RTX 3090 and RTX 4090 side by side: published specs, and what each one actually rents for per GPU-hour on the clouds this index tracks.

Prices last collected 2026-10-26 04:30 UTC.

Quick verdict

RTX 4090 is currently about $0.0141 per GPU-hour cheaper than RTX 3090 — roughly 12% less.

Specifications side by side

Published specifications for RTX 3090 and RTX 4090 (vendor data)
Attribute RTX 3090 RTX 4090
Memory 24 GB 24 GB
Architecture Ampere Ada Lovelace
Memory bandwidth 936 GB/s 1.01 TB/s
Dense FP16 throughput 71 TFLOPS* 165 TFLOPS*

Vendor-published figures, with sparsity where the vendor states it. Always confirm on the official datasheet before sizing a cluster.

What actually differs

  • Both cards carry 24 GB, so memory size is not what separates them.
  • Higher memory bandwidth: RTX 4090 at 1.01 TB/s.
  • RTX 3090 is Ampere-generation silicon, RTX 4090 is Ada Lovelace.
  • Cheaper on the price table today: RTX 4090 from $0.1081 per GPU-hour.

Frequently asked questions

Everything about renting cloud GPUs, affiliate tracking and how we collect pricing data.

How is the cheaper provider decided?

For every GPU model both providers list, we compare the normalised single-GPU hourly price. The average of those unit prices is shown for each side, and the lower one is labelled cheaper. We deliberately exclude models only one of the two offers, because that is not a like-for-like comparison.

Does the cheaper option always make sense?

Not always. Marketplace capacity can be reclaimed at short notice and its hosts vary in network and disk performance, while a dedicated cloud gives more predictable throughput. For multi-node training, interconnect and NVLink support usually matter more than a few cents per hour.

Are spot prices directly comparable between providers?

Only roughly. Each platform defines interruption rules, notice periods and reclaim behaviour differently. Treat spot prices as an indication of the cheapest achievable rate, not as a guaranteed price.

Why do you show per-hour rather than per-month prices?

Most providers bill by the second or the hour, and per-hour figures are the only ones that can be compared without guessing how many hours you will actually run. Use the GPU cost estimator to convert an hourly rate into a monthly budget.

Volume buyers

B2B bulk GPU enquiry

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  • Typical first reply from a provider team: 1–2 business days
  • Useful for reserved clusters, multi-month commitments and data-residency requirements

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