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
Gcore is a global GPU cloud and CDN provider offering H100, A100, L40S, and L4 instances across 40+ points of presence worldwide, with ultra-low latency networking and built-in DDoS protection for edge AI inference workloads. On-demand and reserved billing options are available, making it a versatile GPU cloud for teams that need both compute and network performance at a global scale. A top choice for latency-sensitive AI inference applications that need to serve users across multiple continents.
- 40+ global PoPs
- Ultra-low latency
- DDoS protection
- Edge AI inference
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.
Gcore — specialist provider
Gcore is a global GPU cloud and CDN provider offering H100, A100, L40S, and L4 instances across 40+ points of presence worldwide, with ultra-low latency networking and built-in DDoS protection for edge AI inference workloads. On-demand and reserved billing options are available, making it a versatile GPU cloud for teams that need both compute and network performance at a global scale. A top choice for latency-sensitive AI inference applications that need to serve users across multiple continents.
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). Gcore uses On-demand, 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. Gcore is best suited for: Global inference deployment, Latency-sensitive AI apps, Teams needing edge compute. Its key strengths are 40+ global pops, ultra-low latency, ddos protection. As a hyperscaler, Azure offers broader ecosystem integration and compliance certifications at a premium price. Gcore 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). Gcore offers Standard → Enterprise support across 5 regions (EU, US, APAC and 2 more). Both providers have comparable region coverage — choose based on which specific regions overlap with your user base or data residency requirements.
Provider background: Azure vs Gcore
Azure was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in Redmond, WA. Gcore was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in Luxembourg. Azure has 4 years more operational history than Gcore, 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.