Beam logo Runpod logo

Beam vs Runpod

Runpod offers both serverless and dedicated GPU instances with broader hardware options, while Beam specializes in serverless with unique features like checkpoint restore and sub-second cold starts.

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What's good about...

Beam logo Beam

  • Pay-per-millisecond billing, only charged when code is running
  • Sandbox snapshots for faster deployments
  • Autoscaling and deployment logs built-in
  • Supports custom Docker images

Runpod logo Runpod

  • Deploy affordable GPUs in under a minute
  • Scale across 30+ regions worldwide
  • Flexible billing: pay by the second, no commitments
  • Built-in deployments, autoscaling & monitoring

Price comparison

How do Beam's prices compare against Runpod?

VM Small

Closest config to 1 vCPU, 1 GB RAM.
Beam Beam
--
Runpod Runpod
$43.20 / mo 2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM (Compute-Optimized)

VM Medium

Closest config to 4 vCPU, 8 GB RAM.
Beam Beam
--
Runpod Runpod
$86.40 / mo 4 vCPU, 8 GB RAM (Compute-Optimized)

VM Large

Closest config to 8 vCPU, 16 GB RAM (dedicated preferred).
Beam Beam
--
Runpod Runpod
$172.80 / mo 8 vCPU, 16 GB RAM (Compute-Optimized)

Block Storage

Closest config to 100+ GB SSD, 3,000+ IOPS, 100+ MB/s throughput, no snapshots.
Beam Beam
--
Runpod Runpod
$10.00 / mo 100 GB

Free egress allowance

Beam Beam
--
Runpod Runpod
Free and unlimited

1 TB of egress beyond allowance

Beam Beam
--
Runpod Runpod
Free and unlimited

Beam logo Beam Pricing Details

Beam uses a pay-per-millisecond pricing model where you only pay when your code is running. CPU costs $0.190 per core, RAM costs $0.020 per GB, and file storage is included free of charge. There are no charges for cold starts or server spin-up time.

GPU Fleet Overview

Starting Price

Beam Beam
$1.61/hr
Runpod Runpod
$0.16/hr

Billing Options

Beam Beam
On-Demand
Runpod Runpod
On-DemandSpotReserved (12mo)Reserved (6mo)Reserved (3mo)

Available Models

Beam offers 3 GPU models, while Runpod offers 26.

Beam Beam
H100(1) RTX 4090(1) A10G(1)
Runpod Runpod
H100(47) A100(36) H200(24) L40S(5) B200(24) RTX Pro 6000(24) V100(2) RTX A6000(15) L4(12) RTX 4090(10)
View all 26 GPUs

Heads up: We do our best to keep these prices accurate. However, cloud costs may fluctuate based on region, usage, and other factors not listed here. These are estimates based on common setups and are for informational purposes only. Always verify current rates with the provider before provisioning.

Which services do they offer

Here are some managed services that Beam and Runpod offer:

Service Beam Runpod
Block Storage
GPU-powered Servers
Managed Containers
Python Notebooks
Serverless Functions
Virtual Private Server (VPS)

Company details

Website
Beam Beam
www.beam.cloud
Runpod Runpod
www.runpod.io
Headquarters
Beam Beam
United States of America
Runpod Runpod
United States of America
Founded
Beam Beam
2021
Runpod Runpod
2022
Data Center Locations
Beam Beam
--
Runpod Runpod
24
Example Customers
Beam Beam
Coke, Magellan, StratumAI, Geospy, Frase
Runpod Runpod
Zillow, CivitAI, Wix, OpenAI, Perplexity, Cursor

Alternatives to consider

Compare Beam and Runpod against other cloud providers.

View all comparisons

Our data for Beam was last updated on Feb. 12, 2026, and for Runpod on June 5, 2026.