Azure ND H100 v5 vs Google Cloud A3
Azure ND H100 v5 and Google Cloud A3 cannot be scored on the same axes — one of them does not publish a rate for everything gpu cloud bills on.
List prices checked
Rate cards side by side
Only the axes at least one of them bills on. A dash means that provider does not charge for it.
| Billing axis | Azure ND H100 v5 | Google Cloud A3 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free tier | No | No | — |
Source: Microsoft pricing (May 2026) · Google pricing (May 2026). Published list prices only — committed-use discounts, regional variation, and per-request charges are not included. Not yet independently re-checked against the vendor’s page.
Monthly cost for three real workloads
The rate cards applied to identical usage. This is where the winner changes.
| Workload | Azure ND H100 v5 | Google Cloud A3 | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| Side projectA personal site or small app with modest traffic, a few gigabytes of assets, and one small always-on process. | $5,095 | $5,095 | Not comparable |
| Growing SaaSA funded product serving a few thousand daily users, with an image-heavy frontend and two application servers. | $10,191 | $10,191 | Not comparable |
| Media-heavy siteA publisher or video product where delivery dominates the bill and compute is almost an afterthought. | $5,095 | $5,095 | Not comparable |
Workload definitions are identical on every comparison page, so figures here can be read against any other pair in the same category.
What each one is for
Azure ND H100 v5
by Microsoft
Microsoft's H100 instances, sold mostly through enterprise agreements where the list rate is not what anyone actually pays.
Google Cloud A3
by Google
H100 instances on Compute Engine with fast interconnect, priced in line with the other hyperscalers and well above the specialists.
Common questions
- Is Azure ND H100 v5 or Google Cloud A3 cheaper in 2026?
- Neither can be scored across all three workloads, because at least one of them does not publish a rate for every axis this category bills on.
- Which has the better free tier, Azure ND H100 v5 or Google Cloud A3?
- Neither publishes a free tier; both bill from the first unit of usage.
- What do these estimates not include?
- Committed-use and reserved discounts, regional price variation, per-request API charges, support plans, and minimum retention periods. All of those move real invoices, sometimes by a lot. These figures compare published list prices for the same workload, which is the comparison the rate cards alone cannot give you.