The AI boom is in full swing, and that means everyone's scrambling for the heavy-duty computing power needed to train and run today's complex models. In this race for power, companies like Crusoe AI have popped up, offering specialized, high-performance cloud computing designed specifically for AI.
But figuring out what this kind of raw power actually costs isn't as simple as glancing at a price sheet. This guide will break down the real Crusoe AI pricing, what’s included, and the total cost you should actually be thinking about. We'll also get into the classic debate of building AI from scratch versus using a ready-made platform to help you figure out the right move for your business.
What is Crusoe AI?
At its heart, Crusoe is an "AI factory company." They give you the foundational cloud infrastructure (the tech world calls this Infrastructure as a Service, or IaaS) that developers and data scientists need to build, train, and launch large-scale AI. Think of it like this: they provide the super-powered engines and the specialized racetrack, but you still have to build the race car yourself.
They have a few things that make them stand out. First, they focus on giving you access to the latest and greatest GPUs from NVIDIA and AMD, which are basically the lifeblood of modern AI. Second, their data centers are built from the ground up to handle the insane amount of power and cooling these high-performance chips need. Lastly, they have a pretty cool focus on sustainability, often setting up shop near stranded or eco-friendly energy sources to power their operations.
Crusoe is really for teams that live and breathe this stuff: AI startups building their own models, research labs pushing the limits of what's possible, and big companies with dedicated MLOps teams who need total control over their hardware.
A detailed look at Crusoe AI pricing
Crusoe’s pricing is designed to be flexible, since AI projects come in all shapes and sizes. They typically have a few different options, like on-demand instances for short-term work, spot instances for jobs that can handle interruptions, and reserved instances for long-term projects, which usually come with a nice discount.
For this guide, we’re going to focus on the on-demand pricing because it’s the most straightforward way to compare costs.
Crusoe AI GPU pricing
Here’s a snapshot of what you can expect to pay per hour for some of their more popular GPU setups. Just remember, these on-demand prices are a baseline and can change over time.
| GPU Instance | GPUs | Total VRAM | vCPUs | RAM | Price/hour (On-Demand) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| a40.1x | 1x NVIDIA A40 | 48GB | 6 | 60GB | $0.90 |
| l40s-48gb.1x | 1x NVIDIA L40S | 48GB | 8 | 147GB | $1.00 |
| a100.1x | 1x NVIDIA A100 | 40GB | 12 | 120GB | $1.45 |
| a100-80gb.1x | 1x NVIDIA A100 | 80GB | 12 | 120GB | $1.65 |
| a100-80gb-sxm-ib.8x | 8x NVIDIA A100 | 640GB | 96 | 960GB | $15.60 |
| mi300x-192gb-ib.8x | 8x AMD MI300X | 1536GB | 240 | 2000GB | $27.60 |
| h100-80gb-sxm-ib.8x | 8x NVIDIA H100 | 640GB | 176 | 960GB | $31.20 |
| h200-141gb-sxm-ib.8x | 8x NVIDIA H200 | 1128GB | 176 | 2000GB | $34.32 |
| B200 SXM | 1x NVIDIA B200 | 180GB | -- | -- | On Request |
Source: Data pulled from Crusoe's website and public comparisons.
What are the hidden costs?
The price on the GPU instance is what everyone sees, but it’s nowhere near the full story. When you decide to build your own AI solution on raw infrastructure, the total cost of ownership (TCO) balloons pretty quickly. You aren't just renting a server; you're taking on a massive, complicated project. Here are the other costs you have to account for:
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Talent: You'll need a team of very smart (and very expensive) experts. Machine Learning Engineers, Data Scientists, and MLOps specialists don't work for cheap, and you can't build anything without them.
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Time: Getting a production-ready AI model off the ground isn't a weekend project. We're talking months, maybe even years, to get from an idea to a reliable, deployed solution. That's a huge opportunity cost when your team could be working on other things.
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Maintenance: AI models aren't something you can just set and forget. They need constant watching, updating, and retraining to make sure they're still accurate and performing well. This is an ongoing operational cost that pretty much never ends.
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Complexity: Juggling cloud infrastructure, making sure everything is stable, debugging weird model behavior, and fixing integration problems all add up. This operational headache can easily pull your team away from their main goals.
Is building your own AI the best choice?
This brings us to the big "build vs. buy" dilemma. While a powerful platform like Crusoe is a must-have for teams creating brand-new AI models from scratch, many common business problems can be solved way more efficiently with a specialized, pre-built tool.
When is Crusoe AI the right choice?
Renting raw GPU power is the right move in a few specific situations. You should go down this path if you're:
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Developing your own unique, foundational AI model that will be your main product.
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Doing cutting-edge AI research that needs totally custom setups and deep control over the hardware.
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Working at a company where the AI model is the business, not just something that helps the business run better.
When is a turnkey AI solution a smarter investment?
For most companies, the goal isn't to build AI; it's to use AI to solve a specific problem. Think about it: you wouldn't build your own CRM from the ground up when you can just use Salesforce, or code your own payment processor when Stripe exists. The same thinking applies here.
Customer support automation is a perfect example. Instead of sinking a year and a small fortune into trying to build a support bot on Crusoe, you could use a specialized platform like eesel AI and get better results in a tiny fraction of the time.
This is where the difference between building and buying becomes crystal clear:
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Go live in minutes, not months: eesel AI connects to your helpdesk, like Zendesk or Freshdesk, with a single click. You can be simulating and automating tickets on the same day, not next year.
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No ML experts needed: You don't have to hire a team of data scientists. The eesel AI dashboard is designed to be self-serve, so your existing support managers can set up, test, and launch powerful AI agents without writing a single line of code.
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Unify knowledge instantly: Forget about the painful process of gathering and cleaning training data. eesel AI automatically learns from the knowledge you already have, like past tickets, internal wikis on Confluence, and documents in Google Docs.
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Transparent and predictable pricing: Instead of the complicated, fluctuating, and often shocking costs of building it yourself, eesel AI offers simple, clear plans that don't charge you per resolution. You know exactly what you're paying each month.
A visual of the eesel AI pricing page, which contrasts with the opaque Crusoe AI pricing model by showing clear, public-facing costs.A practical comparison: Building with Crusoe AI vs. deploying eesel AI
The difference between these two paths really stands out when you lay them side-by-side.
| Feature | Building on Crusoe AI (The "Build" Approach) | Deploying eesel AI (The "Buy" Approach) |
|---|---|---|
| Time to Launch | 6-12+ months | Under 1 hour |
| Required Team | ML Engineers, Data Scientists, MLOps | Your existing support team |
| Initial Cost | High (GPU rental + salaries) | Low (Starts at $239/mo, billed annually) |
| Ongoing Cost | High and variable (maintenance, re-training) | Predictable, fixed monthly fee |
| Core Task | Building and training models from scratch | Configuring a pre-built, specialized AI agent |
| Risk | High (project could fail or underdeliver) | Low (simulate on past tickets before going live) |
Crusoe's Co-Founder & CEO, Chase Lochmiller, discusses the high demand for computing power that drives Crusoe AI pricing.
Choose the right AI path for your business
Crusoe AI offers seriously powerful, cutting-edge infrastructure that's essential for the folks building the future of AI. The Crusoe AI pricing reflects the top-tier hardware they provide, and for the right kind of project, it's a worthwhile investment.
But building AI from scratch comes with a ton of hidden costs in time, talent, and general complexity that most companies just aren't ready for. Before you jump down the "build" rabbit hole, ask yourself a simple question: is your goal to become an AI research company, or is it to solve a business problem?
For challenges like customer support, a specialized platform is a faster, cheaper, and safer way to get where you need to go. If you want to automate your support workflows without the infrastructure headache, check out how eesel AI can get you up and running in minutes.
Frequently asked questions
Crusoe AI pricing primarily revolves around hourly rates for GPU instances, which vary based on the specific GPU model (e.g., NVIDIA A100, H100) and configuration (e.g., number of GPUs, VRAM, vCPUs). They also offer different purchasing models like on-demand, spot, and reserved instances.
Yes, the hourly GPU rate is just one part of the total cost of ownership. You must also account for the significant expenses of hiring AI talent, the time investment for development, ongoing maintenance, and managing the overall complexity of building an AI solution from scratch.
Crusoe AI pricing is ideal when your business is focused on developing unique, foundational AI models, conducting cutting-edge AI research, or when the AI model itself is your core product. It provides the necessary deep control over high-performance hardware for these specialized needs.
Yes, Crusoe typically offers more favorable Crusoe AI pricing through reserved instances for long-term projects. This model often provides a discount compared to the standard on-demand hourly rates, rewarding sustained usage.
Crusoe AI pricing is for infrastructure as a service (IaaS), meaning it primarily covers raw computing power, specifically GPUs, VRAM, vCPUs, and RAM. It does not typically include managed services, software licenses, or pre-built AI solutions; you are responsible for building and deploying your own models.
Crusoe AI pricing provides the raw computational power for building AI from scratch, requiring significant internal expertise and time investment. In contrast, solutions like eesel AI offer a fixed, predictable cost for a specialized, pre-built AI agent that can be deployed quickly without extensive ML development.
