Azure ND H100 v5 Price Per Hour for High-Performance AI Tasks

It’s no secret: the generative AI boom has put an unprecedented strain on computing resources. According to McKinsey’s 2024 report on global AI trends, over 60% of enterprises worldwide are either scaling or planning to scale their AI operations. Naturally, the demand for GPU-based cloud infrastructure has surged—with NVIDIA’s H100 Tensor Core GPU at the heart of this revolution.

Enter Azure’s ND H100 v5 VM series, built specifically to support massive-scale AI workloads. Whether you're training large language models (LLMs), running simulation-heavy scientific experiments, or building real-time inferencing systems, these VMs are designed to deliver blistering performance.

But how much will this power cost you? That’s where understanding the Azure ND H100 v5 price per hour becomes critical—especially if you're looking to scale cost-effectively while maintaining enterprise-grade performance.

What Is Azure ND H100 v5?

Microsoft Azure’s ND H100 v5 is a next-gen GPU-accelerated virtual machine (VM) optimized for AI/ML and HPC workloads. These VMs are powered by NVIDIA’s H100 Tensor Core GPUs, which offer unparalleled performance for training and inference tasks.

Core Specs:

8 × NVIDIA H100 GPUs (80 GB each)

96 vCPUs (Intel Sapphire Rapids)

1,900 GB RAM

NVLink and InfiniBand interconnects (3.2 Tbps)

Local NVMe storage (~28 TB)

This architecture is specifically designed for high-bandwidth, low-latency communication between GPUs—making it ideal for model parallelism and distributed training setups.

Azure ND H100 v5 Price Per Hour: On-Demand vs Spot

Let’s dive into the numbers.

On-Demand Pricing

Azure currently lists the ND96isr H100 v5 VM (with 8 H100s) at approximately $98.32/hour for U.S. East and Central regions. This includes the full stack—compute, memory, GPU, and storage bundled.

That translates to around:

$12.29 per GPU per hour

Or roughly $2,950/month per GPU assuming 8 hours/day of usage for 30 days

Pricing may vary slightly depending on your Azure region, bandwidth needs, and reserved capacity agreements.

Spot Pricing

Spot VMs on Azure can offer up to 20–30% savings, bringing the cost down to approximately $70–$75/hour—but keep in mind the risk of eviction.

Use cases like experimentation, prototype training, or checkpoint-based workflows are great for spot instances. For production workloads, on-demand is safer.

Comparing ND H100 v5 to Other Options

Here's a breakdown comparing ND H100 v5 to other GPU VM types offered on Azure and beyond:

Clearly, ND H100 v5 is premium-priced, but it offers superior computational throughput, especially with its H100 GPUs and interconnect fabric.

Real-World Monthly Cost Estimation

Suppose you're training an LLM for a month with 8 GPUs running 12 hours a day:

On-Demand:
12 hrs/day × 30 days × $98.32 = $35,395.20/month

Spot:
12 hrs/day × 30 days × ~$72.50 = $26,100/month

These figures highlight the importance of planning GPU hours wisely. Consider scheduling jobs in low-demand hours or off-peak zones if your workload allows it.

Use Cases Perfect for ND H100 v5

If you're debating whether to invest in these VMs, here are situations where Azure ND H100 v5 absolutely shines:

Large Language Model Training: BERT, GPT, and other transformer models scale beautifully using H100 GPUs.

Distributed Training: Thanks to NVLink and InfiniBand, inter-GPU communication is seamless.

High-Fidelity Simulations: From financial risk modeling to medical imaging, the compute density is unmatched.

AI-as-a-Service Platforms: SaaS AI firms can deliver faster inference at scale.

For these compute-hungry tasks, opting for Azure’s most powerful offering may pay off in speed and efficiency.

Tips to Optimize Your Cloud Costs

Maximizing performance without burning your budget is all about smart cloud usage. Here's how:

1. Use Azure Cost Calculator

Estimate VM cost, storage, and network charges using the official Azure cloud pricing calculator.

2. Consider Reserved Instances

Azure offers up to 60% discounts for 1-year and 3-year reserved plans.

3. Auto-scaling for Idle Time

Use Azure’s autoscale feature to shut down idle VMs during off hours. That’s money you don’t have to spend.

4. Leverage Cyfuture Cloud for Local GPU Hosting

Need GPU servers in India with high availability? Cyfuture Cloud offers H100 and A100-based hosting with better latency and customized SLAs—at a potentially lower TCO compared to global hyperscalers.

Conclusion: Is Azure ND H100 v5 Worth It?

If you’re building something truly compute-intensive—like training GPT-style LLMs, running fluid dynamics simulations, or developing enterprise-grade generative AI solutions—then Azure’s ND H100 v5 is among the best cloud infrastructure money can buy.

Yes, the Azure ND H100 v5 price per hour isn’t cheap. But with the right strategy—like leveraging spot instances, reserved VMs, and autoscaling—you can extract maximum performance per dollar.

And for those who prefer hybrid cloud setups or regional GPU access, exploring Cyfuture Cloud's GPU hosting options can offer similar compute capability with added flexibility.