BUY VS RENT / TOTAL COST CALCULATOR
Buy GPUs and colocate, or rent a reserved cluster?
Compare the full cost of buying NVIDIA B300, B200 or GB300 NVL72 hardware and hosting it in colocation against a reserved cluster rental, over 12 to 60 months. Every assumption is editable. Change any number and the results update.
Updated October 17, 2026. By GPU Rentals, powered by Bridgepointe Technologies. Sources are listed at the end.
Where the money goes
Buy. Renting needs no upfront payment.
Before resale. The buy line starts with the hardware purchase, or at zero when financed.
Cost breakdown
| Item | Buy + colocation | Rent |
|---|
What the math leaves out
- Lead time. New Blackwell servers ship in roughly 4 to 14 weeks, plus colocation build-out and burn-in. Reserved capacity can start sooner when a provider has it free.
- Power you can actually get. A GB300 NVL72 rack draws over 100 kW and needs liquid cooling. Few colocation sites can host it today. Air-cooled B300 and B200 servers are easier to place.
- Resale risk. The resale value is a guess. A newer generation can cut it quickly, and that is the biggest swing in the buy total.
- Failures and spares. Owners carry the risk of a failed GPU or node. A rental contract can put that on the provider.
- Taxes and depreciation. Buying is a capital purchase you can depreciate; renting is an operating expense. Ask your accountant how each lands for you.
GET REAL NUMBERS FOR BOTH
Hardware and colocation.
Or a reserved cluster.
We source GPU servers, colocation space and reserved clusters. Send your scenario and we reply by email with real quotes for the path you choose, or for both. Nothing is booked or charged.
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BUY VS RENT QUESTIONS
Before you decide.
Is it cheaper to buy GPUs or rent them?
Over long terms with the cluster busy most of the time, buying and colocating often costs less in total. Renting needs no upfront cash, starts sooner and moves hardware and resale risk to the provider. Change the inputs above to see where the line falls for your cluster.
How much does it cost to buy a B300 server?
October 2026 reseller listings and analyst estimates put a configured 8-GPU HGX B300 server at roughly $430,000 to $550,000, with volume orders lower. The calculator starts at $475,000. Networking, storage and racks add more on top.
What does colocation cost for a GPU cluster?
North American colocation averaged about $196 per kW per month in CBRE's H2 2025 data. High-density and liquid-cooled space costs more. An 8-GPU B300 or B200 server draws up to about 14 kW, so each one needs roughly $2,800 a month of colocation at that rate, before electricity.
How much power does a GB300 NVL72 rack need?
Up to about 135 to 140 kW per rack, with direct liquid cooling. That rules out most standard colocation suites, so check site capacity before buying.
What resale value should I assume?
The calculator starts at 50% after 12 months, 35% after 24, 20% after 36 and 5% after 60. These are planning assumptions, not appraisals. Change them to match your own view or a buyback offer.
Can I finance the hardware instead of paying cash?
Yes. Enter a financing rate and the calculator spreads the full purchase over the term as a level monthly payment, with interest included in the total. Leave it at 0 to model a cash purchase.
Sources and assumptions, checked October 17, 2026
Server prices: American Compute appraisals for B300 (amcompute.com/appraisals/b300) and B200 (amcompute.com/appraisals/b200), GPU Smith HGX datasheets for B300 (gpusmith.com) and B200 (gpusmith.com), Servermall DGX B300 listing (servermall.com). GB300 NVL72 rack price: Data Gravity (datagravity.dev). Power and cooling: NVIDIA DGX B300 (nvidia.com), DGX B200 (nvidia.com) and GB300 NVL72 (nvidia.com). Colocation pricing: CBRE North America Data Center Trends H2 2025 (cbre.com).
A month is 730 hours. Rental rates are our reserved rates, subject to confirmed capacity. Hardware prices are estimates; a real quote depends on configuration, volume and timing. This is a planning tool, not financial or tax advice.