Softwr

Cloud · head to head

Cerebrium vs Depot

Cerebrium logo

Cerebrium

Cloud

Serverless GPU infrastructure for real-time AI inference and applications

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Depot logo

Depot

Developer Tools

Cloud-based builds and CI runs 55x faster with less cost

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Cerebrium free Hobby tier limited to 3 apps and 5 GPU concurrency; Depot developer plan minute limits may be insufficient for active development
  • They diverge on capability: Cerebrium covers Ultra-fast cold starts, Depot covers Depot CI.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 29 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cerebrium and Depot actually diverge.

Attributes where Cerebrium and Depot differ
AttributeCerebriumDepot
Pricing modelFreemium with monthly plans and per-second compute chargesUnknown
PlatformsCloud, DockerCloud, GitHub, CLI
CategoryCloudDeveloper Tools
FoundedUnknown2022

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Cerebrium

  • Ultra-fast cold starts
  • Elastic scaling
  • Bring your own code
  • Multi-region failover
  • WebSocket and streaming
  • Asynchronous jobs
  • CI/CD with gradual rollouts
  • OpenTelemetry integration

Only in Depot

  • Depot CI
  • Container builds
  • GitHub Actions runners
  • Distributed caching
  • Build API
  • Depot Registry
  • Cross-platform builds
  • SSH debugging

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Cerebrium

  • Deploying voice agents and conversational AI applicationsnot Depot
  • Video and image model serving with low latencynot Depot
  • LLM inference and completion endpointsnot Depot
  • Real-time embeddings and vector database operationsnot Depot
  • Distributed model training with hyperparameter sweepsnot Depot

Depot

  • Accelerating Docker builds for container-based developmentnot Cerebrium
  • Replacing GitHub Actions runners with faster infrastructurenot Cerebrium
  • Distributing cache across Monorepo buildsnot Cerebrium
  • Debugging failed CI builds interactively with SSHnot Cerebrium

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Cerebrium

  • Free Hobby tier limited to 3 apps and 5 GPU concurrency
  • Standard plan at $100/month required for production deployments
  • Per-second compute pricing requires continuous cost monitoring
  • Storage costs add up for large model files

Depot

  • Developer plan minute limits may be insufficient for active development
  • Startup plan at $200/mo is expensive for smaller teams
  • Business plan requires custom pricing consultation
  • macOS M2 runners not available on Developer plan

Pricing, plan by plan

Cerebrium

Free
  • HobbyFree
    • 3 user seats
    • Up to 3 deployed apps
    • 5 GPU concurrency
  • Standard$100/month
    • Unlimited seats and apps
    • 30 GPU concurrency
    • Custom domains
  • Enterprise$undefined/custom
    • Unlimited resources
    • Volume discounts
    • Dedicated support
  • GPU Compute$undefined/per-second
    • T4: $0.000164/s
    • H100: $0.00167/s

Depot

Free
  • Developer$20/month
    • 1 user
    • 500 Docker build minutes per month
    • 2,000 Depot CI minutes per month
  • Startup$200/month
    • Unlimited users
    • 5,000 Docker build minutes per month
    • 20,000 Depot CI minutes per month
  • Business$undefined/custom
    • Custom pricing
    • Unlimited users
    • Custom monthly compute

Which should you pick?

Choose Cerebrium if

  • You need ultra-fast cold starts.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Cloud, Docker.
  • You also want elastic scaling.
Cerebrium review

Choose Depot if

  • You need depot ci.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Cloud, GitHub, CLI.
  • You also want container builds.
Depot review

Questions people ask

Is Cerebrium or Depot better?
Neither clearly leads. Cerebrium starts at Free and Depot at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cerebrium or Depot?
Cerebrium starts at Free and Depot at Free.
Does Cerebrium or Depot run on more platforms?
Cerebrium runs on Cloud, Docker. Depot runs on Cloud, GitHub, CLI.
Can I use Cerebrium for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Cerebrium best used for?
Cerebrium is most often used for deploying voice agents and conversational ai applications, video and image model serving with low latency, llm inference and completion endpoints, real-time embeddings and vector database operations. Of those, deploying voice agents and conversational ai applications and video and image model serving with low latency are not what Depot is typically brought in for.
What can Cerebrium do that Depot cannot?
Cerebrium covers Ultra-fast cold starts, Elastic scaling, Bring your own code, Multi-region failover. Depot covers Depot CI, Container builds, GitHub Actions runners, Distributed caching.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Cerebrium: Is Cerebrium only for inference or can it train models?

Cerebrium supports both inference serving and model training with hyperparameter sweeps. It enables deployment of voice agents, LLMs, video models, and other AI applications.

Source
Depot: How much faster are Depot runners compared to GitHub Actions?

Depot runners offer 30% faster CPUs and 10x faster networking than standard GitHub-hosted runners, enabling builds to complete significantly faster.

Source
Cerebrium: How do the cold starts compare to other platforms?

Cerebrium achieves 2-4 second cold starts through memory and GPU snapshotting, significantly faster than traditional 30+ second cold boots. This is competitive with platforms like Beam Cloud.

Source
Depot: What is included in the Developer plan?

Developer plan ($20/month) includes 500 Docker build minutes, 2,000 Depot CI minutes, 2,000 GitHub Actions minutes, 25 GB storage, unlimited concurrency, and community support.

Source
Cerebrium: What compliance certifications does Cerebrium have?

Cerebrium maintains SOC 2 Type II compliance, HIPAA certification, GDPR compliance, and ISO certification. It provides gVisor container isolation and configurable data residency for regulated workloads.

Source
Depot: Can I use Depot with my own AWS account?

Yes, Depot Managed allows deployment within customer AWS accounts. This is available to interested customers; contact sales for details.

Source
Share

Related pages

More on Cerebrium

More on Depot

Keep looking

Other head to heads