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Cloud · head to head

Cerebrium vs Lambda Labs

Cerebrium logo

Cerebrium

Cloud

Serverless GPU infrastructure for real-time AI inference and applications

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Lambda Labs logo

Lambda Labs

AI

GPU cloud for deep learning

From
$1.1/per-hour
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Cerebrium has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Cerebrium free Hobby tier limited to 3 apps and 5 GPU concurrency; Lambda Labs on demand capacity is first come access rather than guaranteed, so an instance type can be unavailable when needed
  • They diverge on capability: Cerebrium covers Ultra-fast cold starts, Lambda Labs covers NVIDIA GPUs.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cerebrium and Lambda Labs actually diverge.

Attributes where Cerebrium and Lambda Labs differ
AttributeCerebriumLambda Labs
Starting priceFree$1.1/per-hour
Pricing modelFreemium with monthly plans and per-second compute chargesusage-based
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsCloud, DockerCloud
CategoryCloudAI
FoundedUnknown2012

Identical on both: 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 Lambda Labs

  • NVIDIA GPUs
  • Pre-installed frameworks
  • Persistent storage
  • SSH access
  • JupyterLab
  • VSCode
  • SSH
  • Cloud support

What people use each for

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

Cerebrium

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

Lambda Labs

  • Renting GPU instances for model training and inferencenot Cerebrium
  • Short term access to high memory accelerators without buying hardwarenot 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

Lambda Labs

  • On demand capacity is first come access rather than guaranteed, so an instance type can be unavailable when needed
  • H100 pricing varies within a band, at $3.99 to $4.29 an hour per GPU, so the rate is not fixed
  • Reserved capacity is arranged by contacting the team rather than self serve
  • Prices are quoted before applicable tax

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

Lambda Labs

$1.1/per-hour
  • On-Demand$1.1/per-hour
    • A10 GPU
    • Instant availability
  • ReservedFree
    • Volume discounts
    • Guaranteed capacity

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 Lambda Labs if

  • You need nvidia gpus.
  • You work on Cloud.
  • You also want pre-installed frameworks.
Lambda Labs review

Questions people ask

Is Cerebrium or Lambda Labs better?
Neither clearly leads. Cerebrium starts at Free and Lambda Labs at $1.1/per-hour, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cerebrium or Lambda Labs?
Cerebrium has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Cerebrium and $1.1/per-hour for Lambda Labs.
Does Cerebrium or Lambda Labs run on more platforms?
Cerebrium runs on Cloud, Docker. Lambda Labs runs on Cloud.
Can I use Cerebrium for free?
Yes. Cerebrium has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Lambda Labs starts at $1.1/per-hour.
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 Lambda Labs is typically brought in for.
What can Cerebrium do that Lambda Labs cannot?
Cerebrium covers Ultra-fast cold starts, Elastic scaling, Bring your own code, Multi-region failover. Lambda Labs covers NVIDIA GPUs, Pre-installed frameworks, Persistent storage, SSH access.

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
Lambda Labs: What does Lambda Labs GPU pricing depend on?

Lambda Labs pricing depends on the GPU model (H100, B200, A100, V100, etc.), cluster size, and contract length. For example, a 16-GPU H100 cluster costs $6.16/GPU/hour for 2 weeks to 1 year, while A100 GPUs are $1.99-$2.79/GPU/hour.

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
Lambda Labs: Are there volume discounts for larger GPU clusters?

Yes. Pricing decreases with larger cluster orders. For example, NVIDIA H100 clusters cost $6.16/GPU/hour for 16 GPUs, $5.85/GPU/hour for 64 GPUs, and $5.54/GPU/hour for 256 GPUs (all for 2 weeks to 1 year terms).

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
Lambda Labs: Can I get custom pricing for a long-term GPU contract?

Yes. For cluster orders of 16+ GPUs with 1-year or longer contracts, Lambda Labs offers custom pricing. Contact their sales team to request a quote.

Source
Lambda Labs: What additional costs should I expect beyond the hourly GPU rate?

All listed prices are plus applicable sales tax, VAT, or GST depending on your location.

Source
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