What is the cheapest GPU for AI video generation?
AI video models are more VRAM-hungry than image models, so 24GB is the practical floor and 48GB or more is more comfortable. The cheapest sensible pick is a 24GB consumer card like the RTX 4090, and the cheapest verified 4090 in our index is $0.58/hr. If you hit memory limits on longer clips or higher resolutions, step up to a 48GB card such as an L40S or A40 rather than jumping straight to an H100.
| GPU | VRAM | $/hr | Where | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RTX A4000 | 16 GB | $0.15 | Hyperstack on-demand | Rent → |
| Tesla V100 | 16 GB | $0.17 | DataCrunch on-demand | Rent → |
| RTX A5000 | 24 GB | $0.27 | RunPod secure cloud | Rent → |
| L4 | 24 GB | $0.39 | RunPod secure cloud | Rent → |
| A40 | 48 GB | $0.44 | RunPod secure cloud | Rent → |
| RTX 3090 | 24 GB | $0.46 | RunPod secure cloud | Rent → |
| RTX A6000 | 48 GB | $0.49 | RunPod secure cloud | Rent → |
| RTX 4090 | 24 GB | $0.58 | Spheron on-demand | Rent → |
| RTX 5090 | 32 GB | $0.68 | Spheron on-demand | Rent → |
| RTX 6000 Ada | 48 GB | $0.77 | RunPod secure cloud | Rent → |
Video generation adds a time dimension to image generation, so the model holds many frames in memory at once. Models like Stable Video Diffusion run on 24GB, while newer and larger models such as Wan and Hunyuan Video are happier with 48GB or more, especially at higher resolution or longer duration. Quantized and memory-optimized builds can bring the requirement down, at some cost to quality or speed.
Because generation is bursty, a spot or community instance fits well. You start it, render a batch of clips, and stop it, paying only for the minutes you use. That makes a cheap 24GB card a strong starting point, and you can move up a tier only if you actually run out of memory.
The table below lists the cheapest cards we track that can handle video generation, sorted by price and rebuilt from the daily snapshot, so it reflects what was verified most recently.
Related questions
- What is the cheapest GPU for Stable Diffusion?
- How much does an RTX 4090 cost to rent?
- What is the cheapest 48GB GPU to rent?
Numbers on this page come from today's verified snapshot. Full table on the homepage; method in the methodology.