H100 PCIe vs L40

HoppervsAda LovelaceUpdated 35 days ago

The NVIDIA H100 PCIe emerges as the superior choice for dominant AI workloads like LLM training and inference, thanks to 80 to 94 GB HBM3 VRAM, 1979 TFLOPS FP16, and 3350 GB/s bandwidth that dwarf the L40's capabilities. Despite higher $2.73 average hourly cost, its performance justifies investment for throughput-critical tasks over the L40's efficiency niche.

H100 PCIe from $1.90/hrL40 from $0.55/hr

Specifications Compared

SpecH100L40
TDP700W300W
VRAM80-94 GB48 GB
CUDA Cores16,89618,176
Memory TypeHBM3GDDR6
ArchitectureHopperAda Lovelace
Form FactorsSXM5, PCIe, NVLPCIe
InterconnectNVLink, PCIe 5.0, InfiniBand
Tensor Cores528568
FP8 Performance3,958 TFLOPS
FP16 Performance1,979 TFLOPS90.5 TFLOPS
FP32 Performance67 TFLOPS90.5 TFLOPS
FP64 Performance34 TFLOPS
INT8 Performance3,958 TOPS724 TOPS
Memory Bandwidth3,350 GB/s864 GB/s

Performance Analysis

The H100 PCIe dominates in FP16 performance at 1979 TFLOPS, over 21 times the L40's 90.5 TFLOPS, accelerating neural network training where half-precision computations prevail. For FP32, the L40 matches its FP16 at 90.5 TFLOPS, surpassing the H100's 67 TFLOPS, which suits traditional scientific simulations but lags in mixed-precision AI training. This FP16 to FP32 delta means the H100 excels in large-scale model training, while the L40 offers balanced throughput for inference or FP32-heavy tasks. Memory bandwidth profoundly impacts real-world usage: the H100's 3350 GB/s supports massive batch sizes in transformer models, reducing iteration times, whereas the L40's 864 GB/s limits scalability for datasets exceeding 48 GB VRAM. Power draw differs markedly at 700W TDP for H100 versus 300W for L40, influencing cooling and density in cloud instances. Overall, H100 prioritizes raw throughput for exascale AI, L40 favors efficiency.

Live Cloud Pricing

Real-time prices from 25+ providers. Updated every 60 seconds.

H100 PCIe

ProviderGPU ModelVRAMHost SpecsRegionPriceStatusAction
Hyperstack
Hyperstack
4×NVIDIA H100 PCIe
80GB VRAM
$1.90/GPU/hr
$7.60/hr total (4×)
Available
Hyperstack
Hyperstack
2×NVIDIA H100 PCIe
80GB VRAM
$1.90/GPU/hr
$3.80/hr total (2×)
Available
Hyperstack
Hyperstack
8×NVIDIA H100 PCIe
80GB VRAM
$1.90/GPU/hr
$15.20/hr total (8×)
Available
Hyperstack
Hyperstack
NVIDIA H100 PCIe
80GB VRAM
$1.90/GPU/hr
Available
Hyperstack
Hyperstack
8×NVIDIA H100 PCIe
80GB VRAM
$1.95/GPU/hr
$15.60/hr total (8×)
Available

L40

ProviderGPU ModelVRAMHost SpecsRegionPriceStatusAction
TensorDock
TensorDock
NVIDIA L40S
48GB VRAM
$0.55/GPU/hr
Available
RunPod
RunPod
NVIDIA L40
48GB VRAM
$0.82/GPU/hr
Massed Compute
Massed Compute
NVIDIA L40
48GB VRAM
$0.86/GPU/hr
Available
RunPod
RunPod
NVIDIA L40S
48GB VRAM
$0.86/GPU/hr
Massed Compute
Massed Compute
2×NVIDIA L40
48GB VRAM
$0.86/GPU/hr
$1.72/hr total (2×)
Available

Compare real-time pricing across 25+ providers

When to Choose the H100 PCIe

Select the NVIDIA H100 PCIe for LLM training or fine-tuning where VRAM exceeds 48 GB, as its 80 to 94 GB HBM3 handles models like GPT-scale without partitioning. The 1979 TFLOPS FP16 and 3350 GB/s bandwidth enable 10x faster iterations on large batches compared to L40's constraints. High TDP of 700W suits dedicated clusters despite $1.25 to $2.73 per hour pricing.

When to Choose the L40

Opt for the NVIDIA L40 in cost-sensitive inference or Stable Diffusion pipelines, where 90.5 TFLOPS FP16/FP32 suffices and 48 GB GDDR6 manages most production loads. Its 300W TDP cuts power costs by more than half versus H100's 700W, with pricing from $0.67 averaging $0.89 per hour. Balanced architecture fits graphics-accelerated computing without overprovisioning.

Use Cases

LLM Training
H100 PCIe

H100's 80 to 94 GB HBM3 VRAM and 1979 TFLOPS FP16 support massive models and large batches unattainable on L40's 48 GB GDDR6.

LLM Inference
H100 PCIe

H100's 3350 GB/s bandwidth and FP8 at 3958 TFLOPS enable higher throughput for production-scale inference versus L40's 864 GB/s limit.

Fine-tuning
H100 PCIe

The 1979 TFLOPS FP16 on H100 accelerates fine-tuning of large models, while L40's 90.5 TFLOPS struggles with VRAM-intensive adapters.

Stable Diffusion
L40

L40's 90.5 TFLOPS FP16/FP32 and 300W TDP efficiently handle image generation at lower $0.89 average cost, matching 48 GB VRAM needs.

Scientific Computing
Either

L40's equal 90.5 TFLOPS FP32/FP16 suits simulations; H100's 67 TFLOPS FP32 works for bandwidth-heavy HPC, depending on scale.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the VRAM difference between H100 PCIe and L40?

H100 PCIe offers 80 to 94 GB HBM3, compared to L40's 48 GB GDDR6. This allows H100 to load models over 1.5x larger without offloading. Bandwidth follows at 3350 GB/s versus 864 GB/s.

Which GPU has higher FP16 performance?

H100 PCIe achieves 1979 TFLOPS FP16, over 21 times L40's 90.5 TFLOPS. This gap accelerates AI training significantly. L40 balances FP16 with FP32 at 90.5 TFLOPS.

How do power consumption levels compare?

H100 PCIe draws 700W TDP, double L40's 300W. Lower TDP enables denser L40 deployments in clouds. This affects instance costs beyond hourly rates.

What are the current cloud pricing ranges?

H100 PCIe starts at $1.25 per hour, averaging $2.73 across 15 offers. L40 begins at $0.67 per hour, averaging $0.89 across 14 offers. Prices fluctuate by provider.

Which architecture is newer?

L40 uses Ada Lovelace from 2023, post-H100's Hopper 2022. Ada emphasizes efficiency; Hopper targets peak AI flops. Both support PCIe form factors.

Can L40 match H100 in inference?

L40 trails with 90.5 TFLOPS FP16 versus H100's 1979 TFLOPS, limiting high-concurrency inference. H100's FP8 at 3958 TFLOPS further widens the gap for quantized models.

Which is cheaper to rent, the H100 or the L40?

Cloud rental prices for both the H100 and L40 vary by provider, configuration, and availability. This page shows live pricing from 25+ providers updated every 60 seconds. Scroll to the Live Cloud Pricing section to compare current rates.

How much VRAM does the H100 have compared to the L40?

The H100 has 80 to 94 GB of HBM3 memory. The L40 has 48 GB of GDDR6 memory.

Can I find H100 and L40 GPUs available to rent right now?

Yes. This page shows real-time availability across 25+ cloud GPU providers. The Live Cloud Pricing section displays only in-stock offers with current pricing.

What is the main difference between the H100 and the L40?

The H100 uses the Hopper architecture (2022) while the L40 uses Ada Lovelace (2023). The H100 delivers 21.9x the FP16 throughput and 3.9x the memory bandwidth of the L40.