# Amazon Bedrock vs Crusoe

> Bedrock puts Claude, GPT and 100+ models behind AWS IAM and compliance. Crusoe is an independent AI cloud serving open models on hardware it builds and powers.

Canonical: https://www.subconscious.dev/compare/aws-bedrock-vs-crusoe · By The Subconscious Team · Updated September 30, 2026

## How they compare

Bedrock is a control plane, and Crusoe is a vertically integrated AI cloud. Bedrock reaches 100+ models from 18+ providers, including Claude, OpenAI models up to GPT-6 Astra, Amazon Nova and DeepSeek, and every call inherits IAM, PrivateLink, KMS and CloudTrail. Third-party analyses put most Bedrock models about 20 to 35% above direct API prices, with Claude at parity. Crusoe serves open weights only, including DeepSeek V4, GLM 5.3, Kimi K2.6, Gemma, gpt-oss and Nemotron, from $0.05 in and $0.20 out per million, and bills cached input well below list through its cluster-wide MemoryAlloy KV cache. Crusoe claims that cache delivers up to 9.9x faster time to first token versus vLLM on prefix-heavy work.

Bedrock wins on governance and agent tooling. AgentCore adds a serverless agent runtime with memory, an MCP gateway, sandboxed tools and Cedar policies, while Knowledge Bases and Guardrails handle RAG and PII redaction. Billing covers on-demand, batch at 50% off and provisioned throughput at 20 to 40% off with a commitment. Both support customization: Bedrock through fine-tuning and Custom Model Import, Crusoe through serverless LoRA. Crusoe's edge is raw capacity and ownership, with H100s at $3.90 per GPU-hour on demand, B200 and GB200 by quote, and clusters on Kubernetes or Slurm. Regulated AWS shops should stay on Bedrock. Teams that want open-model tokens or GPUs from a specialist outside a hyperscaler fit Crusoe.

## What each one does

### Amazon Bedrock

Amazon Bedrock is AWS's managed model service and has become the default AI control plane for many enterprises. One API reaches 100+ models from 18+ providers, including Anthropic's Claude family, Meta, Mistral, DeepSeek, Amazon's own Nova models, and, since an April 2026 partnership expansion, OpenAI models up to GPT-6 Astra. Switching models is usually just a new model ID. Every call inherits IAM, PrivateLink, KMS encryption and CloudTrail logging, and provider models never train on customer data.

### Crusoe

Crusoe started in 2018 turning wasted natural gas into power for computing and has since become a vertically integrated AI infrastructure company: it sources energy, builds data centers and rents GPUs through Crusoe Cloud. It designed and built the Abilene, Texas campus behind the OpenAI and Oracle Stargate project, planned at 1.2 GW, and in March 2026 announced an adjacent 900 MW campus for Microsoft. On September 17, 2026 it closed the first part of a $3.9B Series F at a $30.9B post-money valuation, and it reports over 6 GW of contracted capacity. Crusoe Cloud lists GB200 NVL72, B200 and AMD MI355X by quote, with H100 at $3.90 and H200 at $4.29 per GPU-hour on demand.

## Which is best, and when

### Choose Amazon Bedrock for

- Regulated enterprises already inside AWS
- Mixing Claude, GPT and Nova behind one API
- Governed agents on AgentCore

### Choose Crusoe for

- Open-model tokens priced directly by the host
- On-demand H100 and H200 GPU-hours
- Agents that resend long shared prefixes

## At a glance

| Attribute | Amazon Bedrock | Crusoe |
|---|---|---|
| Model access | Closed and open, 100+ models | Open weights |
| Flagship models | Claude, GPT-6 Astra, Nova, DeepSeek | DeepSeek V4, GLM 5.3, Kimi K2.6, Nemotron 3 |
| Speed | Latency-optimized option on some models | Up to 9.9x faster TTFT vs vLLM (vendor claim) |
| Price | ~20–35% above direct; Claude at parity | $0.05–$1.74 in, $0.20–$4.40 out per 1M |
| Customization | Fine-tuning, Custom Model Import | Serverless LoRA fine-tuning |
| Deployment | Managed on AWS, AgentCore | Serverless, self-serve and tailored dedicated, raw GPUs |
| Long context | Varies by model | Varies by model; cluster-wide KV cache |

## FAQ

### What is the difference between Amazon Bedrock and Crusoe?

Bedrock puts Claude, GPT and 100+ models behind AWS IAM and compliance. Crusoe is an independent AI cloud serving open models on hardware it builds and powers.

### When should I choose Amazon Bedrock over Crusoe?

Regulated enterprises already inside AWS; Mixing Claude, GPT and Nova behind one API; Governed agents on AgentCore.

### When should I choose Crusoe over Amazon Bedrock?

Open-model tokens priced directly by the host; On-demand H100 and H200 GPU-hours; Agents that resend long shared prefixes.

### Is Amazon Bedrock or Crusoe cheaper?

Amazon Bedrock: ~20–35% above direct; Claude at parity. Crusoe: $0.05–$1.74 in, $0.20–$4.40 out per 1M. The cheaper choice depends on the model and workload.

### Which has more context, Amazon Bedrock or Crusoe?

Amazon Bedrock: Varies by model. Crusoe: Varies by model; cluster-wide KV cache.

## Running long-horizon agents?

If your agents run past 200K tokens, compare both against Subconscious: [Subconscious vs Amazon Bedrock](https://www.subconscious.dev/compare/subconscious-vs-aws-bedrock.md), [Subconscious vs Crusoe](https://www.subconscious.dev/compare/subconscious-vs-crusoe.md).

Full profiles: [Amazon Bedrock](https://www.subconscious.dev/providers/aws-bedrock.md), [Crusoe](https://www.subconscious.dev/providers/crusoe.md).