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Nebius vs Crusoe
Two AI clouds that sell both tokens and GPUs. Nebius offers a wider catalog and EU residency; Crusoe bets on cross-cluster cache reuse and managed LoRA training.
By The Subconscious Team · Updated
Nebius vs Crusoe: key differences
Nebius and Crusoe both let a team start on per-token inference and grow into raw GPU clusters on one account. Nebius's Token Factory serves 60+ open models, including Llama, Qwen, DeepSeek, GLM, Kimi and GPT-OSS, from $0.06 per million input tokens. Crusoe's serverless list is smaller, covering DeepSeek, GLM, Kimi, Gemma, gpt-oss and Nemotron, but starts at $0.05 in and $0.20 out. Crusoe's edge is MemoryAlloy, a KV cache shared across the cluster so a prefix computed on one node is reused on another. Crusoe claims up to 9.9x faster time to first token than vLLM on prefix-heavy work. Nebius has been measured by Artificial Analysis among the top hosts on raw throughput and runs speculative decoding on dedicated endpoints.
Customization and hardware split them further. Nebius serves an uploaded fine-tuned checkpoint at standard token pricing, while Crusoe added managed LoRA fine-tuning in July 2026, so training and serving happen in one place. Nebius dedicated endpoints carry a 99.9% SLA with optional EU or US placement, a real advantage for European buyers. Crusoe's Tailored Deployments also come with SLAs, and its GPU side includes AMD MI355X next to GB200 and B200. On list GPU pricing Nebius is cheaper, with preemptible H100s at $2.15 an hour against Crusoe's $3.90 on demand. Nebius requires a $25 first payment and offers no free trial; Crusoe's newest instances need a sales conversation.
What Nebius and Crusoe do
Nebius
Nebius is an Amsterdam-headquartered AI cloud and the strongest European alternative to the US hyperscalers. It sells raw NVIDIA GPU compute, from H100s at $2.15 an hour preemptible up to GB300 NVL72 racks, and it has begun adding Vera Rubin. Hyperscale buyers back it: a Microsoft capacity deal worth about $17.4B in September 2025, then a Meta agreement worth up to about $27B in March 2026.
Example models: DeepSeek V3, GPT-OSS
Full Nebius profileCrusoe
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.
Example models: DeepSeek V4 Pro, GLM 5.3, Kimi K2.6
Full Crusoe profileShould you choose Nebius or Crusoe?
Nebius vs Crusoe at a glance
| Attribute | Nebius | Crusoe |
|---|---|---|
| Model access | Open weights, 60+ models | Open weights |
| Flagship models | DeepSeek, Qwen, GLM, Kimi, GPT-OSS | DeepSeek V4, GLM 5.3, Kimi K2.6, Nemotron 3 |
| Speed | Among top hosts on throughput | Up to 9.9x faster TTFT vs vLLM (vendor claim) |
| Price | From $0.06 per 1M input | $0.05–$1.74 in, $0.20–$4.40 out per 1M |
| Customization | Serve uploaded fine-tunes | Serverless LoRA fine-tuning |
| Deployment | Token Factory, dedicated, raw GPUs | Serverless, self-serve and tailored dedicated, raw GPUs |
| Long context | Varies by model | Varies by model; cluster-wide KV cache |
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Nebius and Crusoe?
Two AI clouds that sell both tokens and GPUs. Nebius offers a wider catalog and EU residency; Crusoe bets on cross-cluster cache reuse and managed LoRA training.
When should I choose Nebius over Crusoe?
European workloads that must stay in-region; Serving a fine-tune you trained elsewhere; Broader open-model choice on one bill.
When should I choose Crusoe over Nebius?
Agents that resend long shared prefixes; Fine-tuning and serving LoRA models in one place; Clusters that mix NVIDIA and AMD hardware.
Is Nebius or Crusoe cheaper?
Nebius: From $0.06 per 1M input. 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, Nebius or Crusoe?
Nebius: Varies by model. Crusoe: Varies by model; cluster-wide KV cache.
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