HOSTKEY
HOSTKEY has been in the dedicated server business since 2008 — long before “GPU cloud” became a marketing category. Based in Amsterdam, the company offers bare metal and dedicated GPU servers across multiple global data center locations. If you’re looking for raw, unvirtualized GPU hardware at highly competitive rates, HOSTKEY is worth a serious look. Just don’t expect the polished cloud-console experience you’d get from AWS or even a newer GPU-focused startup.
This is infrastructure for people who know what they’re doing. You’re renting physical hardware, not spinning up VMs in a web dashboard. That distinction shapes everything about the HOSTKEY experience — from the setup process to the billing model.
Why HOSTKEY stands out
HOSTKEY sits at the budget end of the dedicated GPU market. Monthly billing on bare metal means you’re getting hardware at its most economical — no hypervisor overhead, no shared-tenancy tax, and none of the per-second billing premiums that cloud providers charge for convenience. For teams running sustained, long-running training workloads or inference services that need consistent performance month over month, this model can represent significant savings over comparable cloud instances.
The support for multi-GPU configurations and persistent storage makes it viable for serious ML infrastructure, and the acceptance of crypto payments is a small but notable perk for teams with specific procurement constraints.
Pros
- Among the most competitively priced GPU hardware available
- Bare metal means no virtualization overhead — full GPU performance
- Multi-GPU configurations supported
- Persistent storage included
- Reserved instances for predictable long-term costs
- Established provider with 15+ years of hosting experience
- Flexible payment options including crypto and bank transfer
- Docker supported for containerized workloads
Cons
- No programmatic API — provisioning is manual, not scriptable
- No Jupyter environment — you bring your own tooling
- No Kubernetes support out of the box
- Per-month billing only — no hourly or spot options for experimentation
- Ease of use is low; expect meaningful setup time
- Not SOC 2 compliant — may be a blocker for regulated industries
- Currently in beta status on our directory — pricing data is still being verified
Getting started
- Visit HOSTKEY's GPU server page and browse available dedicated GPU configurations
- Select a server spec that matches your GPU and RAM requirements — pay attention to the data center location for latency
- Choose a reservation term; longer commitments typically unlock better rates
- Complete provisioning via their sales or self-service portal — expect a manual handoff rather than instant spin-up
- Once your server is live, SSH in and configure your Docker environment, drivers, and CUDA stack to your requirements
Best for: ML engineering teams and enterprises running sustained GPU workloads who prioritize raw performance and cost efficiency over ease of use, and are comfortable managing their own infrastructure from the ground up.