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Nebius AI

Paid

European AI cloud platform with NVIDIA GPU infrastructure and low-cost LLM inference from $0.02 per million tokens

What is Nebius AI?

Nebius AI is a European full-stack AI cloud platform headquartered in Amsterdam, operating large-scale GPU data centers across Europe and partnering deeply with NVIDIA for GPU supply and reference architectures. In 2026, Nebius made headlines by signing combined $46 billion in AI cloud deals with Microsoft and Meta, positioning itself as a significant alternative to the big three US hyperscalers (AWS, Azure, GCP) for European enterprises that need GPU compute with data residency, sovereignty, and regulatory clarity. The platform offers two main product lines. First, GPU compute — hourly-priced instances ranging from single-GPU configurations (1 GPU / 16 vCPU / 64GB at $1.75/hour) up to multi-GPU clusters (8 GPU / 128 vCPU / 1600GB at $28/hour), with access to NVIDIA H100, H200, and Blackwell hardware. Second, Nebius AI Studio provides managed LLM inference across 56+ open models with pricing starting at $0.02 per million input tokens — making Nebius one of the cheapest managed inference providers in Europe. The platform supports Llama, Mistral, Qwen, DeepSeek, and other mainstream open-weight families with OpenAI-compatible APIs. Nebius does not offer a free trial — you must add a credit card and make a minimum $25 deposit — but startups can apply for credit programs ranging from $5k to $150k. For European teams that need AI infrastructure with data residency, Nebius is increasingly the obvious choice.

⚡ Quick Verdict

Best for

European enterprises, research labs, and startups that need GPU compute plus managed LLM inference with data residency

Not ideal for

US-based teams that need global hyperscaler integrations and tooling

Starting price

From $0.02 per million tokens · GPU from $1.75/hour · $25 minimum deposit

Free plan

No free trial, but startup credits up to $150k available

Key strength

European AI cloud with NVIDIA GPUs, managed inference, and data sovereignty

Limitation

No free trial and $25 minimum deposit entry barrier

Bottom line: Nebius scores 4.3/5 — the top European alternative to AWS/Azure/GCP for AI workloads. Use Nebius AI Studio for cheap managed inference, GPU compute for custom training, and apply for startup credits if eligible.

Pricing

LLM inference — From $0.02 per million tokens: 56+ open models available through Nebius AI Studio including Llama, Mistral, Qwen, and DeepSeek variants.

GPU compute — Hourly: 1 GPU / 16 vCPU / 64GB at $1.75/hour · 8 GPU / 128 vCPU / 1600GB at $28/hour. NVIDIA H100, H200, and Blackwell available.

Minimum deposit: $25 credit top-up required to enable billing. No free trial for general users.

Startup credits: Credit programs from $5k to $150k available for qualifying startups.

Key Features

  • 56+ open LLMs via Nebius AI Studio
  • Per-token inference from $0.02 per million tokens
  • Hourly GPU compute instances
  • NVIDIA H100, H200, and Blackwell access
  • European data centers with data residency
  • Startup credit programs up to $150k
  • OpenAI-compatible inference API
  • NVIDIA full-stack partnership

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • Strong European data residency and sovereignty story
  • Very cheap per-token inference pricing starting at $0.02/M
  • Access to NVIDIA's latest Blackwell GPUs
  • Hybrid compute and managed inference on one platform

Cons

  • Minimum $25 credit deposit — no free trial
  • Smaller ecosystem than AWS, Azure, or GCP
  • Primarily European focus limits global availability
✅ Pricing verified April 2026 · ✅ Independently reviewed · ✅ Scoring methodology

FAQ

Is Nebius really European?

Yes. Nebius is headquartered in Amsterdam and operates data centers in multiple European countries including Finland. Data processed on Nebius can be kept within EU borders for GDPR compliance, which is a major advantage over US hyperscalers for regulated European industries. Nebius also bills in euros in addition to USD.

How does Nebius AI Studio compare to Novita AI?

Both offer low-cost managed LLM inference starting around $0.02 per million tokens. Novita has a broader catalog (200+ vs 56+) and simpler onboarding. Nebius wins on European data residency, NVIDIA partnership, and the ability to mix managed inference with custom GPU compute on the same account.

Why is there a minimum $25 deposit?

Nebius does not offer a free trial and requires a $25 minimum credit deposit to activate billing. This is a deliberate choice to reduce abuse and focus on serious developers. For qualifying startups, Nebius offers credit programs from $5,000 to $150,000 that bypass the minimum deposit.

What GPUs are available on Nebius?

Nebius offers NVIDIA H100, H200, and Blackwell (B200) GPUs depending on region and capacity. As part of the NVIDIA full-stack partnership announced in 2026, Nebius has privileged access to new NVIDIA hardware. Multi-node training clusters available for larger workloads.

Is Nebius good for fine-tuning LLMs?

Yes. You can rent GPU instances by the hour and run your own fine-tuning stack (Hugging Face TRL, Axolotl, LLaMA-Factory, Unsloth) on the same infrastructure where you later deploy the fine-tuned model. More flexible than managed fine-tuning services like Together AI or Fireworks.

Who are Nebius's biggest customers?

Nebius signed combined $46 billion in AI cloud deals with Microsoft and Meta in early 2026. The platform is also heavily used by European AI research labs, Fortune 500 enterprises needing EU data residency, and AI startups that qualify for Nebius's credit programs.

📋 Good to know

Setup

Sign up at nebius.ai, add $25+ credit, and launch GPU instances or call the AI Studio inference API.

Privacy

European data residency with GDPR-aligned processing. Data does not leave Nebius's EU data centers without explicit consent.

When to upgrade

Start with AI Studio for managed inference, move to dedicated GPU compute when you need custom training.

Learning curve

Moderate — AI Studio is simple, GPU compute requires Linux and container knowledge.

Explore more

Compare Nebius AI with alternatives

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