Hosting a DGX Spark: Vast.ai vs GPUwerk Platform
You can host a DGX Spark on Vast.ai: you set your own price, Vast.ai pays weekly, and you install and maintain Ubuntu, the NVIDIA drivers and open router ports yourself. GPUwerk Platform pays you 70% of a fixed $0.79, which is $0.55 per rented hour, monthly in EUR, with no OS to administer, but it offers your Spark to renters only when GPUwerk's own Sparks are all in use. I run GPUwerk, which operates GPUwerk Platform, so weigh everything below with that in mind. Vast.ai is the only other marketplace where I found a public statement that GB10 machines can be hosted, which is why this page compares the two.
This page is for owners. If you want to rent a GPU rather than list one, read renting a GPU on Vast.ai vs GPUwerk (for renters).
Side by side
| GPUwerk Platform | Vast.ai host | |
|---|---|---|
| Who sets the price | GPUwerk sets it: $0.79/hour for a Spark, the same for every owner. | The host sets the price per listing. (advantage) |
| Platform share | Stated: you get 70% of what renters are charged, $0.55 per rented hour at $0.79. (advantage) | Not stated. Vast.ai replaced its hosting fee with an internal surcharge in June 2024 and says the prices hosts set are the prices they earn. |
| Payout method | Bank wire (EUR by SEPA or CZK to a Czech bank), Wise, PayPal or Stripe, from a self-billing statement. Needs a verified payout account in your name. | Wise, PayPal or Stripe. |
| Payout frequency | Monthly, within 30 days of month end. | Weekly invoices on Fridays. First payout can take up to two weeks. (advantage) |
| OS and drivers | None to administer. GPUwerk installs a locked system from your USB stick; it erases the machine and leaves no local login. (advantage) | You install Ubuntu and the NVIDIA drivers, then the Vast hosting software, and keep them working. |
| Ports and network | No port forwarding. Outbound-only WireGuard tunnel; at least 300 Mbit/s down, 100 Mbit/s up, outbound HTTPS and UDP. (advantage) | You open the network ports on your router. |
| Home-network isolation | Devices on your LAN are dropped by the Spark's firewall. Renters run in containers on a separate network, and their traffic exits from GPUwerk's address. The isolation test is part of burn-in. (advantage) | Verified Hosts run workloads in Docker containers. I found no Vast.ai guidance on keeping the rest of your LAN away from the machine, so that is your own network design. |
| Verification | TPM attestation; burn-in of at least 1 hour plus one restart; then a GPUwerk review. Individuals pass an ID check. | Fully automated, on reliability (sustained uptime of 99.99% or more), configuration, DLPerf score, and supply and demand. Datacenter GPUs such as H100 and B200 are named as the priority; a GB10 is not on that list. |
| Leaving or unlisting | Any time, no notice. If a rental is cut short on your side you forfeit the earnings from its last 24 hours. | Unlisting stops new rentals, but running contracts continue to the rental end date you set in your offer, and you must keep the machine online until the latest one. I found no forfeit rule like GPUwerk's in the pages I checked. |
| Using the machine yourself | "Use my Spark" is free while it is idle, in an isolated instance. It earns nothing and blocks other renters. | You keep your Ubuntu install and your login. During a rental the hardware cannot be used for any other purpose, and Vast.ai asks hosts to run their own jobs only through its Jobs tab or create job command. |
| GB10 demand evidence | None. GPUwerk Platform has only just opened, and renters are offered Partner Sparks only when GPUwerk's own are full. | Thin. Vast.ai's GB10 price page showed "No current offers" on 11 October 2026. In the June 2026 forum thread one user saw zero GB10s, a later post said some were showing, and another user estimated a 7-year payback (see below). |
| Support during setup | GPUwerk support helps when the install shows something the guide doesn't describe, and reviews the machine after burn-in. The install has run end to end in an emulator and in parts on real hardware, not yet on every model. (advantage) | None for setup. Vast.ai says it does not offer support for getting your machine working; hosts help each other on Discord. |
Checked 2026-10-11. Highlighted cells mark the stronger option for that row; unhighlighted rows are a difference, not a win. Vast.ai sources are listed at the end. GPUwerk figures come from how to earn money with your DGX Spark, requirements and safety. GPUwerk makes no earnings guarantee.
Where Vast.ai is better
- Price control. You choose the rate and can change it. GPUwerk Platform pays 70% of a fixed $0.79.
- Payout speed. Invoices run weekly on Fridays; GPUwerk Platform pays once a month, within 30 days of month end.
- An existing renter marketplace. Vast.ai already has renters browsing listings. GPUwerk Platform has no rental history yet.
- You keep the machine as a normal Linux box. Nobody erases it, and you hold the login.
- No burn-in or manual review before listing. A new machine starts as unverified while Vast.ai's automated checks run, with no manual step. I also found no 24-hour forfeit rule in the Vast.ai pages I read.
Check the GB10 demand before you count on that marketplace. In the NVIDIA developer forum thread where ARM and GB10 support was announced on 9 June 2026, one user saw zero GB10s available to rent that evening, and a post the next morning said some machines were showing. On 11 October 2026 Vast.ai's own GB10 price page listed no current offers, which can mean no Spark is listed or every listed one is rented; the page does not say which.
Where GPUwerk Platform is better
- No OS to administer. You write a USB stick, boot it and wait for burn-in. There is no Ubuntu, driver or software-agent upkeep, and GPUwerk handles firmware and OS updates.
- A stated share. 70% of what renters are charged, so $0.55 per rented hour at $0.79, with the arithmetic on the earnings page. I do not claim it pays more than Vast.ai, because Vast.ai's take is unknown.
- No port forwarding. The tunnel is outbound only, and devices on your LAN are dropped by the Spark's firewall.
- Renter traffic leaves from GPUwerk's address, not your IP, and a burn-in test checks that a renter container cannot reach your router.
- Monthly payout with a self-billing statement, in EUR to a SEPA account or CZK to a Czech one, or by Wise, PayPal or Stripe.
- Free use of your own Spark while it is idle ("Use my Spark").
The trade is demand. Renters are offered a Partner Spark only when GPUwerk's own Sparks are all in use, there is no rental history, and earnings are not guaranteed. You also bear electricity, internet and hardware risk. The programme overview has the full terms.
Can I list on both?
Not on the same machine at the same time, as far as the published setup goes. Vast.ai hosting starts with you installing Ubuntu, the NVIDIA drivers and the Vast hosting software. The GPUwerk install erases the machine, installs a locked system and leaves no local login or shell, so there is nowhere to run Vast.ai's agent. That follows from the two setups, not from a quoted clause.
On what the partner agreement itself says about listing elsewhere: GPUwerk shows the agreement in the console, and I have not quoted a clause on it here. Read it before you list, and do not assume either way. The same goes for a second Spark: each machine runs one system. Moving a machine from one platform to the other means unlisting it, waiting for running rentals to end (on Vast.ai, the latest rental end date), and reinstalling.
FAQ
Can I host a DGX Spark on Vast.ai?
Yes, as far as public statements go. A post on the NVIDIA developer forum on 9 June 2026 said Vast.ai now supports ARM-based NVIDIA machines and that its host installer works on almost any of them; the poster is not identified as Vast.ai staff, and I did not find ARM mentioned in Vast.ai's host docs. You install Ubuntu and the NVIDIA drivers yourself, open the network ports on your router and install the Vast hosting software, and Vast.ai's host docs say it does not offer support for getting your machine working. Whether renters pick a Spark is a separate question: Vast.ai's GB10 price page listed no current offers on 11 October 2026.
How much does Vast.ai take from hosts?
Vast.ai does not publish a number. In June 2024 it replaced its hosting fee with an internal surcharge and wrote that the prices hosts set will be the prices they earn. The actual take is unclear from the pages I checked on 11 October 2026, so I do not calculate one. GPUwerk Platform states its split up front: the owner gets 70% of what renters are charged, which is $0.55 per rented hour at $0.79.
How often does Vast.ai pay hosts?
Weekly. Vast.ai generates invoices on Fridays and pays through Wise, PayPal or Stripe. The first payout can take up to two weeks. GPUwerk Platform pays monthly: a self-billing statement, then a SEPA transfer in EUR or a Czech domestic transfer in CZK within 30 days of month end, with amounts under EUR 20 rolling over. Wise, PayPal and Stripe payouts are also available.
Do I need to open ports to host a Spark?
On Vast.ai, yes: its host docs list opening network ports on the router as part of the host's setup. On GPUwerk Platform, no. The locked system opens an outbound-only WireGuard tunnel and needs no port forwarding, only a connection of at least 300 Mbit/s down and 100 Mbit/s up with outbound HTTPS and UDP allowed.
Can I switch from Vast.ai to GPUwerk Platform?
Yes, in sequence rather than in parallel. On Vast.ai, unlisting stops new rentals but running contracts continue to their rental end date, so unlist first and wait for the last one to end. The GPUwerk install then erases the machine and replaces it with a locked system with no local login. Individuals pass an ID check, the Spark runs a burn-in of at least one hour including a restart, and GPUwerk reviews it before it is listed. Firmware keys are confirmed for the Founders Edition and the ASUS GX10, not yet for the Lenovo PGX.
Vast.ai facts, all checked 2026-10-11. Wise, PayPal or Stripe, weekly Friday invoices, first payout up to two weeks: docs.vast.ai/host/payment. Host installs Ubuntu and NVIDIA drivers, opens router ports and troubleshoots alone; "Vast does not offer support for getting your machine working"; rental contracts run to their end date after unlisting; hardware not used for other purposes during a rental: docs.vast.ai/host/hosting-overview. Automated verification on reliability, configuration, DLPerf, supply and demand: docs.vast.ai/host/understanding-verification. Unverified state for new machines, datacenter GPUs prioritised, own jobs only through the Jobs tab or create job: docs.vast.ai/host/verification-stages. Hosting fee replaced by an internal surcharge in June 2024, and "the prices hosts set will be the prices they earn": vast.ai/article/june-2024-product-update. Unprivileged Docker containers on Verified Hosts: vast.ai/compliance. No current GB10 offers: vast.ai/pricing/gpu/GB10. ARM and GB10 support and the ARM host installer (9 June 2026 post by a user not identified as Vast.ai staff), one user seeing zero GB10s on 9 June, and a post on 10 June saying some were showing: NVIDIA developer forum. I did not calculate Vast.ai's take rate. GPUwerk Platform terms are as published on this site as of 2026-10-11; the agreement you accept in the console is the binding text.