a2-highgpu-8gvsa3-highgpu-8g
a2-highgpu-8g is 67% cheaper than a3-highgpu-8g on demand in Iowa, saving $43,145.12 a month. Per vCPU, a2-highgpu-8g costs 28% less.
| At a glance | a2-highgpu-8g | a3-highgpu-8g |
|---|---|---|
| On-demand | $29.387/hr67% less | $88.49/hr |
| Lowest rate | $10.286/hr74% less3-yr committed use, no upfront | $39.226/hr3-yr committed use, no upfront |
| Size | 96 vCPUs, 680 GiB | 208 vCPUs, 1872 GiB |
| Processor | Intel Xeon (Cascade Lake) | Intel Xeon (Emerald Rapids) or Intel Xeon (Sapphire Rapids) |
| Architecture | x86_64 | x86_64 |
Prices in Iowa
“Off” is the discount against each type’s own on-demand price. Linux, USD per hour.
| Option | a2-highgpu-8g | a3-highgpu-8g | a3-highgpu-8g vs a2-highgpu-8g |
|---|---|---|---|
| On-demandPay by the hour | $29.387 | $88.49 | ▲ 201% |
| SpotCan be interrupted | 40% off$17.504 | 40% off$52.70 | ▲ 201% |
| 1-yr committed useNo upfront | 37% off$18.514 | 30% off$61.627 | ▲ 233% |
| 3-yr committed useNo upfront | 65% off$10.286 | 56% off$39.226 | ▲ 281% |
Key differences
The biggest lead each one has.
Where a2-highgpu-8g leads
On-demand price$29.387 vs $88.49 per hour
67% cheaperWhere a3-highgpu-8g leads
Memory (GiB)1,872 vs 680
2.8× highervCPUs208 vs 96
2.2× higherSpecs
8 of 13 specs differ. Those are in bold.
| Compute2 of 3 differ | a2-highgpu-8g | a3-highgpu-8g |
|---|---|---|
| vCPUs | 96 | 208 |
| Architecture | x86_64 | x86_64 |
| Processor | Intel Xeon (Cascade Lake) | Intel Xeon (Emerald Rapids) or Intel Xeon (Sapphire Rapids) |
| Memory1 of 1 differ | a2-highgpu-8g | a3-highgpu-8g |
|---|---|---|
| Memory (GiB) | 680 | 1,872 |
| Accelerators1 of 2 differ | a2-highgpu-8g | a3-highgpu-8g |
|---|---|---|
| GPUs | 8 | 8 |
| GPU | NVIDIA A100 40GB | NVIDIA H100 80GB |
| Networking1 of 1 differ | a2-highgpu-8g | a3-highgpu-8g |
|---|---|---|
| Network | Up to 100 Gbps | Up to 1,000 Gbps |
| Storage1 of 2 differ | a2-highgpu-8g | a3-highgpu-8g |
|---|---|---|
| Storage | Network disks only | 16 x 375 GiB NVMe local SSD |
| Max persistent disks | 128 | 128 |
| Instance details1 of 2 differ | a2-highgpu-8g | a3-highgpu-8g |
|---|---|---|
| Family | a2 | a3 |
| Category | Accelerator optimized | Accelerator optimized |
| Other1 of 2 differ | a2-highgpu-8g | a3-highgpu-8g |
|---|---|---|
| Series | A2 | A3 |
| Specs source | Compute Engine API | Compute Engine API |
On-demand prices by region
Cheapest for a2-highgpu-8g first. Linux, USD per hour.
| Region | a2-highgpu-8g | a3-highgpu-8g | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| IowaUsed in summaryus-central1 | $29.387 | $88.49 | ▲ 201% |
| Oregonus-west1 | $29.387 | $88.49 | ▲ 201% |
| Netherlandseurope-west4 | $29.984 | $112.47 | ▲ 275% |
| Las Vegasus-west4 | $31.475 | $99.649 | ▲ 217% |
| Singaporeasia-southeast1 | $32.11 | $114.21 | ▲ 256% |
| Seoulasia-northeast3 | $32.397 | $113.45 | ▲ 250% |
| Tokyoasia-northeast1 | $32.397 | $126.45 | ▲ 290% |
Keep exploring
Each type’s own page, and how it compares with others.
GCP Compute Engine Linux prices in USD. Monthly figures use 730 hours. Prices last updated 12 Nov 2026.