RentServers.comSelf-Hosted LLM Cost: When a Dedicated Server Beats an API
Enter your daily token volume and the API you would use. The calculator prices the same month on a dedicated, managed server and tells you plainly which one is cheaper, and by how much.
Self-hosted LLM cost calculator
API, per month
$250
Dedicated, per month
$1,399
Private LLM GPU
The API is cheaper by about $1,149 a month. Self-host for privacy or control, not for cost.
Dedicated prices are the fixed monthly price of a managed plan, including the server, the endpoint and operations. API prices are your daily tokens times the per-token price, times 30 days.
See private LLM plansSelf-hosted LLM vs API: worked examples
Monthly cost at a 3:1 input to output ratio for a model up to 14B, against two common APIs.
| Output / input tokens per day | Open 70B model API (Llama 3.3 70B)1 | GPT-4.1 mini2 | Dedicated plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1M / 3M | $125 | $84 | Private LLM Core, $649 |
| 10M / 30M | $1,248 | $840 | Private LLM GPU, $1,399 |
| 30M / 90M | $3,744 | $2,520 | Private LLM GPU, $1,399 |
- 1 Open 70B model API (Llama 3.3 70B): $1.04 input and $1.04 output per million tokens. Source: Together AI serverless pricing, as summarized by MorphLLM, checked October 11, 2026.
- 2 GPT-4.1 mini: $0.40 input and $1.60 output per million tokens. Source: PricePerToken, GPT-4.1 mini, checked October 21, 2026.
The honest reading: at low and moderate volume an API is cheaper on cost alone, because providers batch many customers onto the same GPUs. A dedicated server wins on cost once volume is high and steady, as in the last row. Below that, it earns its place when your data cannot leave your control, when you want one fixed bill instead of a meter, or when you run a fine-tuned model no API offers.
Capacity per server
Planning estimates in output tokens per second. Monthly capacity uses 50% utilization so peaks have room. We benchmark your prompts before you sign. Past the largest plan, providers bid for the GPUs.
| Plan | Price | Up to 14B | Monthly output at 50% | 15B to 32B |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Private LLM Core | $649 | 25 tokens/s | 32M | Not suited |
| Private LLM GPU | $1,399 | 700 tokens/s | 907M | 250 tokens/s |
Questions
When does self-hosting an LLM pay off on cost?
When volume is high and steady enough that a fixed server bill undercuts per-token pricing, or when the API you would otherwise use is a premium closed model. For small open models, cheap APIs usually win on price; the calculator shows where the lines cross for your volume.
What does this calculator leave out?
Your own engineering time if you run the server yourself, idle hours when traffic is low, and quality differences between models. A managed plan covers the operations; quality you should test on your own prompts.
How are the capacity figures set?
They are planning estimates of output tokens per second per server, used at 50% so peak traffic has room. Before a contract we benchmark your prompts on the actual server and size from the measured numbers.
Why would a team self-host if the API is cheaper?
Data that cannot leave your control, a fixed and predictable monthly bill, no rate limits or model deprecations you did not choose, and the freedom to run fine-tuned or specialized open models.
What if my volume is bigger than one server?
Then the calculator shows a scale-up quote instead of a plan. Send the request and our quote desk gets at least three providers to bid blind on the GPU servers, each normalized to one 36-month cost, plus a managed price if you want us to run it.
Need private, not just cheap?
Tell us the model, the users and the data rules. We size a dedicated server, or get GPU counter-quotes if it is bigger than one, and reply within one business day.