You have an idle NVIDIA GPU and you've decided to rent it out. The next question is where. Vast.ai is the marketplace most hosts land on first — it's been around since 2018 and has real renter demand. ParalonCloud is newer, decentralized, and pays in crypto. This is an honest, host-side comparison: what you keep, how you get paid, what it takes to get online, and where each one actually wins.
No fabricated competitor numbers. Where we can't verify a Vast figure, we say so — and it turns out one of the biggest differences is exactly the thing Vast doesn't publish.
The short version
| For the host | ParalonCloud | Vast.ai |
|---|---|---|
| Your share of the rental | 80%, published (20% platform fee) | Host commission rate not publicly disclosed; hosts set their own list price |
| Paid in | USDC on Solana, or convert to credits 1:1 | Fiat via Stripe, Wise, or PayPal |
| Payout speed | Credited every minute rented; withdraw anytime | Invoice after a $20 minimum, then provider payout |
| Withdrawal fee | None | Depends on your Stripe/Wise/PayPal terms |
| KYC to start earning | No | Identity / tax verification required before you can select a payout method |
| Set your own price | Yes — 50–300% of a market-tracked default | Yes — you list any rate |
| Getting online | One Docker command, secure outbound tunnel, no port forwarding | Install host software; machine passes an automated verification |
| Earn while idle | Season 0 testnet points (VRAM × time), rented or not | No equivalent points program |
Sources for the Vast column: Vast's own host payout docs and pricing documentation. Everything in the Paralon column is our own published policy, linked inline.
1. What you actually keep
Here's the thing most "best GPU hosting" posts gloss over: Vast.ai does not publish a host commission rate. Its documentation says hosts set their own prices and that there's no markup layered on top of the host-set price for renters — but the actual percentage Vast keeps from the host side isn't stated in the docs. Third-party blogs throw around numbers between 15% and 30%, but none of them cite an official source, so we won't repeat them as fact.
ParalonCloud publishes the split, because the split is the product: you keep 80%, the platform takes 20%. That number is in our rewards docs, it's the same for every provider, and it doesn't change based on a reliability tier or a verification badge.
This isn't a claim that Paralon is always cheaper for the platform to run — it's a claim about transparency. You can't compare take-rates against a number your marketplace won't show you. Ours is one click away.
2. How — and when — you get paid
This is the sharpest difference, and it's not really about the percentage.
Vast pays in fiat. Per Vast's payout documentation, hosts are paid through Stripe, Wise, or PayPal — bank/ACH/wire/SWIFT are explicitly not supported — and your account has to accumulate at least $20 before an invoice is generated. Before you can even select a payout method, you must complete identity, tax, or business verification. That's a real gate: it means becoming a Vast host is a KYC process, and your money moves on a traditional-finance rail with its own timelines and fees.
Paralon pays in USDC, per minute, with no KYC. When your node is rented, real USDC is credited to your balance every minute it's under rental — you watch it accrue live in the dashboard. Withdraw to a Solana wallet (Phantom or Solflare) with no withdrawal fee, or convert to platform credits at 1 USDC = 1 credit to spend on your own rentals or inference. There's no identity verification to start earning, and no minimum to clear before the money is yours.
For a crypto-native host, or anyone outside the countries where Stripe/Wise/PayPal business payouts work cleanly, that's the whole ballgame. For a host who wants a normal invoice into a bank-linked PayPal, Vast's rail is the familiar one. Pick the trade-off that fits you — just know which one you're picking.
3. Getting online
On Paralon, adding a node is one Docker command. The agent connects outbound through a secure tunnel, so it works behind a home router with no port forwarding and no public IP. You pick Linux or Windows (WSL2), paste the command, and the node registers itself. A quick hardware check and benchmark later, it flips to rent-ready.
Vast also has a self-serve host setup, and its automated verification scores your machine on network stability and performance — verified machines rank higher and attract more rentals. It's a mature flow. The practical difference is the networking model and the KYC: Paralon's tunnel avoids router configuration entirely, and there's no identity gate between "installed" and "earning."
4. Earning while the GPU sits idle
Utilization is the number that actually decides your monthly total on either platform — you earn when you're rented, not when you're powered on. No honest comparison pretends otherwise.
Where Paralon adds a second income stream: while Season 0 of the incentivized testnet is running, a verified node earns points just for being online — points = VRAM × time, whether or not it's rented, and multiple GPUs stack. Those points rank you on the public leaderboard and reward early providers. Vast has no equivalent program. It's not cash, but it's upside for the exact hours your card would otherwise earn nothing.
Where Vast.ai still wins
A comparison that only flatters us isn't worth reading, so here's the straight version:
- Renter demand and maturity. Vast has been a marketplace since 2018 and has a large, established renter base. More demand means — all else equal — higher utilization, and utilization is what pays you. A new decentralized network has to earn that demand; we're building it.
- Hardware financing. Vast has partner programs that evaluate your platform earnings toward hardware financing. We don't offer that.
- Familiar money rail. If you specifically want fiat into PayPal/Stripe/Wise and are comfortable with the verification, that's a legitimate preference — and it's Vast's default.
If your priority is the deepest renter pool today, Vast is the safe pick. If your priority is a transparent split, instant USDC without KYC, and dead-simple setup, that's the case for Paralon.
You don't have to choose just one
Nothing stops you from listing the same GPU on more than one marketplace and pointing it at whichever has a renter when you're free to host. Plenty of hosts run exactly that way — diversified across platforms, taking whatever fills the node. Adding Paralon to the mix is one Docker command and costs you nothing to try: no signup fee, no KYC, no exclusivity.
Start hosting on Paralon
- Add your node — one Docker command, Linux or Windows (WSL2), no KYC, no port forwarding.
- It earns Season 0 points from the first minute online.
- When it rents, 80% of your price lands in your balance every minute in USDC — withdraw to a Solana wallet whenever you like.
Want the full earnings picture first? See what a 4090, 5090 or H100 actually earns at the 80% provider share, or run the numbers on the become a provider page.
