The Complete Guide to Akash Network
A clear guide to the decentralized cloud computing marketplace: how the reverse auction works, how to deploy your first workload, how to stake AKT and how to rent GPUs for AI.
What Is Akash Network?
A decentralized, open-source marketplace for cloud computing resources, built to challenge the dominance of centralized providers.
Akash Network is a decentralized cloud computing marketplace. It connects people who need computing resources (tenants) with those who have spare capacity (providers). The chain is built with the Cosmos SDK and secured by Tendermint consensus, so anyone can buy and sell computing power without an intermediary.
Often called the "Airbnb of cloud computing," Akash lets data centers, companies and individuals earn from idle servers. Because providers bid against each other for every workload, prices are often well below the on-demand rates of Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure. Akash publishes its own comparisons on akash.network; the live bids in Akash Console are the reference for any current price.
The network is governed by holders of its native AKT token, which makes it one of the first decentralized alternatives to the large centralized cloud market. Its mainnet launched in 2020. Since then, the marketplace has expanded from CPU workloads to GPU workloads, and the network publishes live usage statistics on its website.
How Akash Network Works
A reverse-auction marketplace where providers compete for your workload, driving costs down automatically.
Define Requirements
Tenants write a Stack Definition Language (SDL) file that specifies CPU, memory, storage, GPU and networking requirements. It works much like a Docker Compose file.
Reverse Auction
The deployment order is broadcast on-chain. Providers who meet the specifications submit bids, competing on price. The lowest qualified bid wins by default.
Lease & Deploy
The tenant accepts a bid and creates a lease. The provider spins up a Kubernetes pod with the tenant's container image, and the workload goes live within minutes.
Escrow Payment
Funds are held in an on-chain escrow account and streamed to the provider per block. Tenants can close deployments anytime, and remaining funds are returned.
Key Network Roles
Tenants
Users who deploy workloads on the network. They define resource requirements, fund escrow accounts, and select providers through the auction process.
Providers
Data centers and individuals who supply computing resources. They run the Akash Provider software on Kubernetes clusters and bid on deployment orders.
Validators
Operators who stake AKT to secure the blockchain through Tendermint BFT consensus. They validate transactions, produce blocks, and earn staking rewards.
Akash vs. AWS, Google Cloud & Azure
See how decentralized cloud pricing compares to the Big Three hyperscalers.
| Feature | Akash Network | AWS EC2 | Google Cloud | Azure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Compute (4 vCPU, 16 GB) | Provider bids (see Console) | On-demand list price | On-demand list price | On-demand list price |
| GPU (NVIDIA A100 80GB) | Provider bids, per hour | On-demand, per hour | On-demand, per hour | On-demand, per hour |
| Permissionless Access | Yes | No (KYC required) | No (KYC required) | No (KYC required) |
| Censorship Resistance | Yes | No | No | No |
| Minimum Commitment | Pay per block (~6s) | Per second (1 min min) | Per second (1 min min) | Per second |
| Container Orchestration | Native Kubernetes | ECS/EKS (extra cost) | GKE (extra cost) | AKS (extra cost) |
| Pricing Model | Competitive bids, changes with supply and demand | Baseline | Baseline | Baseline |
Note: this table compares pricing models, not fixed prices. Akash prices come from provider bids and move with marketplace supply and demand; check them live in Akash Console. Centralized cloud prices depend on region and instance type; compare with their on-demand rates, without reserved-instance or committed-use discounts. Akash publishes its own cost comparisons on akash.network.
Key Features of Akash Network
What makes Akash uniquely suited for the next generation of cloud computing.
Permissionless
No KYC, no approval process, no vendor lock-in. Anyone with AKT or USDC can deploy workloads, and anyone with spare compute can become a provider.
Censorship Resistant
No single entity can shut down deployments. Multiple providers across jurisdictions ensure that applications remain available regardless of political pressure.
Kubernetes-Native
Every Akash provider runs Kubernetes. This means any Docker container that runs on K8s can be deployed on Akash with minimal modifications to your existing infrastructure.
IBC-Enabled
Built on Cosmos SDK with Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) support. AKT and USDC can flow seamlessly between Akash and other Cosmos chains like Osmosis.
Transparent Pricing
The reverse-auction model means providers compete on price in real time. All bids and leases are recorded on-chain, ensuring complete pricing transparency.
Open Source
All Akash software, from the blockchain node to the provider daemon, is open source under the Apache 2.0 license. Anyone can audit it or contribute on GitHub.
The AKT Token
AKT powers the Akash Network, from securing the chain to settling marketplace transactions.
Staking & Security
AKT is staked by validators and delegators to secure the proof-of-stake blockchain. Stakers earn inflationary block rewards plus a share of marketplace take rates.
- Delegate to any validator in the active set
- 21-day unbonding period
- Third-party tools such as REStake can auto-compound rewards
Governance
AKT holders vote on protocol upgrades, parameter changes, and community pool spending. Governance proposals require a deposit and a quorum of staked tokens to pass.
- On-chain proposal and voting system
- Community pool funds ecosystem development
- 1 AKT staked = 1 vote
Take Rates & Settlement
A percentage of every lease payment (the take rate) goes to the community pool and to stakers. Deployments can be paid in AKT or in USDC; governance sets a lower take rate for AKT than for USDC. The current values are listed in the Akash documentation.
- AKT payments: lower take rate, set by governance
- USDC payments: higher take rate, set by governance
- This gap favors paying in AKT over stablecoins
How to Deploy on Akash Network
A step-by-step walkthrough using Akash Console, the easiest way to go from zero to deployed.
Get AKT or USDC
Buy AKT on a centralized exchange that lists it, or swap for it on a Cosmos DEX (decentralized exchange) such as Osmosis. You can also bring USDC over IBC. Send the tokens to a Cosmos wallet such as Keplr or Leap.
Open Akash Console
Go to console.akash.network and connect your wallet. Akash Console is a web interface, so you do not need the command line.
Create Your SDL File
Define your deployment in SDL (Stack Definition Language). Specify the Docker image, CPU, memory, storage, exposed ports, and optional GPU requirements. Console includes templates for common workloads like web servers, databases, and AI models.
Fund Escrow & Submit
Deposit AKT or USDC into the deployment escrow. This creates your deployment order on-chain. Governance sets a minimum deposit, which Console shows before you confirm; a larger deposit keeps a workload running longer.
Select a Provider
Within seconds, providers will bid on your workload. Review bids based on price, uptime history, and location. Accept the best bid to create a lease and your deployment will spin up within minutes.
Manage & Monitor
Access logs, shell into your container, update deployments, and monitor resource usage directly from the Console dashboard. Close deployments at any time to reclaim remaining escrow funds.
Akash Network Use Cases
From hosting websites to training AI models, Akash supports a wide range of cloud workloads.
AI/ML Training
Rent NVIDIA GPUs for training machine learning models, fine-tuning LLMs, and running inference pipelines at a fraction of cloud costs.
Web Hosting
Deploy websites, APIs, and web applications using standard Docker containers. Perfect for censorship-resistant hosting of dApps and frontends.
Node Running
Run blockchain validator and RPC nodes for Ethereum, Cosmos, Solana, and other networks on affordable, always-on Akash infrastructure.
Data Processing
Run batch processing, ETL pipelines, data analytics, and rendering workloads. Scale up for burst workloads without long-term commitments.
Akash GPU Marketplace
Access enterprise-grade NVIDIA GPUs for AI, machine learning, and rendering at open-market prices.
Akash added GPU support to its marketplace in 2023, during the GPU shortage driven by AI demand. While large cloud providers had waitlists and premium prices for NVIDIA H100 and A100 cards, Akash opened a marketplace where GPU owners list their hardware and AI developers rent it at bid-based rates.
The GPU marketplace lists a range of NVIDIA hardware, from consumer RTX 4090 cards to data-center A100 and H100 cards. Providers set their own prices. Competition between them tends to keep costs below centralized on-demand rates, but the gap changes with supply and demand.
Common GPU workloads on Akash include fine-tuning open-source large language models (such as Llama and Mistral), running Stable Diffusion image generation, training computer vision models and serving AI inference endpoints.
Highest tier: suited to LLM training
Versatile: training and inference
Consumer card: inference and fine-tuning
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Akash Network?
How much cheaper is Akash than AWS?
What is the AKT token used for?
Can I deploy AI and machine learning workloads on Akash?
How do I deploy on Akash Network?
Learn More About Akash Network
Explore official resources and related Coinstancy content.
Sources and further reading
The figures and claims on this page rest on the documents below. Time-sensitive figures (rates, yields, fees, market data) move: check the live value at the source before acting on it.
- Akash Network, official websiteakash.network
Project overview, marketplace model and the price comparisons Akash publishes against AWS, Google Cloud and Azure.
- Akash Network documentationakash.network
SDL files, deployments, escrow, providers, validators and the current take rate and deposit parameters.
- Akash Consoleconsole.akash.network
Live provider bids and GPU prices: the reference for any current price on Akash.
- akash-network/node on GitHubgithub.com
Open-source blockchain node under the Apache 2.0 license, built on Tendermint.
- Cosmos SDK documentationdocs.cosmos.network
Staking, delegation, unbonding and governance modules that Akash inherits from the Cosmos SDK.
Last reviewed: September 2026. External links open in a new tab; Coinstancy is not responsible for their content.
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