Aquanode vs Shadeform: What's the Real Difference for GPU Buyers in 2025?
TLDR
Shadeform helps you see which GPUs are available across providers.
Aquanode gives you the tools to actually run, move and monitor workloads across those providers.
The real gap is operational: Shadeform is discovery focused, while Aquanode offers a software layer for multi cloud GPU work.
Why this comparison matters
GPU access has changed. What used to be a simple search for a cheap GPU has become a deeper operational problem for many teams. Once workloads grow, the questions shift from finding a machine to managing it. People want to move between clouds without rebuilding environments. They want to stop idle spend, watch long running jobs and keep deployments consistent even when capacity fluctuates.
In that context, Shadeform and Aquanode often get compared. Both solve parts of the same problem, but in different ways.
Shadeform: A straightforward GPU aggregator
Shadeform's core value is simplicity.
It aggregates GPU prices and availability from various cloud and bare-metal providers, so you can compare what's out there. For teams that just want a directory of GPU options, it's a clean way to see who has capacity.
Shadeform is useful if your workflow looks like this:
- You compare GPU prices and availability across providers.
- You choose and deploy a GPU.
- Or, you schedule a GPU instances.
Shadeform does not operate as a workload platform. It does not provide its own deployment layer, monitoring tools or workload migration capabilities. It's essentially a discovery, comparison, and deployment platform..
Aquanode: A multi-cloud GPU platform, not just an aggregator
Aquanode started as a marketplace but evolved into a full GPU runtime layer. Instead of only showing you GPU options, Aquanode gives you the software you need to run, monitor and move workloads across providers.
The difference becomes clear once you go beyond price comparison.
Aquanode includes:
- One-click deployments across multiple providers
- The ability to move workloads between GPUs without redoing your setup
- Real-time monitoring for each GPU session
- Alerts for cost spikes, idle GPUs or paused sessions
- A consistent interface no matter which cloud you use
- Pause and resume capabilities to save money
- Centralized billing for all accounts
This makes Aquanode behave like a control plane for GPU compute, not just a listing service.
The biggest difference: Workload mobility
Shadeform helps you find GPUs.
Aquanode helps you use GPUs across clouds as if they were one system.
With Aquanode, you can:
- Launch on one provider
- Pause the workload
- Resume it on another provider
- Keep the same environment and data configuration
- Automatically route storage adapters
- Avoid vendor lock-in
This lets teams chase the best price, lowest latency, or fastest runtime without starting from scratch.
For production AI systems, workload mobility is one of the highest-impact cost levers.
Monitoring and alerts: Another major gap
Shadeform doesn't provide operational tooling. Once you leave their site, you manage everything manually on the provider's dashboard.
Aquanode, on the other hand, includes:
- GPU health monitoring
- Usage graphs
- Network and storage activity
- Coming Soon: Custom alerts (budget, time, idle detection)
This is crucial when running training jobs that might run for days or inference workloads with dynamic traffic.
Without monitoring:
- Idle GPUs burn money
- Training failures go unnoticed
- You risk scaling too late or too early
- Cost spikes become unpredictable
Aquanode solves these issues with built-in oversight.
Who is Shadeform best for?
Shadeform works well for:
- Users who only want a price list
- People comfortable managing deployments manually
- Hobbyists or small projects
- Teams that don't need mobility, monitoring or alerts
If all you want is GPU availability data, Shadeform does the job.
Who is Aquanode best for?
Aquanode is built for teams that want:
- Production-grade deployments
- Multi-cloud flexibility
- A consistent GPU runtime environment
- Tools to prevent cost overruns
- The ability to move workloads between providers
- Better reliability and diagnostics
For most engineering teams, Aquanode offers a more complete solution.
Final Verdict
The two platforms solve different problems. Shadeform surfaces GPU availability. Aquanode focuses on the experience of actually running and maintaining workloads across many providers.
If your needs end at comparison, Shadeform is enough.
If you are trying to manage training or inference across multiple clouds without rebuilding everything each time, Aquanode provides the software layer that makes that possible.
