The short answer: on a prepaid GPU cloud account, the terms around top-ups, balance expiry and refunds change what a rupee of credit is actually worth, and none of them appear in the hourly rate. Two providers listing the same price per GPU-hour can differ in effective cost once minimum top-ups, expiry windows and refund rules are applied to a real usage pattern. This guide sets out what to check and how to put a figure on it, using hypothetical numbers only.
Why prepaid terms matter
Many GPU clouds work on a wallet model, where the account is funded first and usage draws the balance down; others bill monthly in arrears. The comparison table lists hourly rate and billing type, but funding mechanics sit in each provider's terms and can change. Read them before the first top-up.
The four terms to look for
- Minimum top-up. A floor on each deposit. If the floor is larger than the first project needs, the unused part is idle capital until the next project arrives.
- Balance expiry. Some credit is valid indefinitely, some for a fixed number of months from the top-up date. Promotional credit often follows different rules from purchased credit, so it is worth knowing which balance is drawn first.
- Refund policy. Whether an unused balance can be withdrawn, in full or less a fee, or only used against future compute.
- Auto-recharge and low-balance behaviour. What happens to running instances when the wallet reaches zero: a grace period, a pause, or termination.
A worked example with hypothetical numbers
Suppose a team expects to use 200 GPU-hours over a quarter. Two imaginary providers, A and B, both list a rate of INR 100 per GPU-hour. These are not real prices and do not describe any tracked provider.
Provider A has a minimum top-up of INR 25,000, with no expiry and a refund of unused balance less a processing fee. Provider B has a minimum top-up of INR 10,000, with credit expiring after 90 days and no cash refund.
The team needs INR 20,000 of compute. On Provider A it must deposit INR 25,000, leaving INR 5,000 idle. If that balance is refundable less, say, 3 percent, the cost of the idle capital is small. On Provider B it deposits INR 20,000 in two top-ups of INR 10,000, and uses it all within 90 days, so nothing expires. Effective cost is identical at INR 100 per hour.
Now change one input: the team's usage slips and only 150 GPU-hours are used inside the 90-day window. On Provider B, INR 5,000 of credit lapses with no refund, so the effective rate for the hours actually used rises from INR 100 to about INR 133. On Provider A, the same shortfall leaves a balance that can still be used later or withdrawn. The listed rate never moved; the effective rate did.
GST and paperwork on advance payments
For a GST-registered buyer, the treatment of a prepaid top-up affects the invoicing trail. Depending on the provider's practice, a deposit may be documented with a receipt, an advance-payment document or a tax invoice raised at the time of deposit, with later consumption reconciled against it. Whether GST is charged on the deposit or on consumption, and how any lapsed or refunded balance is handled in the books, are questions to put to the provider and to a chartered accountant. For foreign providers, the reverse-charge position described in our foreign versus Indian provider GST comparison still applies to whatever is eventually consumed.
A short checklist before funding an account
- Estimate GPU-hours for the next one to three months, and multiply by the listed rate from the live comparison table.
- Compare that figure with the minimum top-up and with any expiry window.
- Ask whether the refund is cash, credit-only or not available, and whether fees are deducted.
- Check what happens to running jobs at zero balance, and whether low-balance alerts exist.
- Confirm how the deposit and consumption will appear on GST documents.
FAQ
Is a prepaid wallet always worse than monthly billing? No. Prepaid funding can cap spend and avoid surprise invoices, which some teams value. It simply adds terms that belong in the effective-cost calculation.
Does expiring credit change the hourly rate? Not on paper. It changes the effective rate for the hours actually used, as the example above shows, and the gap grows when usage is lower than planned.
This is a general framework, not tax or financial advice. All provider figures in the worked example are hypothetical. Terms of service change, so verify current top-up, expiry and refund rules with the provider and consult a chartered accountant on GST treatment.