NVIDIA Rubin vs. Blackwell: Rent B200/B300 Now or Wait?
For most AI teams in 2026, the answer is clear: rent Blackwell now. NVIDIA's Rubin platform promises transformational gains, including 10x lower inference token costs and 5x per-GPU compute. But volume shipments won't begin until H2 2026, and meaningful cloud availability for non-hyperscaler customers likely extends into 2027. Meanwhile, Blackwell B200 GPUs are available today across 15+ cloud providers at $3–$5/hr on independent platforms, delivering 3x inference throughput over H200 and 15x over H100. Historical GPU pricing data shows that next-gen announcements don't crash current-gen prices. Supply expansion does. Pay-as-you-go cloud billing eliminates lock-in risk entirely. This report compiles every verified fact, benchmark, and pricing data point you need to make the decision.
