## Factors
So if you want to estimate the cost of **using** AI, you would need to factor in the following:
- Size/type/number of underlying computer
- RAM
- Cores
- GPU RAM
- GPU Cores
- Time taken (usually in hours)
- Type of AI use
- Training
- Deployment
- Prediction/inference
- Availability
- Dedicated (always available)
- On-demand (pay-per-use, but susceptible to surge pricing, may also be slow to classify first image)
There are other hidden costs:
- Storage
- Amount of images/metadata
- Frequency of access
- Cross-region data access (from data center to data center)
- Number of times model is retrained
- Idle time
## Options
- [Vertex AI - Google](https://cloud.google.com/vertex-ai/pricing)
- [AutoML - Google](https://cloud.google.com/vertex-ai/docs/beginner/beginners-guide)
- [SageMaker - AWS Calculator](https://calculator.aws/#/createCalculator/SageMaker)
- [Azure Calculator](https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/calculator/?service=cognitive-services)
- [HuggingFace Prices](https://huggingface.co/pricing)
- [Lambda AI](https://lambda.ai/pricing)
## References
- [Hidden Cost of AI in the Cloud - CloudOptimo](https://www.cloudoptimo.com/blog/the-hidden-cost-of-ai-in-the-cloud/)