HGX H100 server value
$195,000 per used 8-GPU node in August 2026, from the October 2026 Rack Report.
HGX H100 8-GPU server (8x 80GB), August 2026
| Figure | Value | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Fair market value, per node | $195,000 | August 2026 Complete systems value: observed listings adjusted to a reference configuration |
| Per GPU | $24,400 | Node value divided by eight |
| Orderly liquidation value (indicative) | $173,000 | 89% of fair market value: the median 25th-percentile price spread in normal resale, not liquidation sales |
| Forced liquidation value (indicative) | $126,000 | 65% of fair market value: the widest price spread observed, one reading |
| Change vs prior issue | +0.8% | Node value vs the prior Rack Report issue; issues restate earlier months |
| Whole node vs sum of its parts | +4.0% | Premium for selling the node intact |
| 2026 residual band | 27-53% | Forecast, % of the original price; conservative 27-39% |
Whole node in a standard configuration (CPUs, memory, storage, node NICs; no fabric, racks, installation or support). Liquidation values are gross, before de-installation, shipping and data sanitization. Residual bands are forecasts from our June 2026 report. Indicative, not an appraisal.
This month
A used HGX H100 server (8x 80GB) was valued at about $195,000 in August 2026, $24,400 per GPU, +0.8% on the prior Rack Report issue. In an orderly sale our haircuts put it at about $173,000, and $126,000 if forced. Bought used at today's $195K, our band forecasts put it at $14K-$22K after three years.
Updated October 17, 2026. Rack Report October 2026, data through August 2026.
Residual value after 1 to 4 years
HGX H100 residual value, % of the price new
2026 to 2030
| Term | Ends | Conservative | Moderate | Today's value along the bands |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 months | 2027 | 11-19% | 19-42% | $79K-$155K |
| 24 months | 2028 | 5-7% | 7-14% | $36K-$52K |
| 36 months | 2029 | 2-3% | 3-6% | $14K-$22K |
| 48 months | 2030 | 1% | 1-3% | $7K-$11K |
Percent of the original price, by the calendar year the term ends, for a deal signed in 2026. Dollars carry today's $195,000 node value along the band ratios from 2026 (conservative floor ratio to moderate ceiling ratio), so they are a share of today's value, not of the original price in the % columns. Today's node value is above our 2026 band (58% of an original price estimated from the GPU list price, against 27-53%), so the dollars carry that gap forward: read the % columns as the forecast. Bands from our June 2026 residual value report; the H100 first shipped in late 2022. More detail: H100 residual value.
What a lessor might book
Our residual value report concludes that a lessor writing a fair market value lease books at the low end of the conservative band, because it has to turn the residual into cash at lease end. For a 36-month H100 lease signed in 2026, that is 2% of the original price, about $14K on today's node value.
Which band lenders, lessors and equity book, and why: GPU residual value by year. Market data, not accounting or investment advice. A booked residual can be backed by residual value insurance.
Earnings per year and payback
One HGX H100 server bought at $195,000 (used, the October 2026 Rack Report node value), rented out from month 4.
| Case | Per GPU-hour | Year-1 revenue | Colocation | Management | Year-1 net | Payback | 3-year net, with resale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Market rent, every hour billed | $3.19 | $213,114 | $34,272 | $12,000 | $166,842 | 18 months | $227,155 |
| On-demand | $3.99 | $213,248 | $34,272 | $12,000 | $166,976 | 18 months | $227,517 |
- Market rent, every hour billed: Rack Report rental rate, October 2026, every hour billed, falling 10% a year (no contract: a best case for utilization, not a quoted rate).
- On-demand: lowest public on-demand list price we track, 80% of hours billed, falling 10% a year.
- Power: 10.2 kW per server, the NVIDIA DGX H100 maximum; colocation all-in at $280 per kW a month from month one.
- Fees: Managed GPUs' $25,000 setup and $1,000 a month management; shipping $2,500. One server needs no cluster network.
- Payback: months after going live until cumulative cash covers the purchase and fees, before resale. Resale after three years: 10% of the purchase price (today's node value carried by the band midpoints, 2026 to 2029).
Change any input in the managedgpus.com GPU ROI calculator.
Total cost of ownership over three years
| Server | $195,000 |
| Shipping | $2,500 |
| Setup fee | $25,000 |
| Colocation, 39 months | $111,384 |
| Management | $36,000 |
| Total paid | $369,884 |
| Less resale after 3 years | -$19,500 |
| Total cost of ownership | $350,384 |
| Per GPU-hour over 3 years | $1.67 |
Same inputs as the earnings table. Power is inside the all-in colocation rate. Excludes financing, insurance, support contracts and sales tax.
In-situ vs ex-situ value
Installed and rented, an HGX H100 node has an income value of about $216K (Rack Report rental-implied value, a limited sample: rent of $3.19 per GPU-hour, today's rent net of hosting, at 70% utilization over the remaining life to six years from launch, discounted at 12% a year; the Rack Report itself warns this approach will likely overestimate value). Removed and sold, it is valued at $195,000, $173,000 in an orderly liquidation and $126,000 in a forced one. The 1.11x gap depends on the server staying in place and earning that rent.
In-situ vs ex-situ GPU value has the definitions and every server side by side.
Methodology and sources
How the figures are built
Fair market value is the October 2026 Rack Report's Complete systems value for August 2026: observed listings for whole nodes, adjusted to a reference configuration, not realized sales. Orderly and forced liquidation scale it by the spread of realized GPU card prices in normal resale: the median and the lowest of the 8 ratios of 25th-percentile to median price the Rack Report has published. They are not drawn from liquidation sales.
Residual bands are by calendar year, measured against the original price, from our June 2026 report, GPU Residual Value: Underwriting a $3 Trillion Opportunity. The bands are forecasts. Earnings use the managedgpus.com calculator's math and defaults; new servers are priced at the Rack Report new-price midpoint. Every figure is computed from the data at build time and moves with each monthly issue.
Related
- H100 appraisal: what a third-party appraisal of this server covers
- H100 residual value: bands at loan or lease maturity, book vs market
- GPU Value Guide: fair market and liquidation values, servers and cards
- GPU Resale Index: the monthly price index for used data center GPUs
- Are 6-year GPU depreciation schedules realistic?: useful lives against the resale curve
- GPU ROI calculator: earnings and payback with your own inputs, on managedgpus.com
- HGX H200 server value: same tables for another server
- HGX B200 server value: same tables for another server
- HGX B300 server value: same tables for another server
Discuss a transaction
Lending or leasing against HGX H100 servers? Send us the equipment list and the term. We will come back with values at the dates your deal cares about.
Prefer email? hello@amcompute.com
Questions
- What is the fair market value of an NVIDIA HGX H100 server?
- About $195,000 per 8-GPU node in August 2026, the October 2026 Rack Report's listing-based Complete systems value. Indicative orderly and forced liquidation values are $173,000 and $126,000.
- What is the residual value of H100 servers after 3 years?
- Our bands forecast 2-3% of the original price in 2029 on the conservative case and 3-6% on the moderate case.
- How much does an H100 server earn per year?
- About $167K net of colocation and management in its first year at $3.19 per GPU-hour with every hour billed, or $167K on-demand at $3.99 with 80% billed.
- What is the payback period of an H100 server?
- 18 months after going live at $3.19 per GPU-hour with every hour billed, and 18 months on-demand, for one server bought at $195K (used, the October 2026 Rack Report node value).
- What residual should a lessor book on H100 servers?
- Our residual value report concludes that lessors book at the low end of the conservative band: for a 36-month lease signed in 2026, 2% of the original price. Market data, not accounting or investment advice.