Paperspace review (2026): is it worth $22 a month?
Cloud desktops and GPU machines you rent by the hour or month
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Paperspace report card
Weak · out of 4.0 · graded Nov 13, 2026
Best for cloud desktops and GPU machines by the hour or month
Paperspace rents cloud desktops by the month and GPU machines by the hour, and it is now part of DigitalOcean. The Air desktop is $22 a month, hourly machines add a storage fee, and refunds aren't offered as a rule.
Who Paperspace is for
- Fits if you need a GPU machine for design, video or machine learning
- Works for people who prefer paying by the hour
Who Paperspace is not for
- Pricey if you want a monthly desktop: Air is $22 and Pro is $120
- Watch out: hourly machines add a monthly storage fee, and its amount isn't on the pricing page
- Watch out: the pricing page lists no refunds, and exceptions go through a support ticket
- Watch out: the Gradient plan shows both $8 and $12 for Pro on the same page
- Tight if you want the wider GPU range, as the site points to DigitalOcean for it
Why Paperspace gets a 1.8
Five grades, each with its reason. The GPA is their average: an A is 4 points, an F is none.
- DValue for moneyAir desktop is $22 a month, above the category's $18 dearer-quarter line, rising to $120 for Pro. Hourly machines start at $0.0045 an hour.
- FFree plan and trialNo free plan and no trial is listed for the desktops on the pricing page.
- BFeaturesBrowser and desktop-app access, hourly or monthly billing, GPU machines, team management and an API are listed.
- CEase of useNo store rating on record. You pick a machine type, billing mode and storage before you start.
- BPlatforms and integrationsWeb, Windows, Mac and Linux are listed, with an API and Jupyter Notebooks. No phone apps are listed.
What these grades rest on. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Paperspace's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. How we review and grade.
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<a href="https://toolgpa.com/tools/paperspace#review"><img src="https://toolgpa.com/badge/paperspace.svg" alt="Paperspace: 1.8 GPA on ToolGPA" width="196" height="56"></a>Where Paperspace stands among remote desktop apps
Paperspace's GPA of 1.8 is higher than 6 of the 85 other remote desktop apps we grade, and level with 6.
It stands best on features (B, above 55 of 85) and worst on free plan and trial (F, above 0).
Its paid plans start at $22 a month, against a middle price of $8.33 for the category: 36 of the 44 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.7 out of 4. 5 tools score higher and cost less.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 86 remote desktop apps we grade, cut by the letter each got. Paperspace’s own letter is outlined.
- DValue for moneyAbove 0 of 85, level with 6
- FFree plan and trialAbove 0 of 85, level with 14
- BFeaturesAbove 55 of 85, level with 30
- CEase of useAbove 10 of 85, level with 48
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 28 of 85, level with 50
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 59 remote desktop apps. Further left costs less, and higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Point at a dot to see which tool it is.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Keep Paperspace, or make your own?
Keep it
To replace Paperspace you would be making a fast, secure link to another computer through any network. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 73 of the 85 other remote desktop apps grade higher. It costs $264 a year.
What you could not
- A fast, secure link to another computer through any network.
- An AI agent, with the models and the safeguards behind it.
- Apps for macOS, Windows and Linux that stay in step with each other.
- It plugs into other products, Jupyter Notebooks among them, and has an API.
- What a company asks for before it lets staff use something: single sign-on.
- The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.
What this rests on. Paperspace’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
What is Paperspace?
Paperspace Core rents Windows desktops and Linux servers, including GPU machines, that you reach from a browser or a desktop app. Machines are billed either by the hour while running or at a flat monthly rate. Paperspace is now part of DigitalOcean, and the same site also sells the Gradient machine-learning platform.
Worth knowing
- The pricing page lists no refunds and says exceptional cases go through a support ticket.
- Hourly machines add a monthly storage fee on top of the running time; the fee amount is not on the pricing page.
- The Gradient machine-learning platform has its own plans, and its Pro plan shows both $8 and $12 per month on the same page.
- Paperspace is now part of DigitalOcean, and the site points to DigitalOcean for its wider GPU range.
Key features
- Browser and desktop-app access
- The vendor says its streaming technology works directly in a web browser, and Core also has a desktop app for Windows, Mac and Linux.
- Hourly or monthly billing
- Hourly machines pay a flat monthly fee for storage and access plus a per-hour rate while running. Monthly machines are a flat rate.
- GPU machines
- Machine types range from a P4000 at $0.51 per hour to an H100 at $3.09 per hour, with dedicated monthly GPU options listed.
- Team management
- Core for teams has user management, shared drives, private networking and IPsec VPN, with SAML SSO and consolidated billing listed for business.
- API
- A full API gives programmatic access to machines for scripted or larger workloads.
Paperspace pricing
As of Nov 13, 2026, Paperspace is a paid product, starting at $22 per month for the Air desktop; hourly machines from $0.0045 per hour.
- Starts at
- $22 per month for the Air desktop; hourly machines from $0.0045 per hour
- Free plan
- None
- Free trial
- None listed
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Air desktop | $22per month, flat rate for unlimited access | 2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM, 512 MB GPU and 50 GB SSD, with a Windows license included. |
| Standard desktop | $35per month, flat rate for unlimited access | 4 vCPU, 8 GB RAM, 512 MB GPU and 50 GB SSD, for office work and browsing. Windows license included. |
| Advanced desktop | $65per month, flat rate for unlimited access | 6 vCPU, 16 GB RAM, 2 GB GPU and 50 GB SSD, for mid-range apps and 2D CAD. Windows license included. |
| Pro desktop | $120per month, flat rate for unlimited access | 8 vCPU, 32 GB RAM, 4 GB GPU and 50 GB SSD, for 3D CAD and Photoshop. Windows license included. |
Read from paperspace.com on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Paperspace before you buy.
Ways to pay less
- EducationEducation discount for Core
The Core page lists an education discount among its affordability points; the terms were not stated on the page.
Stated on paperspace.com
Works with
- Jupyter Notebooks
Paperspace alternatives
- Paperspace vs Shadow PC
From $29.99/mo
- Paperspace vs Vagon
Free trial · from $7.99/mo
- Paperspace vs Shells
From $14.95/mo
- Paperspace vs Parsec
Free plan · from $8.33/mo
Common questions
Does Paperspace have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. Paperspace is listed for Web, Windows, macOS and Linux.
Does Paperspace have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. Paperspace is listed for Web, Windows, macOS and Linux.
Is Paperspace open source?
Paperspace is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Nov 13, 2026.
Does Paperspace have an API?
Yes. Paperspace offers a public API, according to its own site.
Sources for this page
The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026.