Top 9 bare-metal cloud providers of 2025

What is bare-metal cloud?

Bare-metal cloud is a type of cloud computing platform that provides customers with access to physical servers rather than VMs.

Bare-metal clouds are a specialized type of IaaS offering. Most IaaS platforms specialize in providing access to VMs. This means the server users purchase is a virtualized environment that is strictly isolated from the underlying physical server that hosts the VM. But, with a bare-metal server, no such isolation exists.

In a bare-metal cloud, users can access the raw physical hardware devices in cloud servers, such as GPUs. GPUs can accelerate workloads that benefit from parallel computing capabilities, such as AI model training.

Popular bare-metal cloud providers

While many companies that sell bare-metal cloud services offer guides with service overviews, they might not be objective. Additionally, no third-party analyst firm currently publishes a guide to the bare-metal cloud market. As a result, Informa TechTarget compiled the following list of bare-metal cloud providers by reviewing several offerings.

The list covers widely known cloud computing companies that include bare-metal IaaS among their offerings, as well as several smaller, lesser-known bare-metal cloud providers. Providers are listed alphabetically.

1. Amazon EC2 bare-metal instances

Although Amazon EC2 is primarily known for hosting VMs, Amazon has steadily rolled out a variety of bare-metal server instances over the years. Users can manage bare-metal EC2 instances in basically the same way as EC2 VMs. This makes them a convenient option for those already using EC2. A variety of bare-metal hardware options and configurations are available.

A downside is that EC2 doesn't offer as much control over bare-metal servers as customers can get from providers specializing in bare-metal cloud.

2. Azure BareMetal Infrastructure

Like Amazon, Azure also now offers a variety of bare-metal server instances. It manages these as a distinct portfolio rather than a subcategory of its cloud server service. Azure BareMetal Infrastructure supports a range of hardware configurations, although its availability is limited to relatively few regions.

3. DigitalOcean Bare Metal GPUs

DigitalOcean is a smaller-scale IaaS provider that aims to compete with the major public clouds through lower pricing and user-friendly tooling. It offers a selection of bare-metal GPU-enabled servers designed primarily for AI-related use cases.

4. Equinix Metal

Equinix, a global data center company, introduced Metal as a bare-metal cloud offering in 2020. Metal includes extensive API-based control over server hardware, and bare-metal servers are available in a wide selection of Equinix locations across the globe.

In late 2024, however, Equinix announced plans to sunset Metal by 2026, so it's not a viable bare-metal cloud option for the long term.

5. IBM Cloud

Like other large-scale cloud providers, IBM Cloud features a range of bare-metal cloud instances. Its distinguishing characteristic is it offers instances based on Z and LinuxONE mainframe architectures in addition to standard x86-based offerings.

6. OpenMetal

OpenMetal is an IaaS provider that specializes in bare-metal servers, unlike most other providers on this list, and offers bare-metal instances alongside other products. OpenMetal's management tooling is based on the OpenStack open source platform.

The company offers extensive management options and support services. A drawback is that OpenMetal offers only three data center locations -- two in the U.S. and one in the Netherlands.

7. PhoenixNAP

PhoenixNAP is a colocation and cloud services provider similar to, but smaller than, Rackspace and Equinix. It provides bare-metal server offerings and is notable for a wide range of management options, including infrastructure as code- and CLI-based management, in addition to APIs.

A downside is that PhoenixNAP operates only a handful of data centers in the U.S., plus another handful in various overseas locations, so it has less geographic coverage than larger providers.

8. Rackspace

Like other large IaaS providers, Rackspace offers a selection of bare-metal server options that customers can deploy in Rackspace data centers. Rackspace's bare-metal service includes more configuration options than customers can get from the larger public cloud providers.

9. Vultr

Cloud hosting provider Vultr provides four types of bare-metal server instances across nearly two dozen data centers in Asia, Australia, Europe and the U.S. A limitation is its bare-metal server offerings don't include GPU options. The company does have a separate GPU-as-a-service option, which is different from its bare-metal servers and doesn't provide as much control over server instances.

The limitations of bare-metal cloud

Bare-metal cloud doesn't necessarily imply that users have unlimited access to server hardware.

Because bare-metal cloud servers are hosted in remote data centers that customers can't access, it's not possible for the customer to interact with them physically. Instead, most interactions take place either by using APIs that enable customers to configure server hardware or by collaborating with the bare-metal cloud provider's staff to administer servers.

Either way, customers are limited in what they can do with bare-metal cloud servers. They can't plug additional peripherals into the servers or add a hard drive, for example, as is possible with bare-metal on-premises servers the customer owns.

If a business wants total control over server hardware, the best option is to purchase its own servers. But bare-metal cloud offers a convenient way to gain most of the benefits that come with bare-metal hardware, while still enjoying the flexibility of the IaaS model. This option frees users from having to purchase, manage and supply power to house servers.

Bare-metal cloud use cases

In addition to the limited control that bare-metal clouds offer compared to on-premises servers, bare-metal IaaS is also almost always pricier than cloud-based VMs. For these reasons, bare-metal cloud caters to specific types of use cases, such as the following:

• AI training. Bare-metal cloud is ideal for AI model training, as this task performs best on bare-metal hardware, especially servers equipped with GPUs or other AI accelerators. It's also a task that most organizations typically perform only on a periodic basis. As a result, using a bare-metal cloud to support training can be more cost-effective than purchasing hardware specifically for AI training and letting it sit idle much of the time.
• High-performance computing. Workloads with particularly stringent performance requirements are good fits for bare-metal clouds. Bare-metal servers offer lower latency rates and more efficient access to compute and memory resources than VMs.
• Nonstandard CPU architectures. Although most bare-metal cloud servers use standard x86 CPU architectures, bare-metal clouds can also be a good option for workloads that require alternative architectures, such as Arm.

How to choose a bare-metal cloud provider

When comparing bare-metal cloud providers, evaluate each option based on factors such as the following.

Hardware specifications

Which bare-metal hardware configurations does the provider offer, and which performance levels do those configurations support? For example, are GPU-enabled servers available, or are offerings limited to standard servers without specialized hardware options?

Management and support options

How does the bare-metal cloud provider enable customers to interact with bare-metal server instances? If it provides APIs for server management, which capabilities do they support? Is literal hands-on service from the provider's own technicians available to support advanced needs, such as specialized on-site hardware configuration? Or is the customer limited to software-based management tools?

Geographic coverage

If users need to deploy bare-metal cloud workloads in specific regions, review the bare-metal cloud providers' network of data centers to ensure it supports business needs. This might occur if a business has users concentrated in specific areas and wants to reduce latency or if compliance requirements mandate that the business operates in specific jurisdictions.

Pricing

While users should expect to pay a premium for bare-metal clouds as compared to cloud VMs, pricing details can vary widely between providers. Pay attention to each provider's pricing model, including base charges that providers impose for the time servers are running, as well as any additional incurred costs, such as data transfer charges.

Network optimization features

Because high performance is often a key goal when using bare-metal cloud, the ability to optimize network performance can be important. Some bare-metal cloud providers offer services like network interconnection for this purpose. This feature helps speed the flow of traffic between data centers.

Bare-metal business model

Some bare-metal cloud providers don't manage their own physical servers or data centers. They essentially resell bare-metal servers hosted in other IaaS platforms. Often, they aim to add value by providing their own management interfaces or support services.

Understanding how a provider operates in this respect is important because providers who resell other companies' offerings might be less reliable, given they are subject to the whims of an external IaaS provider.

Chris Tozzi is a freelance writer, research adviser, and professor of IT and society. He has previously worked as a journalist and Linux systems administrator.