RTX 3090 vs RTX 4090 for local AI (2026)
VRAM, memory bandwidth, today's prices (new, used and rental) and which local AI models each card can run.
Prices updated Nov 12, 2026The short version
- VRAM: both have 24 GB, so they fit exactly the same models.
- Speed: the RTX 4090 has about 8% more memory bandwidth, so expect roughly 8% faster token generation on models that fit both (estimate; prompt processing and image generation depend on compute, not shown).
- Price: the RTX 3090 is $1,448 cheaper today ($1,618 used vs $3,066 used); per GB of VRAM that's $67 vs $128.
- Renting: RTX 3090 from $0.14/hr, RTX 4090 from $0.34/hr. Try both by the hour before you buy.
Specs and prices
| RTX 3090 | RTX 4090 | |
|---|---|---|
| VRAM | 24 GB GDDR6X | 24 GB GDDR6X |
| Memory bandwidth | 936 GB/s | 1,008 GB/s |
| Memory bus | 384-bit | 384-bit |
| Cheapest today | $1,618 usedGPU Sold · 2026-11-10 | $3,066 usedGPU Sold · 2026-11-10 |
| Lowest new | — | — |
| Used (median eBay ask) | $1,618GPU Sold | $3,066GPU Sold |
| $ per GB VRAM | $67 | $128 |
| Rent from | $0.14/hrVast.ai | $0.34/hrRunpod |
| Launch MSRP | $1,499 | $1,599 |
| Launched | 2020-09 | 2022-10 |
| Software | CUDA - best support in llama.cpp, vLLM, ComfyUI | CUDA - best support in llama.cpp, vLLM, ComfyUI |
| Check priceused · eBayor new on Amazon | Check priceused · eBayor new on Amazon |
Which models fit
| Model | RTX 3090 Q4 | RTX 4090 Q4 | RTX 3090 Q8 | RTX 4090 Q8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Llama 3.1 8B Instruct | ✓ ~94 tok/s6.5 GB | ✓ ~101 tok/s6.5 GB | ✓ ~58 tok/s9.9 GB | ✓ ~62 tok/s9.9 GB |
| Llama 3.3 70B Instruct | ✗needs 43 GB | ✗needs 43 GB | ✗needs 73 GB | ✗needs 73 GB |
| Qwen3 8B | ✓ ~90 tok/s6.7 GB | ✓ ~97 tok/s6.7 GB | ✓ ~56 tok/s10.2 GB | ✓ ~61 tok/s10.2 GB |
| Qwen3 14B | ✓ ~54 tok/s10.6 GB | ✓ ~58 tok/s10.6 GB | ✓ ~32 tok/s16.9 GB | ✓ ~35 tok/s16.9 GB |
| Qwen3 32B | ✓ ~25 tok/s21.5 GB | ✓ ~27 tok/s21.5 GB | ✗needs 35 GB | ✗needs 35 GB |
| Qwen3 30B-A3B (MoE) | ✓ ~197 tok/s19.0 GB | ✓ ~213 tok/s19.0 GB | ✗needs 32 GB | ✗needs 32 GB |
| Qwen2.5 Coder 32B Instruct | ✓ ~25 tok/s21.5 GB | ✓ ~27 tok/s21.5 GB | ✗needs 35 GB | ✗needs 35 GB |
| Qwen3 235B-A22B (MoE) | ✗needs 135 GB | ✗needs 135 GB | ✗needs 235 GB | ✗needs 235 GB |
| Gemma 3 12B IT | ✓ ~67 tok/s8.7 GB | ✓ ~73 tok/s8.7 GB | ✓ ~40 tok/s13.9 GB | ✓ ~43 tok/s13.9 GB |
| Gemma 3 27B IT | ✓ ~31 tok/s17.5 GB | ✓ ~34 tok/s17.5 GB | ✗needs 29 GB | ✗needs 29 GB |
| Mistral 7B Instruct v0.3 | ✓ ~102 tok/s6.1 GB | ✓ ~110 tok/s6.1 GB | ✓ ~64 tok/s9.2 GB | ✓ ~68 tok/s9.2 GB |
| Mistral Small 24B Instruct (2501) | ✓ ~35 tok/s15.6 GB | ✓ ~38 tok/s15.6 GB | ✗needs 26 GB | ✗needs 26 GB |
| Mixtral 8x7B Instruct (MoE) | ✗needs 28 GB | ✗needs 28 GB | ✗needs 48 GB | ✗needs 48 GB |
| DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 8B | ✓ ~94 tok/s6.5 GB | ✓ ~101 tok/s6.5 GB | ✓ ~58 tok/s9.9 GB | ✓ ~62 tok/s9.9 GB |
| DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 14B | ✓ ~53 tok/s10.8 GB | ✓ ~57 tok/s10.8 GB | ✓ ~32 tok/s17.1 GB | ✓ ~34 tok/s17.1 GB |
| DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 32B | ✓ ~25 tok/s21.5 GB | ✓ ~27 tok/s21.5 GB | ✗needs 35 GB | ✗needs 35 GB |
| FLUX.1 [dev] | ✓ fits9.9 GB | ✓ fits9.9 GB | ✓ fits15.0 GB | ✓ fits15.0 GB |
| FLUX.1 [schnell] | ✓ fits9.9 GB | ✓ fits9.9 GB | ✓ fits15.0 GB | ✓ fits15.0 GB |
| Stable Diffusion XL 1.0 | ✓ fits5.2 GB | ✓ fits5.2 GB | ✓ fits6.3 GB | ✓ fits6.3 GB |
| Wan 2.1 T2V 14B (video) | ✓ fits14.9 GB | ✓ fits14.9 GB | ✓ fits20.9 GB | ✓ fits20.9 GB |
| Wan 2.1 T2V 1.3B (video) | ✓ fits4.6 GB | ✓ fits4.6 GB | ✓ fits5.2 GB | ✓ fits5.2 GB |
8K-token context. tok/s = rough bandwidth-based estimate. Method.
FAQ
Is the RTX 3090 or RTX 4090 better for local AI?
VRAM: both have 24 GB, so they fit exactly the same models. Speed: the RTX 4090 has about 8% more memory bandwidth, so expect roughly 8% faster token generation on models that fit both (estimate; prompt processing and image generation depend on compute, not shown). Price: the RTX 3090 is $1,448 cheaper today ($1,618 used vs $3,066 used); per GB of VRAM that's $67 vs $128. Renting: RTX 3090 from $0.14/hr, RTX 4090 from $0.34/hr. Try both by the hour before you buy.
Which has more VRAM, RTX 3090 or RTX 4090?
RTX 3090: 24 GB; RTX 4090: 24 GB.
Is the RTX 4090 faster than the RTX 3090 for LLMs?
For token generation, likely yes by roughly 8% (memory bandwidth 1,008 vs 936 GB/s). This is an estimate, not a benchmark.
How much do the RTX 3090 and RTX 4090 cost today?
RTX 3090: about $1,618 (used, GPU Sold). RTX 4090: about $3,066 (used, GPU Sold). Observed Nov 12, 2026.
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