# AWS GPU quotas: instance families and regional vCPU limits

Check AWS GPU vCPU quotas by region, P or G and VT family, purchase option and existing usage before submitting a Service Quotas increase.

Author: Retrivium team
Updated: 2026-11-01
Canonical URL: https://retrivium.ai/journal/aws-gpu-vcpu-quota-workflow/
Language: en

For AWS GPU EC2, check the regional vCPU quota for the appropriate group, such as P or G and VT, and for the selected purchase option. On-Demand and Spot categories differ. “One GPU” is insufficient information because permission must cover the vCPUs of the actual instance size.

## Find the correct quota group

Record exact instance type, region, number and purchase option. Match them to the official EC2 quota table rather than checking only the ordinary CPU-family limit.

Permission for G does not automatically cover P, and a Spot limit does not cover On-Demand. Sizes in the same group contribute to its total usage. Other participants' resources can occupy part of the remaining allowance even if your new project has not started yet.

## Calculate the planned total

Use the official instance specification for vCPUs per size. Multiply by the intended parallel instance count and include current consumption. Planning concerns the total after launch, not just the requested addition.

| Field | Value to preserve |
| --- | --- |
| Region | Location of the planned EC2 resources |
| Group | Relevant accelerator instance family |
| Purchase option | On-Demand or Spot |
| Size | vCPUs per instance |
| Count | Simultaneous instances |
| Already used | Existing quota consumption |

If the calculation disagrees with the console, recheck region and purchase option before changing the application configuration.

## Request permission ahead of the window

Service Quotas provides current values and increase requests for supported limits. Include the group, region, desired final value and purpose. Do not assume a particular approval time when scheduling a pilot.

An increased quota does not reserve GPUs or fix missing IAM permissions. Also check dependent resources such as disks and addresses. Save the approved amount rather than only the submitted request, and identify who may create resources within it.

## Coordinate shared use

Suppose one project needs an interactive session and another wants a batch job in the same group. Total their simultaneous demand. The team can schedule sequential use or request a justified increase rather than interpreting internal competition as a random cloud fault.

Link existing instances to their owners before retiring anything. Removing another active experiment is not an acceptable shortcut to free quota. Finally, refresh usage before every later launch. A quota constrains scale but is not budget control: permitted resources can still remain billable without useful work.

## Turn the check into a practical next step

Count vCPUs in the relevant instance-family and purchase-option quota. The number of GPU devices alone does not establish whether an EC2 launch is permitted.

For the documented details, consult the [primary documentation](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/ec2/latest/instancetypes/ec2-instance-quotas.html); [configuration reference](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/ec2-resource-limits.html). Continue with [aws gpu ebs after termination](/journal/aws-gpu-ebs-after-termination/) and [aws spot checkpoint resume gpu](/journal/aws-spot-checkpoint-resume-gpu/).