SantaCoder TPS calculator
Each card below is assessed against this model at the context length and minimum quality you choose. Speed is an estimate for a single request, calculated from the card's memory bandwidth and the size of the model once compressed.
Calculated for this model
Smallest card that fits
Tesla C1080
4 GB · Q8_0 · 33.5 tok/s
Fastest card
B200
3,080 tok/s · 180 GB
Which GPUs can run SantaCoder?
Set the inputs, read the answer
A longer conversation needs more memory, which can push this model off smaller cards.
Hides cards that would only fit the model by compressing it below this point.
818 cards match
Calculating| Needs | Quantisation | Fit | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
3,080
tok/s
1,848–4,928 · low confidence |
B200 NVIDIA | 180 GB | 8,000 GB/s | Jan 2024 | 1.9 GB | Q8_0 | Comfortable |
|
3,080
tok/s
1,848–4,928 · low confidence |
B300 NVIDIA | 288 GB | 8,000 GB/s | Sep 2025 | 1.9 GB | Q8_0 | Comfortable |
|
2,460
tok/s
1,476–3,935 · low confidence |
Radeon Instinct MI350X AMD | 288 GB | 8,190 GB/s | Jan 2025 | 1.9 GB | Q8_0 | Comfortable |
|
2,460
tok/s
1,476–3,935 · low confidence |
Radeon Instinct MI355X AMD | 288 GB | 8,190 GB/s | Jan 2025 | 1.9 GB | Q8_0 | Comfortable |
|
1,967
tok/s
1,180–3,147 · low confidence |
Radeon Instinct MI300 AMD | 128 GB | 6,550 GB/s | Jan 2023 | 1.9 GB | Q8_0 | Comfortable |
|
1,883
tok/s
1,130–3,012 · low confidence |
H200 NVL NVIDIA | 141 GB | 4,890 GB/s | Nov 2024 | 1.9 GB | Q8_0 | Comfortable |
|
1,883
tok/s
1,130–3,012 · low confidence |
H200 SXM 141 GB NVIDIA | 141 GB | 4,890 GB/s | Nov 2024 | 1.9 GB | Q8_0 | Comfortable |
|
1,802
tok/s
1,081–2,883 · low confidence |
Radeon Instinct MI325X AMD | 256 GB | 6,000 GB/s | Oct 2024 | 1.9 GB | Q8_0 | Comfortable |
|
1,599
tok/s
960–2,559 · low confidence |
Radeon Instinct MI300A AMD | 128 GB | 5,325 GB/s | Dec 2023 | 1.9 GB | Q8_0 | Comfortable |
|
1,599
tok/s
960–2,559 · low confidence |
Radeon Instinct MI300X AMD | 192 GB | 5,325 GB/s | Dec 2023 | 1.9 GB | Q8_0 | Comfortable |
|
1,599
tok/s
960–2,559 · low confidence |
Radeon Instinct MI308X AMD | 192 GB | 5,325 GB/s | Dec 2023 | 1.9 GB | Q8_0 | Comfortable |
|
1,517
tok/s
910–2,427 · low confidence |
H100 NVL 94 GB NVIDIA | 94 GB | 3,940 GB/s | Mar 2023 | 1.9 GB | Q8_0 | Comfortable |
|
1,294
tok/s
776–2,070 · low confidence |
H100 PCIe 96 GB NVIDIA | 96 GB | 3,360 GB/s | Mar 2023 | 1.9 GB | Q8_0 | Comfortable |
|
1,294
tok/s
776–2,070 · low confidence |
H100 SXM5 80 GB NVIDIA | 80 GB | 3,360 GB/s | Oct 2022 | 1.9 GB | Q8_0 | Comfortable |
|
1,294
tok/s
776–2,070 · low confidence |
H100 SXM5 94 GB NVIDIA | 94 GB | 3,360 GB/s | Mar 2023 | 1.9 GB | Q8_0 | Comfortable |
|
1,294
tok/s
776–2,070 · low confidence |
H100 SXM5 96 GB NVIDIA | 96 GB | 3,360 GB/s | Mar 2023 | 1.9 GB | Q8_0 | Comfortable |
|
1,294
tok/s
776–2,070 · low confidence |
H800 SXM5 NVIDIA | 80 GB | 3,360 GB/s | Mar 2023 | 1.9 GB | Q8_0 | Comfortable |
|
985
tok/s
591–1,576 · low confidence |
Radeon Instinct MI250 AMD | 128 GB | 3,280 GB/s | Nov 2021 | 1.9 GB | Q8_0 | Comfortable |
|
985
tok/s
591–1,576 · low confidence |
Radeon Instinct MI250X AMD | 128 GB | 3,280 GB/s | Nov 2021 | 1.9 GB | Q8_0 | Comfortable |
|
821
tok/s
493–1,313 · low confidence |
Data Center GPU Max 1550 Intel | 128 GB | 3,280 GB/s | Jan 2023 | 1.9 GB | Q8_0 | Comfortable |
|
803
tok/s
482–1,285 · low confidence |
Data Center GPU Max Subsystem Intel | 128 GB | 3,210 GB/s | Jan 2023 | 1.9 GB | Q8_0 | Comfortable |
|
785
tok/s
471–1,257 · low confidence |
A100 SXM4 80 GB NVIDIA | 80 GB | 2,040 GB/s | Nov 2020 | 1.9 GB | Q8_0 | Comfortable |
|
785
tok/s
471–1,257 · low confidence |
A100X NVIDIA | 80 GB | 2,040 GB/s | Jun 2021 | 1.9 GB | Q8_0 | Comfortable |
|
785
tok/s
471–1,257 · low confidence |
A800 SXM4 80 GB NVIDIA | 80 GB | 2,040 GB/s | Aug 2022 | 1.9 GB | Q8_0 | Comfortable |
|
785
tok/s
471–1,257 · low confidence |
H100 CNX NVIDIA | 80 GB | 2,040 GB/s | Mar 2023 | 1.9 GB | Q8_0 | Comfortable |
Speeds are estimates for a single request — one conversation at a time — calculated from memory bandwidth, model size and quantisation. Real throughput varies with the inference runtime and its version. Figures published by hardware vendors measure many simultaneous requests and are much higher.
On record
Full specification
Everything on record for this model. Most of it describes how it was trained rather than how it runs — useful context for judging how much work went into it, and how it compares with models built at a different scale.
Origin
Who built this model, where, and when it was published.
- Organisation
- Hugging Face,ServiceNow,Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT),Wellesley College,Saama,EleutherAI,Huawei Noah's Ark Lab,Carnegie Mellon University (CMU)
- Organisation type
- Industry,Industry,Academia,Academia,Research collective,Industry,Academia
- Country
- United States of America, China
- Published
- 9 January 2023
- Authors
- Loubna Ben Allal, Raymond Li, Denis Kocetkov, Chenghao Mou, Christopher Akiki, Carlos Munoz Ferrandis, Niklas Muennighoff, Mayank Mishra, Alex Gu, Manan Dey, Logesh Kumar Umapathi, Carolyn Jane Anderson, Yangtian Zi, Joel Lamy Poirier, Hailey Schoelkopf, Sergey Troshin, Dmitry Abulkhanov, Manuel Romero, Michael Lappert, Francesco De Toni, Bernardo García del Río, Qian Liu, Shamik Bose, Urvashi Bha…
What it does
The problem areas the model was built for. A model can carry several of each.
- Domain
- Language
- Task
- Code generation
Size
How large the model is and how much data it was trained on. Parameters are the figure that decides whether it fits on a given graphics card.
- Parameters
- 1.1B
- Training data
- tokens
1.1B
268 GB
Training compute
The arithmetic performed to train the model, measured in floating-point operations. It is a measure of what the training run cost, not of how fast the finished model answers you.
- Training compute
- 2.1 × 10²¹ FLOP
- How it was established
- Hardware
Each training run takes 3.1 days to complete on 96 Tesla V100 GPUs for a total of 1.05 × 10^21 FLOPs. The final model described in Section 6.2 uses twice the amount of compute.
The training run
What it physically took to train: which chips, how many, for how long, and what that drew from the wall.
- Training hardware
- NVIDIA V100
- Wall-clock time
- 150 hours
Their initial training runs took 3.1 days. The final training run was run for twice as many iterations with "all other hyper-parameters the same" and used twice as much compute as this. So likely 6 days or ~150 hours, but they don't explicitly say whether they used the same hardware.
Availability
Whether you can obtain the model and run it on your own hardware, which is what decides if any of the graphics-card figures on this page apply.
- Weights
- Open — downloadable
- Model access
- Open weights (restricted use)
- Training code
- Unreleased
license - commercial, usage restrictions against things like discrimination and misinformation https://huggingface.co/spaces/bigcode/license
How it is classified
Labels the source dataset applies when tracking notable models, and how confident it is in the entry.
- Foundation model
- Yes
- Record confidence
- Confident
- Citations
- 238
Sources
Where this record came from and when it was last checked.
- Reference
- SantaCoder: don't reach for the stars!
- Last updated
- 25 May 2026
The extremes
The ten fastest GPUs for SantaCoder
Ranked by estimated tokens per second, newest card first where speeds tie. Because generation is bound by memory bandwidth, this ordering follows bandwidth rather than any gaming benchmark.
- 01 B300 288 GB · 8,000 GB/s · Q8_0 3,080 tok/s
- 02 B200 180 GB · 8,000 GB/s · Q8_0 3,080 tok/s
- 03 Radeon Instinct MI350X 288 GB · 8,190 GB/s · Q8_0 2,460 tok/s
- 04 Radeon Instinct MI355X 288 GB · 8,190 GB/s · Q8_0 2,460 tok/s
- 05 Radeon Instinct MI300 128 GB · 6,550 GB/s · Q8_0 1,967 tok/s
- 06 H200 NVL 141 GB · 4,890 GB/s · Q8_0 1,883 tok/s
- 07 H200 SXM 141 GB 141 GB · 4,890 GB/s · Q8_0 1,883 tok/s
- 08 Radeon Instinct MI325X 256 GB · 6,000 GB/s · Q8_0 1,802 tok/s
- 09 Radeon Instinct MI300A 128 GB · 5,325 GB/s · Q8_0 1,599 tok/s
- 10 Radeon Instinct MI300X 192 GB · 5,325 GB/s · Q8_0 1,599 tok/s
The smallest GPUs that still run SantaCoder
The cheapest route in, by memory capacity. A tight fit runs the model but leaves nothing spare for a longer conversation.
- 01 GeForce RTX 4010 4 GB · needs 1.9 GB · Q8_0 · comfortable 37.0 tok/s
- 02 RTX A400 4 GB · needs 1.9 GB · Q8_0 · comfortable 37.0 tok/s
- 03 RTX 500 Mobile Ada Generation 4 GB · needs 1.9 GB · Q8_0 · comfortable 49.3 tok/s
- 04 GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile 4 GB · needs 1.9 GB · Q8_0 · comfortable 73.9 tok/s
- 05 Jetson Orin Nano 4 GB 4 GB · needs 1.9 GB · Q8_0 · comfortable 13.1 tok/s
- 06 Radeon RX 6450M 4 GB · needs 1.9 GB · Q8_0 · comfortable 38.4 tok/s
- 07 Radeon RX 6550M 4 GB · needs 1.9 GB · Q8_0 · comfortable 43.3 tok/s
- 08 Radeon RX 6550S 4 GB · needs 1.9 GB · Q8_0 · comfortable 38.4 tok/s
- 09 Arc A310 4 GB · needs 1.9 GB · Q8_0 · comfortable 31.0 tok/s
- 10 Arc Pro A30M 4 GB · needs 1.9 GB · Q8_0 · comfortable 32.0 tok/s
What the numbers mean
What you need to run it
Minimum card
Tesla C1080
Memory needed
1.9 GB
Fastest
3,080 tok/s
SantaCoder is small enough at 1.1B parameters that hardware is rarely the obstacle — 818 of the cards we track can run it, including cards several years old.
The least hardware that works is a Tesla C1080. Its 4 GB is enough at Q8_0 compression, giving roughly 33.5 tokens per second.
The quickest result comes from a B200 at around 3,080 tokens per second — its 8,000 GB/s of bandwidth is what buys that.
Background
SantaCoder was published by Hugging Face,ServiceNow,Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT),Wellesley College,Saama,EleutherAI,Huawei Noah's Ark Lab,Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), in United States of America, in January 2023. It comes out of industry,Industry,Academia,Academia,Research collective,Industry,Academia.
It works in Language, and is recorded as doing code generation.
Because its weights were released, nothing about running it depends on a provider staying available — it is yours once downloaded.
Reading the throughput figures
Half the cards that hold it manage more than 86.5 tokens per second, and 799 exceed reading speed outright.
It is a dense model, so every parameter is read for every token produced. That makes speed track memory bandwidth almost exactly — a card with twice the bandwidth generates roughly twice as fast.
Its internal architecture is not on file, so memory is approximated from the parameter count and marked accordingly. Expect the real figure to differ, more so at long context.
What went into building it
Training it took roughly 2.1 × 10²¹ FLOP of computation, on NVIDIA V100 — a measure of what producing the model cost, not of how fast it answers.
Step by step
How to choose a GPU for SantaCoder
The table above has already assessed every card we hold specifications for against this model. Getting to your answer takes six steps.
-
01
Read the memory figure first
Look at what SantaCoder actually needs — around 1.9 GB at Q8_0. No amount of processing power compensates for a card that cannot hold it.
-
02
Set the context length you will work at
Set the context to what you will actually use. The cache grows with the conversation, and it is the usual reason SantaCoder stops fitting a card that seemed fine.
-
03
Set a quality floor
Each card runs the least-compressed copy it can hold — Q8_0 on the smallest card that fits. Setting a floor drops the cards that only manage SantaCoder by squeezing it further than you would want.
-
04
Sort by speed
Ranking by tokens per second for SantaCoder follows memory bandwidth, not core counts, which is why the B200 tops it at 3,080 tok/s.
-
05
Check the fit verdict before buying
Tight means SantaCoder loads and works, with no room to raise the context later. Comfortable means you can. The difference matters more than a few tokens per second.
-
06
Open the card you have settled on
Following a card through to its own page shows every other model it can hold, which is the question that follows once SantaCoder is settled.
Answers
SantaCoder — common questions
Can I run SantaCoder on a 12 GB GPU?
Yes. A GeForce RTX 3080 Ti with 12 GB runs it at Q8_0, using about 1.9 GB and generating roughly 351 tokens per second — a comfortable fit.
Can I run SantaCoder on a 16 GB GPU?
Yes. A Tesla V100 SXM2 16 GB with 16 GB runs it at Q8_0, using about 1.9 GB and generating roughly 435 tokens per second — a comfortable fit.
Can I run SantaCoder on a 24 GB GPU?
Yes. A GeForce RTX 5090 D V2 with 24 GB runs it at Q8_0, using about 1.9 GB and generating roughly 516 tokens per second — a comfortable fit.
Is SantaCoder open source?
Its weights are published, so SantaCoder can be downloaded and run on your own hardware. Note that open weights is not the same as open source in the full sense — it says nothing about the training data, the training code, or the commercial terms attached.
How many parameters does SantaCoder have?
SantaCoder has 1.1B parameters. 1.1B. That figure is the total, and it is what decides how much memory the model needs — roughly half a gigabyte per billion at the compression most people use.
Who created SantaCoder?
SantaCoder was published by Hugging Face,ServiceNow,Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT),Wellesley College,Saama,EleutherAI,Huawei Noah's Ark Lab,Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), based in United States of America, categorised as industry,Industry,Academia,Academia,Research collective,Industry,Academia.
When was SantaCoder released?
SantaCoder was published in January 2023. Capability per parameter has improved considerably since, so a newer model of the same size is often the better use of the same hardware.
What is SantaCoder used for?
SantaCoder works in Language, and is recorded as handling code generation. Models frequently carry more than one of each, and the tags describe purpose rather than capability limits.
Where can I download SantaCoder?
The weights for SantaCoder are published, though we do not hold a repository link for it. This site calculates hardware requirements rather than hosting model files.
How much compute was used to train SantaCoder?
Around 2.1 × 10²¹ FLOP, on NVIDIA V100. That measures what producing the model cost and says nothing about how quickly it answers once trained — inference speed comes from memory bandwidth, not from the training budget.
Can I run SantaCoder if it does not fit in my GPU?
Only by offloading, which is usually a false economy: the part in system memory drags the whole thing down. Our figures for SantaCoder assume it is fully resident.
Would two GPUs run SantaCoder faster?
A second card roughly doubles the memory available but not the generation rate. With 818 cards already able to run SantaCoder alone, the case for pairing is weak.
Why does the quantisation differ between cards for SantaCoder?
Each card is shown running the least-compressed copy it can hold, and SantaCoder appears at 1 different compression levels across the cards that fit it. Bigger cards get the more accurate version.
How accurate are these SantaCoder speed estimates?
Every figure is derived from memory bandwidth and model size, not benchmarked. That is why each is published as a range such as 1,848–4,928 tok/s on the B200 rather than a single number.
What GPU do I need to run SantaCoder?
The smallest card in our catalogue that holds SantaCoder is the Tesla C1080, with 4 GB of memory. It runs the model at Q8_0 using about 1.9 GB, and produces roughly 33.5 tokens per second. 818 cards in total can run it.
How fast is SantaCoder on a GPU?
It depends on the card. The quickest we calculate is a B200 at about 3,080 tokens per second; the slowest that still runs it manages considerably less. Reading speed is around ten tokens per second, and 799 of the cards that can run SantaCoder clear that.
How much VRAM does SantaCoder need?
About 1.9 GB at Q8_0 compression, which is what the smallest card that runs it uses. Less compression needs more: the figures in the memory column above are recalculated for each card, because each one holds the least-compressed version it can.
Can I run SantaCoder on a 8 GB GPU?
Yes. A CMP 170HX 8 GB with 8 GB runs it at Q8_0, using about 1.9 GB and generating roughly 574 tokens per second — a comfortable fit.
The other direction
Looking at it from the other side?
This page starts from the model. If you already own a card and want to know everything it will run, start from the hardware instead.