Paperspace vs Modal: GPU Cloud Compute Pricing (2026)
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Team size
25 seats

Paperspace vs Modal

GPU Cloud Compute pricing comparison · 2026

Paperspace pricing ranges from $0–$39/GPU/hour, while Modal ranges from $0–$250/GPU/hour. These products use different pricing models (Per-seat subscription vs Usage-based (pay per token/image/minute)), so a direct price comparison isn't meaningful — costs depend on usage volume and mix.

Visit
See pricing on each vendor's site
Above-the-fold path — each link opens the vendor's pricing page in a new tab.
Visit Paperspace pricing
Free plan limits → Discount programs →
Visit Modal pricing
Free plan limits → Discount programs →
Compare
2 products · AI/GPU Cloud Compute
Side-by-side · live
Paperspace
Paperspace offers GPU cloud compute through two pricing structures: hourly on-demand GPU r
verified 5w ago
View pricing →
Modal
Modal is a serverless compute platform that lets Python developers run GPU and CPU workloa
verified 15d ago
View pricing →
Estimated license cost
at 25 seats
List price × seats. Click a tier below to lock it.
Usage-based
Custom rates
see vendor pricing for volume tiers
Usage-based
$0.001736 per second
see vendor pricing for volume tiers
REF · 01

Sources & confidence

Every dollar amount and contract clause below traces back to a sourced fact. We don't manufacture composite scores.

Where this data comes from
Vendr · TrustRadius · Reddit · BBB · official docs
Sources 11 sourced facts
9 hidden-cost · 2 contract
Last verified 1mo ago
Confidence Limited confidence
Sources 7 sourced facts
4 hidden-cost · 3 contract
Last verified 2w ago
Confidence High confidence
REF · 02

Plans at a glance

Every tier per product. Lock one to drive the cost row above and reveal a tier-specific outbound CTA.

Tier ladder
Click a tier to lock the cost row to it. Locking surfaces a tier-specific Visit CTA.
REF · 03

Hidden costs

Each cost is severity-ranked, with the dollar range quoted from its source (Vendr, Reddit, TrustRadius, BBB, official docs) — never our estimate.

Beyond the sticker
Severity-ranked, sourced
4 documented
  • Persistent Storage Costs Billed Separately
    5-15% of license costs
    2 sources
  • GPU Availability Not Guaranteed at Peak Hours
    5-10% of license costs
    2 sources
  • Six-Hour Session Limits Require Restarts
    5-10% of license costs
    2 sources
  • Free GPU Tier Removed Post-DigitalOcean Acquisition
    $8-$39
    3 sources
2 documented
  • GPU Compute Costs Billed on Top of Plan Fee
    $2-$72/hr per GPU
    3 sources
  • DIY Configuration Overhead and Cold Start Latency
    5-15% of license costs
    1 source
REF · 04

Contract terms

The fine print, surfaced. Green = buyer-friendly. Each clause backed by a quoted source.

Paperspace
Modal
Auto-renewal
Yes
—
Cancellation
✓ Cancel anytime — monthly billing with no lock-in
—
Commitment
✓ Month-to-month
—
Price escalation
Pricing has changed materially at least once — free GPU tier was removed in November 2023 following DigitalOcean acquisition, replacing prior all-inclusive model with separate storage billing
$2-$72/hr per GPU
Can downgrade
✓ Yes
—
Based on 5 verified sources (Vendr · TrustRadius · BBB)
REF · 05

What users say

Aggregated, with sample sizes. We use whichever review platform has data.

User reviews
TrustRadius · Trustpilot · G2
No public ratings yet
Watch out
Storage costs are high and billed separately from subscription plans
No public ratings yet
Best for
Individual developers and small teams getting started with serverless GPU compute
Watch out
GPU costs escalate very quickly beyond baseline usage
Decide
Get a quote from each vendor
Each link opens the vendor's pricing page in a new tab.
Visit Paperspace pricing
Free plan limits → Discount programs →
Visit Modal pricing
Free plan limits → Discount programs →
License cost is computed from publicly listed plans (real math, list price × seats). Median annual cost is from Vendr's deal flow when available — see source badges. Hidden costs and contract terms each cite their own sources. We do not invent composite scores.
GPU Cloud Compute

Paperspace

$0–$39
/GPU/hour
7 plans · Free tier
Full pricing breakdown →
VS
GPU Cloud Compute

Modal

$0–$250
/GPU/hour
3 plans · Free tier
Full pricing breakdown →
⚖

Different Pricing Models

Direct price comparison isn't meaningful here — Paperspace uses Per-seat subscription pricing while Modal uses Usage-based (pay per token/image/minute) pricing. Your actual cost will depend on usage volume, team size, or both. Here's each product in its native unit.

Per-seat subscription

Paperspace

$0–$39 / GPU/hour
See full Paperspace pricing →
vs
Usage-based (pay per token/image/minute)

Modal

From $0.00000222 per second
See full Modal pricing →

Paperspace and Modal are both gpu cloud compute competitors. This page compares their list pricing tier by tier so you can see which is cheaper for your workload shape.

Plan-by-Plan Pricing

Plan Paperspace Modal
Entry GPU (M4000 / RTX4000) $0.45 /GPU/hour Free /month
Mid-Range GPU (A4000 / A5000 / A6000) $0.76 /GPU/hour $250 /month
A100 $3.09 /GPU/hour Custom
H100 $5.95 /GPU/hour —
Gradient Free Plan Free /GPU/hour —
Gradient Pro $8 /GPU/hour —
Gradient Growth $39 /GPU/hour —

Cost at Scale

Total cost of ownership — licenses, implementation, and hidden costs included.

Paperspace

4 scenarios
$8/month
Individual Researcher — Gradient Pro Plan
subscription plus storage
$39/month
Power User — Gradient Growth Plan
flat rate
$123.60 (40 hours × $3.09/hr A100)
One-Time A100 Training Job — 40 Hours
See all 4 scenarios →

Modal

2 scenarios
$0/month
Solo Developer on Starter Plan
platform fee + ~$2/hr per GPU compute
$250/month
Small Team Running Large Model Inference
platform fee + ~$72/hr GPU costs for large model serving

Hidden Costs

Beyond the sticker price — what catches buyers off guard.

Paperspace 4 hidden costs

high
Persistent Storage Costs Billed Separately 5-15% of license costs
medium
GPU Availability Not Guaranteed at Peak Hours 5-10% of license costs
medium
Six-Hour Session Limits Require Restarts 5-10% of license costs
medium
Free GPU Tier Removed Post-DigitalOcean Acquisition $8-$39
See all Paperspace hidden costs →

Modal 2 hidden costs

high
GPU Compute Costs Billed on Top of Plan Fee $2-$72/hr per GPU
medium
DIY Configuration Overhead and Cold Start Latency 5-15% of license costs
See all Modal hidden costs →

Contract Terms

Term Paperspace Modal
Auto-renewal Yes —
Cancellation Cancel anytime — monthly billing with no lock-in —
Minimum commitment Month-to-month —
Price escalation Pricing has changed materially at least once — free GPU tier was removed in November 2023 following DigitalOcean acquisition, replacing prior all-inclusive model with separate storage billing $2-$72/hr per GPU
Can downgrade Yes —

Continue researching

Paperspace

Modal

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