Vast.ai vs Modal: GPU Cloud Compute Pricing (2026)
Compare / Vast.ai vs Modal
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25 seats

Vast.ai vs Modal

AI/GPU Cloud Compute pricing comparison · 2026

Vast.ai pricing ranges from $0.02–$3.85/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.

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See pricing on each vendor's site
Above-the-fold path — each link opens the vendor's pricing page in a new tab.
Visit Vast.ai pricing
Discount programs →
Visit Modal pricing
Free plan limits → Discount programs →
Compare
2 products · AI/GPU Cloud Compute
Side-by-side · live
Vast.ai
Vast.
verified 11w ago
View pricing →
Modal
Modal is a serverless compute platform that lets Python developers run GPU and CPU workloa
verified 11w ago
View pricing →
Estimated license cost
at 25 seats
List price × seats. Click a tier below to lock it.
On-Demand
$90/yr
year 1 license · $0/seat
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 17 sourced facts
15 hidden-cost · 1 contract · 1 review platform
Last verified 2mo ago
Confidence Medium confidence
Sources 7 sourced facts
4 hidden-cost · 3 contract
Last verified 2mo 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
5 documented
  • Serverless Inference Pricing Premium vs. API Alternatives
    $18/hr
    1 source
  • Interruptible Instance Interruption Loss
    10-30% of license costs
    1 source
  • Bandwidth / Egress Charges
    $2.50/100GB
    1 source
  • Billing Continues After Instance Becomes Inaccessible
    5-25% of total spend
    4 sources
  • Charges for Failed or Non-Functional Instances
    5-15% of license costs
    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.

Vast.ai
Modal
Auto-renewal
✓ No
—
Cancellation
Pay-as-you-go, no formal renewal cycle — instances are billed per hour until stopped or destroyed
—
Commitment
None for Interruptible and On-Demand; Reserved instances may carry a minimum commitment period
—
Price escalation
No published price escalation schedule; spot market pricing on Interruptible tier means effective rates fluctuate with supply/demand
$2-$72/hr per GPU
Can downgrade
✓ Yes
—
Based on 4 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
Trustpilot
1.9out of 5 (25)
Best for
Fault-tolerant batch training and inference
Watch out
Instances go offline without warning with no billing pause or refund
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 Vast.ai pricing
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.
AI/GPU Cloud Compute

Vast.ai

$0.02–$3.85
/GPU/hour
3 plans
Full pricing breakdown →
VS
AI/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 — Vast.ai 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

Vast.ai

$0.02–$3.85 / GPU/hour
See full Vast.ai pricing →
vs
Usage-based (pay per token/image/minute)

Modal

From $0.00000222 per second
See full Modal pricing →

Vast.ai 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 Vast.ai Modal
Interruptible $0.10 /user/month Free /month
On-Demand $0.30 /user/month $250 /month
Reserved $0.20 /user/month Custom

Cost at Scale

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

Vast.ai

4 scenarios
$0.30/minute ($18/hour)
Serverless AI Inference (Single Model)
$2.95/hour
Single H100 — Short AI Training Run
per H100 (~$70.80/day) based on community-cited pricing
From ~$0.10/hour (Interruptible tier starting price)
Interruptible GPU — Budget Experimentation
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.

Vast.ai 8 hidden costs

high
Serverless Inference Pricing Premium vs. API Alternatives $18/hr
medium
Interruptible Instance Interruption Loss 10-30% of license costs
high
Bandwidth / Egress Charges $2.50/100GB
critical
Billing Continues After Instance Becomes Inaccessible 5-25% of total spend
high
Charges for Failed or Non-Functional Instances 5-15% of license costs
See all Vast.ai 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 Vast.ai Modal
Auto-renewal No —
Cancellation Pay-as-you-go, no formal renewal cycle — instances are billed per hour until stopped or destroyed —
Minimum commitment None for Interruptible and On-Demand; Reserved instances may carry a minimum commitment period —
Price escalation No published price escalation schedule; spot market pricing on Interruptible tier means effective rates fluctuate with supply/demand $2-$72/hr per GPU
Can downgrade Yes —

Continue researching

Vast.ai

Modal

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