GPU cloud · head to head
Modal vs Vast.ai
What each costs, whether there's a free plan, and what each is best for, from prices checked on their own sites.
| Fact |  Modal |  Vast.ai |
|---|---|---|
| From | $1.10/hr | $0.49/hr |
| Free plan | Yes · $30/month of free credits on the Starter plan | No · No free credits |
| Best for | Serverless GPUs for Python: pay per second while your code runs. | A GPU rental marketplace where hosts set their own prices. |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
| Website | Visit | Visit |
The difference in short
- Vast.ai costs less to start: $0.49/hr against $1.10/hr for Modal.
- Only Modal has a free plan, trial or credit.
Modal pricing
All about Modal| Plan | Price | Specs / includes | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| B200 | $6.25/hr | — | Published only per second: $0.001736/sec. Hourly = x3600, exact arithmetic. GPU price only; CPU and memory billed separately. VRAM not stated on the pricing page. |
| H200 SXM | $4.54/hr | — | Published $0.001261/sec; hourly = x3600 exactly. GPU only. VRAM not stated on the pricing page. |
| H100 SXM5 | $3.95/hr | — | Published $0.001097/sec; hourly = x3600 exactly. GPU only. H100 is 80GB, but the pricing page does not state VRAM. |
| A100 80GB | $2.50/hr | — | Published $0.000694/sec; hourly = x3600 exactly. A100 40GB is $0.000583/sec = $2.0988/hr. |
| L40S | $1.95/hr | — | Published $0.000542/sec; hourly = x3600 exactly. L40S is 48GB, but the pricing page does not state VRAM. |
| A10 | $1.10/hr | — | Published $0.000306/sec; hourly = x3600 exactly. Also listed: L4 $0.000222/sec ($0.7992/hr), T4 $0.000164/sec ($0.5904/hr), RTX PRO 6000 $0.000842/sec ($3.0312/hr), B300 $0.001972/sec ($7.0992/hr). |
Vast.ai pricing
All about Vast.ai| Plan | Price | Specs / includes | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| RTX 4090 24GB | $0.49/hr | — | Marketplace, varies by host. Median $0.49 (feed: 0.4947); lowest offer 'from' $0.13 (0.1343); p10 0.4014; 437 offers at time of read. vCPU/RAM depend on the host. |
| RTX 5090 32GB | $0.64/hr | — | Marketplace, varies by host. Median $0.64 (feed: 0.6358); lowest offer 'from' $0.37 (0.3737); p10 0.4697; 572 offers. |
| L40S 48GB | $0.64/hr | — | Marketplace, varies by host. Median $0.64 (feed: 0.6406); lowest offer 'from' $0.43 (0.4274); p10 0.4281; 74 offers. |
| A100 80GB SXM4 | $0.73/hr | A100 SXM4 | Marketplace, varies by host. Median $0.73 (feed: 0.7347); lowest offer 'from' $0.43 (0.4271); 126 offers. A100 PCIE 80GB: median $0.73 (0.7337), lowest $0.37 (0.3676), 117 offers. |
| H100 80GB SXM | $2.40/hr | H100 SXM | Marketplace, varies by host. Median $2.40 (feed: 2.4007); lowest offer 'from' $1.73 (1.7337); 31 offers. H100 PCIE: median $2.47, lowest $2.34. H100 NVL: median $2.49, lowest $1.63. |
| B200 192GB | $9.38/hr | — | Marketplace, varies by host. Median $9.38 (feed: 9.3759); lowest offer 'from' $6.25 (6.2513); 33 offers. |
Other GPU cloud options
Cheapest first where the prices compare.
RunPod
TensorDock
DigitalOcean GPU Droplets
HyperstackFAQ
Which is cheaper, Modal or Vast.ai?
Vast.ai costs less to start: $0.49/hr against $1.10/hr for Modal. Prices checked Oct 17, 2026 on each company's own site.
Do Modal and Vast.ai have a free plan?
Modal: Yes. $30/month of free credits on the Starter plan. Vast.ai: No free credits.
What else should I compare with Modal and Vast.ai?
Other GPU cloud options we've checked: RunPod ($0.34/hr), TensorDock ($0.35/hr), DigitalOcean GPU Droplets ($0.76/hr), Hyperstack ($1.35/hr).
Keep comparing
- Modal: pricing, free plan and alternatives
- Vast.ai: pricing, free plan and alternatives
- All GPU cloud compared
- DigitalOcean GPU Droplets vs Modal
- DigitalOcean GPU Droplets vs Vast.ai
- Hyperstack vs Modal
- Hyperstack vs Vast.ai
- Lambda vs Modal
- Lambda vs Vast.ai
- Modal vs RunPod
- Modal vs TensorDock
- Modal vs Vultr Cloud GPU
- TensorDock vs Vast.ai
Built from the prices and facts we checked on each company's own site. We haven't tested either hands-on.How we work