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Cloud · head to head

Beam Cloud vs HAProxy

Beam Cloud logo

Beam Cloud

Cloud

Serverless GPU computing with sub-second cold starts and multi-cloud support

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
HAProxy logo

HAProxy

Cloud

High-performance TCP and HTTP load balancer

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Beam Cloud free tier limited to $30 monthly credits with 5 GPU containers; HAProxy configuration syntax is dense and unforgiving, with a steep initial learning curve
  • They diverge on capability: Beam Cloud covers Sub-second cold starts, HAProxy covers High throughput.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Beam Cloud and HAProxy actually diverge.

Attributes where Beam Cloud and HAProxy differ
AttributeBeam CloudHAProxy
Pricing modelFreemium with pay-per-millisecond usage chargesOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsCloud, PythonLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Cloud).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Beam Cloud

  • Sub-second cold starts
  • Inference endpoints
  • Task queues
  • Sandboxes
  • Multi-cloud support
  • Python SDK
  • Global distribution
  • Massive parallelization

Only in HAProxy

  • High throughput
  • Layer 4 and 7
  • Health checking
  • Rate limiting and ACLs

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Beam Cloud

  • Deploying ML models with minimal latency and setup timenot HAProxy
  • Large-scale batch processing across thousands of concurrent tasksnot HAProxy
  • Cost-effective inference serving with bursty workloadsnot HAProxy
  • Multi-cloud AI deployments with global low-latency accessnot HAProxy
  • Serverless AI development for rapid experimentationnot HAProxy

HAProxy

  • Load balancing at traffic levels where proxy efficiency shows up in the hardware billnot Beam Cloud
  • Precise traffic control — rate limits, sticky sessions, complex routing rulesnot Beam Cloud
  • TCP load balancing for databases and non-HTTP servicesnot Beam Cloud

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Beam Cloud

  • Free tier limited to $30 monthly credits with 5 GPU containers
  • Massive parallelization complexity may require DevOps expertise
  • Per-millisecond pricing model requires careful cost monitoring
  • Smaller team relative to established cloud providers

HAProxy

  • Configuration syntax is dense and unforgiving, with a steep initial learning curve
  • No automatic certificate management, unlike newer servers that treat it as default behaviour
  • The built-in stats page is basic, so real observability needs exporters and dashboards
  • A dedicated load balancer is more machinery than small deployments need

Pricing, plan by plan

Beam Cloud

Free
  • DeveloperFree
    • $30 monthly free credits
    • 5 GPU containers, 30 CPU containers
    • Community support
  • Team$89/month
    • $30 monthly free credits included
    • 50 GPU containers, 1,000 CPU containers
    • 3 seats included, $25 per additional
  • Growth$undefined/custom
    • 1,000+ GPU containers
    • Unlimited CPU containers
    • Unlimited seats
  • Serverless GPUs$undefined/per-millisecond
    • RTX 4090: $0.00019/sec

HAProxy

Free
  • HAProxyFree
    • Full functionality
    • No usage limits
    • Community support

Which should you pick?

Choose Beam Cloud if

  • You need sub-second cold starts.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Cloud, Python.
  • You also want inference endpoints.
Beam Cloud review

Choose HAProxy if

  • You need high throughput.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted.
  • You also want layer 4 and 7.
HAProxy review

Questions people ask

Is Beam Cloud or HAProxy better?
Neither clearly leads. Beam Cloud starts at Free and HAProxy at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Beam Cloud or HAProxy?
Beam Cloud starts at Free and HAProxy at Free.
Does Beam Cloud or HAProxy run on more platforms?
Beam Cloud runs on Cloud, Python. HAProxy runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted.
Can I use Beam Cloud for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Beam Cloud best used for?
Beam Cloud is most often used for deploying ml models with minimal latency and setup time, large-scale batch processing across thousands of concurrent tasks, cost-effective inference serving with bursty workloads, multi-cloud ai deployments with global low-latency access. Of those, deploying ml models with minimal latency and setup time and large-scale batch processing across thousands of concurrent tasks are not what HAProxy is typically brought in for.
What can Beam Cloud do that HAProxy cannot?
Beam Cloud covers Sub-second cold starts, Inference endpoints, Task queues, Sandboxes. HAProxy covers High throughput, Layer 4 and 7, Health checking, Rate limiting and ACLs.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Beam Cloud: What is included in the Developer plan?

The Developer plan includes $30 monthly free credits, 5 GPU containers, 30 CPU containers, and community support. No upfront commitment is required.

Source
HAProxy: Is HAProxy free?

Yes, the community version is open source. HAProxy Technologies sells HAProxy Enterprise separately.

Beam Cloud: How fast are the cold starts?

Beam Cloud achieves sub-second cold starts through memory snapshots that restore GPU containers 35x faster than traditional cold boots.

Source
HAProxy: HAProxy or Nginx?

HAProxy is a specialist load balancer with deeper balancing and health-check features. Nginx also serves static content and is more approachable, which is why it is more common as a general web server.

Beam Cloud: Can I deploy across multiple cloud providers?

Yes, Beam Cloud supports multi-cloud deployment across AWS, GCP, Azure, Hetzner, and other providers with 30+ global regions available.

Source
HAProxy: Does HAProxy handle TLS certificates automatically?

No. Certificate issuance and renewal are external, unlike Caddy where it is automatic.

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