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Cloud · head to head

Beam Cloud vs Modal

Beam Cloud logo

Beam Cloud

Cloud

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Modal logo

Modal

AI

Cloud functions for AI and ML

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; Modal the Team plan carries a $250 monthly base fee and returns only $100 of that as free credits, so $150 is a flat charge before any compute
  • They diverge on capability: Beam Cloud covers Sub-second cold starts, Modal covers Serverless GPUs.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Beam Cloud and Modal differ
AttributeBeam CloudModal
Pricing modelFreemium with pay-per-millisecond usage chargesusage-based
PlatformsCloud, PythonCloud, Api
CategoryCloudAI
FoundedUnknown2021

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

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
  • Global distribution
  • Massive parallelization

Only in Modal

  • Serverless GPUs
  • Python functions
  • Auto-scaling
  • Fast cold starts
  • GitHub Actions
  • Cloud storage
  • Cloud support
  • Api support

Both cover

  • Python SDK

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 Modal
  • Large-scale batch processing across thousands of concurrent tasksnot Modal
  • Cost-effective inference serving with bursty workloadsnot Modal
  • Multi-cloud AI deployments with global low-latency accessnot Modal
  • Serverless AI development for rapid experimentationnot Modal

Modal

  • Running serverless GPU workloads for model inference and trainingnot Beam Cloud
  • Executing Python functions on cloud compute without managing serversnot 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

Modal

  • The Team plan carries a $250 monthly base fee and returns only $100 of that as free credits, so $150 is a flat charge before any compute
  • Compute is billed per second across separate GPU and CPU meters, so total cost depends on execution time rather than any fixed rate
  • The Starter plan's $30 monthly free credit is the only allowance below the paid base fee
  • Enterprise volume discounts are custom and unpublished

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

Modal

Free
  • StarterFree
    • 3 seats
    • 100 containers
    • 10 GPU concurrency
  • Team$250/month
    • Unlimited seats
    • 5,000 containers
    • 50 GPU concurrency
  • Enterprise$null/custom
    • Custom seats, containers, and GPU concurrency

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 Modal if

  • You need serverless gpus.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Cloud, Api.
  • You also want python functions.
Modal review

Questions people ask

Is Beam Cloud or Modal better?
Neither clearly leads. Beam Cloud starts at Free and Modal at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Beam Cloud or Modal?
Beam Cloud starts at Free and Modal at Free.
Does Beam Cloud or Modal run on more platforms?
Beam Cloud runs on Cloud, Python. Modal runs on Cloud, Api.
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 Modal is typically brought in for.
What can Beam Cloud do that Modal cannot?
Beam Cloud covers Sub-second cold starts, Inference endpoints, Task queues, Sandboxes. Modal covers Serverless GPUs, Python functions, Auto-scaling, Fast cold starts. Both handle Python SDK.

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
Modal: How much does Modal cost?

Modal uses pay-as-you-go pricing with Team plan at 250 USD/month base. Starter includes 30 USD/month free credits; Team includes 100 USD/month free credits. Compute charges per second for CPU cores, memory, and GPU instances.

Source
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
Modal: Is there a free tier?

Yes, Starter plan is free plus 30 USD/month in compute credits included monthly for new users.

Source
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
Modal: What are the seat limits?

Starter plan includes 3 seats; Team plan provides unlimited seats; Enterprise tier has custom seat allocations.

Source
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