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Cloud · head to head

DigitalOcean vs Modal

DigitalOcean logo

DigitalOcean

Cloud

The developer cloud

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: DigitalOcean data transfer overage charged at $0.01 per GiB beyond included allowances; 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: DigitalOcean covers Droplets (VPS), Modal covers Serverless GPUs.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which DigitalOcean and Modal actually diverge.

Attributes where DigitalOcean and Modal differ
AttributeDigitalOceanModal
PlatformsLinux, Cloud (AWS, GCP, Azure backend)Cloud, Api
CategoryCloudAI
Founded20112021

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (usage-based), 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 DigitalOcean

  • Droplets (VPS)
  • Managed Kubernetes
  • App Platform
  • Managed Databases
  • Spaces (Object Storage)
  • Floating IPs
  • Load Balancers
  • Firewalls

Only in Modal

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

What people use each for

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

DigitalOcean

  • Developers seeking affordable VPS starting at $4/month for small applicationsnot Modal
  • Teams deploying containerised workloads with Kubernetes starting at $12/month cluster costnot Modal
  • Data scientists and ML engineers requiring NVIDIA GPU access at $1.91/GPU/hour (committed)not Modal

Modal

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

Where each one falls short

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

DigitalOcean

  • Data transfer overage charged at $0.01 per GiB beyond included allowances
  • Free tier includes only 3 static sites; additional static sites require paid upgrade
  • Container registry free tier capped at 500 MiB storage; exceeding requires paid tier
  • Functions free tier allows 90,000 GiB-seconds monthly; overages billed on usage basis
  • GPU Droplets require minimum monthly commitment for lower hourly rates; on-demand significantly more expensive

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

DigitalOcean

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the DigitalOcean review.

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 DigitalOcean if

  • You need droplets (vps).
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Cloud (AWS, GCP, Azure backend).
  • You also want managed kubernetes.
DigitalOcean 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 DigitalOcean or Modal better?
Neither clearly leads. DigitalOcean 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, DigitalOcean or Modal?
DigitalOcean starts at Free and Modal at Free.
Does DigitalOcean or Modal run on more platforms?
DigitalOcean runs on Linux, Cloud (AWS, GCP, Azure backend). Modal runs on Cloud, Api.
Can I use DigitalOcean for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is DigitalOcean best used for?
DigitalOcean is most often used for developers seeking affordable vps starting at $4/month for small applications, teams deploying containerised workloads with kubernetes starting at $12/month cluster cost, data scientists and ml engineers requiring nvidia gpu access at $1.91/gpu/hour (committed). Of those, developers seeking affordable vps starting at $4/month for small applications and teams deploying containerised workloads with kubernetes starting at $12/month cluster cost are not what Modal is typically brought in for.
What can DigitalOcean do that Modal cannot?
DigitalOcean covers Droplets (VPS), Managed Kubernetes, App Platform, Managed Databases. Modal covers Serverless GPUs, Python functions, Auto-scaling, Fast cold starts.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

DigitalOcean: How much does a DigitalOcean Droplet cost?

The cheapest Basic Droplet is $4.00 per month, or $0.00595 per hour, and includes 1 vCPU, 512 MiB of memory, 10 GiB of SSD and 500 GiB of transfer. The next step up is $6.00 per month with 1 GiB of memory, 25 GiB of SSD and 1,000 GiB of transfer.

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
DigitalOcean: How is DigitalOcean billed?

Droplets are billed hourly as well as monthly, and DigitalOcean states that Bundled Plan and v5 Droplets are billed on a per second basis with a 60 second minimum charge.

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
DigitalOcean: What does the cheapest DigitalOcean plan include?

At $4.00 per month you get a single vCPU, 512 MiB of memory, 10 GiB of SSD storage and 500 GiB of outbound transfer. That is the smallest Basic Droplet DigitalOcean sells.

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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