Softwr

Software · head to head

H2O.ai vs Seldon

H2O.ai logo

H2O.ai

Software

AI Cloud for building and deploying AI applications

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Seldon logo

Seldon

Software

Deploy, scale, and monitor machine learning models

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: H2O.ai java is always required to run H2O-3 even when working from R or Python, and only a 64-bit JRE or JDK is supported; Seldon production deployment requires a Kubernetes cluster, whether managed such as GKE, EKS or AKS, or on-premises such as OpenShift
  • They diverge on capability: H2O.ai covers AutoML, Seldon covers Model serving.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which H2O.ai and Seldon actually diverge.

Attributes where H2O.ai and Seldon differ
AttributeH2O.aiSeldon
PlatformsWeb, CloudLinux
Founded20112014

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

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 H2O.ai

  • AutoML
  • Distributed computing
  • Feature engineering
  • Time series forecasting
  • Spark
  • Hadoop
  • Python
  • R

Only in Seldon

  • Model serving
  • A/B testing
  • Canary deployments
  • Outlier detection
  • Kubernetes
  • Istio
  • Prometheus
  • Grafana

Both cover

  • Model explainability
  • Linux support

What people use each for

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

H2O.ai

  • Distributed in-memory machine learning over large datasetsnot Seldon
  • Training and productionising models from R or Python against a shared H2O clusternot Seldon

Seldon

  • Serving and routing machine learning models on Kubernetesnot H2O.ai
  • Building multi-step inference pipelines with A/B tests and explainersnot H2O.ai

Where each one falls short

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

H2O.ai

  • Java is always required to run H2O-3 even when working from R or Python, and only a 64-bit JRE or JDK is supported
  • Supported Java versions stop at Java SE 17; newer versions only run by forcing an unsupported version flag and are guaranteed for experiments rather than production
  • H2O-3 only supports numpy below version 2, so a numpy 2 environment must be downgraded
  • Supported Python versions are limited to 3.7 through 3.11
  • The Flow web UI requires an internet browser and is the only graphical interface

Seldon

  • Production deployment requires a Kubernetes cluster, whether managed such as GKE, EKS or AKS, or on-premises such as OpenShift
  • The documented components carry both minimum and maximum supported versions, so newer Kubernetes and dependency versions are not automatically supported
  • Dataflow Pipelines need an additional component that the docs recommend avoiding installing when pipelines are not used
  • The Docker Compose install is offered as a lightweight alternative for environments without Kubernetes rather than as a production path

Pricing, plan by plan

H2O.ai

Free
  • H2O-3 Open SourceFree
    • Core algorithms
    • AutoML
    • Community support
  • Driverless AIFree
    • Automatic feature engineering
    • Model explainability
    • Enterprise support

Seldon

Free
  • Seldon CoreFree
    • Open source
    • Kubernetes deployment
    • Model serving
  • Seldon DeployFree
    • Enterprise features
    • GUI
    • Monitoring

Which should you pick?

Choose H2O.ai if

  • You need automl.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Cloud.
  • You also want distributed computing.
H2O.ai review

Choose Seldon if

  • You need model serving.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux.
  • You also want a/b testing.
Seldon review

Questions people ask

Is H2O.ai or Seldon better?
Neither clearly leads. H2O.ai starts at Free and Seldon at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, H2O.ai or Seldon?
H2O.ai starts at Free and Seldon at Free.
Does H2O.ai or Seldon run on more platforms?
H2O.ai runs on Web, Cloud. Seldon runs on Linux.
Can I use H2O.ai for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is H2O.ai best used for?
H2O.ai is most often used for distributed in-memory machine learning over large datasets, training and productionising models from r or python against a shared h2o cluster. Of those, distributed in-memory machine learning over large datasets and training and productionising models from r or python against a shared h2o cluster are not what Seldon is typically brought in for.
What can H2O.ai do that Seldon cannot?
H2O.ai covers AutoML, Distributed computing, Feature engineering, Time series forecasting. Seldon covers Model serving, A/B testing, Canary deployments, Outlier detection. Both handle Model explainability, Linux support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

H2O.ai: Is H2O open source and free?

Yes. H2O-3 OSS is free and Apache-licensed, designed for self-managed and experimental workflows. H2O.ai also offers enterprise cloud solutions with additional features.

Source
H2O.ai: How many companies use H2O's open source platform?

Over 18,000 companies across Finance, Insurance, Healthcare, Retail, Telco, Sales, and Marketing use H2O's open-source machine learning platform.

Source
ShareXLinkedInRedditWhatsAppEmail

Related pages

More on H2O.ai

More on Seldon

Keep looking

Other head to heads