Is Modal or Poolside better?

Neither clearly leads. Modal starts at Free and Poolside at $0.06/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Modal or Poolside?

Modal has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Modal and $0.06/month for Poolside.

Does Modal or Poolside run on more platforms?

Modal runs on Cloud, Api. Poolside runs on web, api, mac, windows, linux.

Can I use Modal for free?

Yes. Modal has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Poolside starts at $0.06/month.

What is Modal best used for?

Modal is most often used for running serverless gpu workloads for model inference and training, executing python functions on cloud compute without managing servers. Of those, running serverless gpu workloads for model inference and training and executing python functions on cloud compute without managing servers are not what Poolside is typically brought in for.

What can Modal do that Poolside cannot?

Modal covers Serverless GPUs, Python functions, Auto-scaling, Fast cold starts. Poolside covers Laguna S 2.1, Laguna XS 2.1, Desktop and CLI tools, Open-weight models.

AI · head to head

Modal vs Poolside

Modal

Cloud functions for AI and ML

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

Poolside

Open-weight foundation models built for agentic software engineering

From: $0.06/month
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Only Modal has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
Each has a real cost: 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; Poolside no self-serve public application; access is largely through enterprise sales or third-party model gateways
They diverge on capability: Modal covers Serverless GPUs, Poolside covers Laguna S 2.1.
Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Modal and Poolside actually diverge.

Attributes where Modal and Poolside differ
Attribute	Modal	Poolside
Starting price	Free	$0.06/month
Free tier	Yes	No
Platforms	Cloud, Api	web, api, mac, windows, linux
Founded	2021	2023

Identical on both: pricing model (usage-based), user rating (Not yet rated), category (AI).

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 Modal

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

Only in Poolside

Laguna S 2.1
Laguna XS 2.1
Desktop and CLI tools
Open-weight models
Third-party gateway access

What people use each for

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

Modal

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

Poolside

Enterprises deploying AI coding assistance across large developer organizationsnot Modal
Government and defense agencies needing on-premise or sovereign coding modelsnot Modal
Teams building custom coding agents on open-weight foundation modelsnot Modal
Organizations wanting on-device lightweight coding modelsnot Modal

Where each one falls short

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

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

Poolside

No self-serve public application; access is largely through enterprise sales or third-party model gateways
Pricing for the flagship enterprise and government offering is not public and requires a sales conversation
Targets organizations with large (5,000+) developer headcounts, making it a poor fit for individuals or small teams
Documentation and product surface area are thin compared to consumer-facing coding assistants

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Poolside

$0.06/month

Laguna XS 2.1$undefined/month
- $0.06 per 1M input tokens
- $0.12 per 1M output tokens
- Available via OpenRouter and Vercel AI Gateway
Laguna S 2.1$undefined/month
- $0.10 per 1M input tokens
- $0.20 per 1M output tokens
- 1M token context window
Enterprise / Government$undefined/month
- Custom contracts for large engineering organizations
- Sales-quoted pricing
- On-premise or dedicated deployment options

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Poolside if

You need laguna s 2.1.
You work on web, api, mac, windows, linux.
You also want laguna xs 2.1.

Poolside review

Questions people ask

Is Modal or Poolside better?: Neither clearly leads. Modal starts at Free and Poolside at $0.06/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Modal or Poolside?: Modal has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Modal and $0.06/month for Poolside.
Does Modal or Poolside run on more platforms?: Modal runs on Cloud, Api. Poolside runs on web, api, mac, windows, linux.
Can I use Modal for free?: Yes. Modal has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Poolside starts at $0.06/month.
What is Modal best used for?: Modal is most often used for running serverless gpu workloads for model inference and training, executing python functions on cloud compute without managing servers. Of those, running serverless gpu workloads for model inference and training and executing python functions on cloud compute without managing servers are not what Poolside is typically brought in for.
What can Modal do that Poolside cannot?: Modal covers Serverless GPUs, Python functions, Auto-scaling, Fast cold starts. Poolside covers Laguna S 2.1, Laguna XS 2.1, Desktop and CLI tools, Open-weight models.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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

Poolside: How is Poolside's Laguna model usage priced?

Laguna XS 2.1 is priced at $0.06 per 1M input tokens and $0.12 per 1M output tokens; Laguna S 2.1 is $0.10 per 1M input tokens and $0.20 per 1M output tokens.

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

Poolside: Where can I access Poolside's models?

Laguna models are available through third-party gateways OpenRouter and Vercel AI Gateway, as well as via Poolside's own desktop and CLI tools.

Source

Modal: What are the seat limits?

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

Source

Poolside: Does Poolside offer enterprise or government pricing?

Yes, Poolside offers custom, sales-quoted contracts for large enterprises and government/defense customers, including on-premise or dedicated deployment options.

Source

Poolside: How do I get started building with Poolside's models?

Poolside's documentation provides a quickstart guide for installing the `pool` CLI and running an agent task, alongside API documentation for custom integrations.

Source

Modal vs Poolside

Modal

Poolside

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Modal

Only in Poolside

What people use each for

Modal

Poolside

Where each one falls short

Modal

Poolside

Pricing, plan by plan

Modal

Poolside

Which should you pick?

Choose Modal if

Choose Poolside if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Modal

More on Poolside

Keep looking

Other head to heads