Softwr

AI · head to head

Modal vs Ray

Modal logo

Modal

AI

Cloud functions for AI and ML

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Ray logo

Ray

Machine Learning

Scale AI and Python applications

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • 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; Ray windows support is beta and multi node Ray clusters are untested on Windows
  • They diverge on capability: Modal covers Serverless GPUs, Ray covers Distributed computing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Modal and Ray actually diverge.

Attributes where Modal and Ray differ
AttributeModalRay
Pricing modelusage-basedfreemium
PlatformsCloud, ApiLinux, Mac, Windows
CategoryAIMachine Learning
Founded20212019

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 Modal

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

Only in Ray

  • Distributed computing
  • Ray Train
  • Ray Tune
  • RLlib
  • Ray Serve
  • PyTorch
  • TensorFlow
  • Hugging Face

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 Ray
  • Executing Python functions on cloud compute without managing serversnot Ray

Ray

  • Distributed AI model training and servingnot Modal
  • Large-scale data processingnot Modal
  • Reinforcement learning workloadsnot Modal
  • ML inference servingnot 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  • Enterprise volume discounts are custom and unpublished

Ray

  • Windows support is beta and multi node Ray clusters are untested on Windows
  • Windows lacks copy on write forking, which raises memory requirements, and Ray code assumes UNIX filenames
  • Multi node clusters are untested on Apple Silicon Macs
  • The Java API is experimental and community supported only, and requires matching Java and Python versions
  • Python 3.13 support is beta

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

Ray

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Full Ray framework
    • All libraries
    • Community support
  • Anyscale PlatformFree
    • Managed infrastructure
    • Enterprise support
    • SLAs

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 Ray if

  • You need distributed computing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Mac, Windows.
  • You also want ray train.
Ray review

Questions people ask

Is Modal or Ray better?
Neither clearly leads. Modal starts at Free and Ray at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Modal or Ray?
Modal starts at Free and Ray at Free.
Does Modal or Ray run on more platforms?
Modal runs on Cloud, Api. Ray runs on Linux, Mac, Windows.
Can I use Modal for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
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 Ray is typically brought in for.
What can Modal do that Ray cannot?
Modal covers Serverless GPUs, Python functions, Auto-scaling, Fast cold starts. Ray covers Distributed computing, Ray Train, Ray Tune, RLlib.

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
Ray: Is Ray free?

Yes. Ray is free and open source software with over 34,800 GitHub stars and 1,000+ contributors. Users can download and use the Ray framework at no cost.

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
Ray: Is there a paid option for Ray?

Yes. Anyscale, the managed platform built by Ray's creators, offers paid tiers with enterprise features like governance and advanced tooling. Specific Anyscale pricing details are not listed on the Ray website.

Source
Modal: What are the seat limits?

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

Source
Ray: Can I try Ray with credits?

Yes. New users can try Ray with $100 credit on Anyscale's managed platform to explore the service.

Source
Share

Related pages

More on Modal

More on Ray

Keep looking

Other head to heads