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Software · head to head

Pachyderm vs Seldon

P

Pachyderm

Software

Data versioning and pipelines for production ML

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: Pachyderm core software is Apache-2.0 licensed and free to self-host; 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: Pachyderm covers Data versioning, Seldon covers Model serving.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Pachyderm and Seldon actually diverge.

Attributes where Pachyderm and Seldon differ
AttributePachydermSeldon

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (freemium), free tier (Yes), platforms (Linux), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown), founded (2014).

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 Pachyderm

  • Data versioning
  • Data-driven pipelines
  • Automatic provenance
  • Kubernetes-native
  • Reproducibility
  • S3
  • GCS
  • Azure Blob

Only in Seldon

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

Both cover

  • Kubernetes
  • Linux support

What people use each for

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

Pachyderm

  • Machine learningnot Seldon
  • Data analysisnot Seldon
  • Model trainingnot Seldon
  • Predictive analyticsnot Seldon

Seldon

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

Where each one falls short

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

Pachyderm

  • Core software is Apache-2.0 licensed and free to self-host

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

Pachyderm

Free
  • CommunityFree
    • Core features
    • Community support
  • EnterpriseFree
    • Advanced security
    • Premium support
    • SLAs

Seldon

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

Which should you pick?

Choose Pachyderm if

  • You need data versioning.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux.
  • You also want data-driven pipelines.
Pachyderm 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 Pachyderm or Seldon better?
Neither clearly leads. Pachyderm 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, Pachyderm or Seldon?
Pachyderm starts at Free and Seldon at Free.
Does Pachyderm or Seldon run on more platforms?
Both run on Linux, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Pachyderm for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Pachyderm best used for?
Pachyderm is most often used for machine learning, data analysis, model training, predictive analytics. Of those, machine learning and data analysis are not what Seldon is typically brought in for.
What can Pachyderm do that Seldon cannot?
Pachyderm covers Data versioning, Data-driven pipelines, Automatic provenance, Kubernetes-native. Seldon covers Model serving, A/B testing, Canary deployments, Outlier detection. Both handle Kubernetes, Linux support.
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