Softwr

AI · head to head

Poolside vs Replicate

Poolside logo

Poolside

AI

Open-weight foundation models built for agentic software engineering

From
$0.06/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Replicate logo

Replicate

AI

Run AI models in the cloud

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Replicate has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Poolside no self-serve public application; access is largely through enterprise sales or third-party model gateways; Replicate private model deployments are billed for all the time instances are online, including setup and idle time, not only for processing
  • They diverge on capability: Poolside covers Laguna S 2.1, Replicate covers Model hosting.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Poolside and Replicate actually diverge.

Attributes where Poolside and Replicate differ
AttributePoolsideReplicate
Starting price$0.06/monthFree
Free tierNoYes
Platformsweb, api, mac, windows, linuxApi, Cloud
Founded20232019

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 Poolside

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

Only in Replicate

  • Model hosting
  • Simple API
  • Auto-scaling
  • Custom models
  • REST API
  • Python client
  • JavaScript client
  • Api support

What people use each for

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

Poolside

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

Replicate

  • Running open source machine learning models through a hosted API without managing GPUsnot Poolside
  • Deploying and serving a custom or fine tuned model on rented GPU hardwarenot Poolside
  • Per second billed batch image, video and language model inferencenot Poolside

Where each one falls short

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

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

Replicate

  • Private model deployments are billed for all the time instances are online, including setup and idle time, not only for processing
  • Multi-GPU A100, H100, H200 and L40S capacity beyond the listed configurations is only available with a committed spend contract
  • The pricing page publishes no free tier allowance

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Replicate

Free
  • Pay-as-you-go$null/usage
    • Billed by execution time for public models
    • CPU Small: $0.000025/second ($0.09/hour)
    • 8x Nvidia A100 GPUs: $0.0112/second ($40.32/hour)
  • Enterprise$null/custom
    • Dedicated account manager
    • Priority support
    • Higher GPU limits

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Replicate if

  • You need model hosting.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Api, Cloud.
  • You also want simple api.
Replicate review

Questions people ask

Is Poolside or Replicate better?
Neither clearly leads. Poolside starts at $0.06/month and Replicate at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Poolside or Replicate?
Replicate has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $0.06/month for Poolside and Free for Replicate.
Does Poolside or Replicate run on more platforms?
Poolside runs on web, api, mac, windows, linux. Replicate runs on Api, Cloud.
Can I use Replicate for free?
Yes. Replicate has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Poolside starts at $0.06/month.
What is Poolside best used for?
Poolside is most often used for enterprises deploying ai coding assistance across large developer organizations, government and defense agencies needing on-premise or sovereign coding models, teams building custom coding agents on open-weight foundation models, organizations wanting on-device lightweight coding models. Of those, enterprises deploying ai coding assistance across large developer organizations and government and defense agencies needing on-premise or sovereign coding models are not what Replicate is typically brought in for.
What can Poolside do that Replicate cannot?
Poolside covers Laguna S 2.1, Laguna XS 2.1, Desktop and CLI tools, Open-weight models. Replicate covers Model hosting, Simple API, Auto-scaling, Custom models.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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
Replicate: How much does Replicate cost?

Replicate uses pay-as-you-go pricing based on model execution time and compute type. Costs range from $0.09/hour for CPU (Small) to $40.32/hour for 8x Nvidia A100 GPUs. Some models charge per input/output tokens instead of time.

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
Replicate: Does Replicate offer a free tier?

Yes, Replicate is free to start with pay-as-you-go pricing. There are no subscription tiers or minimum commitments; you pay only for what you use.

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
Replicate: What is the difference between public and private models?

Public models are billed by execution time. Private models are billed for all instance uptime including setup, idle, and active processing time, except for fast-booting fine-tunes which are billed only during active processing.

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
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