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Modal Labs

Tool A

Modal Labs

Serverless cloud for AI models, batch jobs, and GPU workloads in Python

4.9
freemiumadvancedFeaturedTrendingVerified
Feature Score15/22
Modal Labs interface screenshot
Together AI

Tool B

Together AI

The fastest cloud for open-source AI

4.7
paidadvancedTrendingVerified
Feature Score8/22
Together AI interface screenshot

Choose this if…

Modal Labs

Modal Labs
  • 1You need Free Tier
  • 2You need Video Input
  • 3You need Video Output
  • 4You prefer a freemium model to test first
  • 5Community rates it higher (⭐4.9 vs 4.7)

Choose this if…

Together AI

Together AI
  • 1You need Open Source

Overview

Modal LabsModal LabsSince 2022-11

Modal Labs is a high-performance serverless cloud platform that enables AI engineers and developers to run Python code in the cloud with instant access to thousands of CPUs, GPUs, and persistent network volumes. Founded by former Spotify CTO Erik Bernhardsson, Modal reimagines cloud computing with sub-second cold starts and zero infrastructure configuration. With Modal, you define your container image, dependencies, and GPU hardware directly inside standard Python code using simple decorators (e.g. `@app.function(gpu="H100")`). Modal handles container building, volume mounting, GPU scheduling, and automatic scaling down to zero in milliseconds, making it the premier choice for running generative AI models, ComfyUI video pipelines, and massive parallel batch jobs.

Modal operates a custom container runtime built in Rust that bypasses standard Docker daemon overhead, allowing container images to spawn in under 900 milliseconds. Its distributed filesystem mounts shared NetworkFileSystem (NFS) volumes across thousands of simultaneous workers with near-local NVMe read speeds. Modal supports NVIDIA T4, L4, A10G, A100 (40GB/80GB), and H100 SXM5 GPUs. Developers can attach web endpoints (`@app.web_endpoint`), schedule recurring cron tasks, execute distributed map-reduce jobs across tens of thousands of cores, and monitor live streaming logs via the interactive web console.

Platforms
APIWeb
Best For
ai engineersdata scientistsbackend developersai startups
Categories
Automation AIData AI
Together AITogether AISince 2022-06

A cloud platform for fine-tuning and running the world's leading open-source AI models at scale.

Supports over 100+ open models including Flux, Llama, and Qwen.

Platforms
API
Best For
Developersresearchers
Categories
Agent AIImage AI

Features Comparison

22 total
Modal LabsModal Labs
Feature
Together AITogether AI
Core AI Capabilities
Free Tier
Free Tier
Free Tier
Multimodal
Multimodal
Multimodal
Voice Input
Voice Input
Voice Input
Image Input
Image Input
Image Input
Image Output
Image Output
Image Output
Video Input
Video Input
Video Input
Video Output
Video Output
Video Output
Audio Output
Audio Output
Audio Output
Web Search
Web Search
Web Search
Code Execution
Code Execution
Code Execution
Memory
Memory
Memory
Developer & API
API Access
API Access
API Access
Open Source
Open Source
Open Source
Works Offline
Works Offline
Works Offline
Plugins
Plugins
Plugins
Self-Hostable
Self-Hostable
Self-Hostable
Browser Extension
Browser Extension
Browser Extension
Productivity & Teams
No Signup Required
No Signup Required
No Signup Required
Customizable
Customizable
Customizable
File Upload
File Upload
File Upload
Collaboration
Collaboration
Collaboration
White Label
White Label
White Label

Pricing & Plans

Modal LabsModal Labsfreemium
Free TierActive

$30 free compute credit every month for all users with full access to GPUs and CPUs.

Paid Plan

Pay-per-second serverless execution: T4 at $0.59/hr, A100 (40GB) at $2.10/hr, H100 (80GB) at $4.55/hr.

Get Started
Together AITogether AIpaid
Free TierActive

$5 initial credit

Paid Plan

Usage-based

Get Started

Pros & Cons

Modal LabsModal Labs

Pros

Sub-second container cold starts with custom Rust runtime

Define entire container environments and hardware requirements in pure Python

Generous $30/month free compute credits for every developer account

Instant access to massive fleets of NVIDIA H100, A100, and L4 GPUs

True scale-to-zero per-second billing eliminating idle infrastructure costs

Cons

Requires Python development experience

Proprietary cloud platform runtime

Together AITogether AI

Pros

Massive model library

Affordable pricing

Fast fine-tuning

Cons

Strictly for developers

No consumer web interface

Use Cases

Modal LabsModal Labs
serverless gpu inferencecomfyui video pipelineslarge scale batch processingfine tuning llmsscheduled web crawlers
Together AITogether AI
codingimage generation

The Verdict

Modal Labs

Modal Labs

15/22 features · ⭐4.9

Modal Labs is a high-performance serverless cloud platform that enables AI engineers and developers to run Python code in the cloud with instant access to thous

Together AI

Together AI

8/22 features · ⭐4.7

A cloud platform for fine-tuning and running the world's leading open-source AI models at scale.

Both Modal Labs and Together AI are capable AI tools serving distinct use cases. Modal Labs leads on raw feature breadth (15 vs 8), making it a stronger choice if you need maximum capability.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the main difference between Modal Labs and Together AI?

Modal Labs — "Serverless cloud for AI models, batch jobs, and GPU workloads in Python" — focuses on automation-ai, data-ai, while Together AI — "The fastest cloud for open-source AI" — targets agent-ai, image-ai. The key differences lie in their feature sets and pricing models.

Is Modal Labs free to use?

Yes, Modal Labs offers a free tier. $30 free compute credit every month for all users with full access to GPUs and CPUs.

Is Together AI free to use?

Together AI does not currently offer a free tier. Usage-based

Which is better: Modal Labs or Together AI?

It depends on your use case. Modal Labs is rated ⭐4.9 and is best suited for ai engineers, data scientists, backend developers, ai startups. Together AI is rated ⭐4.7 and is ideal for developers, researchers. Use this comparison to evaluate features that matter to your workflow.

Does Modal Labs have an API?

Yes, Modal Labs provides API access for developers and integrations.

More AI Matchups

Still deciding?

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