Pick Lightning AI if
mL engineers who will burn the 5 free credits (and the free 4-CPU Studio), then buy hours — T4 $0.55/hr, H200 $4.50/hr — instead of renting a bare VM.
Read the Lightning AI pageLightning AI vs Modal
Our take
Pick Lightning AI if mL engineers who will burn the 5 free credits (and the free 4-CPU Studio), then buy hours — T4 $0.55/hr, H200 $4.50/hr — instead of renting a bare VM. Pick Modal if python teams with spiky GPU/CPU jobs who will read a per-second table. Skip Modal if people who want a hosted chat playground (Together AI) or a one-click image studio (Replicate).
Best for
Lightning AI Code + GPU hours on a credit meter
Modal Run a containerized function on burst GPUs
Free plan
Lightning AI $0 · no card. 5 credits on signup; add a card for 25 more. One free 4-CPU Studio (restarts every 4 hours on Free). Phone verify unlocks up to 80 free GPU hours (SKU-dependent: T4 75, L4 31, L40S 5, A100 40GB 10, A100 80GB 5)
Modal $0 · / month + compute. Up to 3 seats. Included compute $30 / month. 1-day logs. 5 deployed crons
Lowest paid
Lightning AI On-demand GPU (Lightning cloud) $0.55
Modal CPU $0.0000131/mo
Next step up
Lightning AI
Modal Example GPU list (per second) $0.001097
Watch out
Lightning AI The free CPU Studio restarts every 4 hours
Modal $0 is the seat, not the GPU
Last checked
Lightning AI 2026-10-22 · lightning.ai/pricing
Modal 2026-10-21 · modal.com/pricing
Which one, then?
Pick Modal if
python teams with spiky GPU/CPU jobs who will read a per-second table.
Read the Modal page