> Modal
Modal (modal.com) is a serverless compute platform optimized for AI infrastructure. Rather than a per-token API, it bills by the GPU-second, allowing developers to deploy custom models. A 'Starter' tier provides $30/month in free compute credits.
// pros
- Powerful serverless GPU compute platform, can custom-deploy any model
- Some monthly credits, higher after adding a payment method
- Good for teams needing low-level compute and self-built inference pipelines
// cons
- A payment method is mandatory to use it, with auto-charge risk on overage
- Not a ready-to-use LLM API — you must build the deployment and inference service yourself
- Fundamentally compute-billed infrastructure; the 'free' is only a monthly credit offset
Suited to engineering-capable teams needing self-built GPU inference; for users who just want to call a free LLM API directly it is high-barrier with card-charge risk and limited free-riding value.
community_reputation
Modal's docs state a payment method is required before use; third-party reviews call it great infrastructure but 'you still need to build everything yourself'. It is a card-required compute platform with monthly credits, closer to IaaS than a ready free LLM API.
imported analysis — independent third party, not Uprouter editorial · verify before relying on it
How we estimated this: the free allowance is converted to a dollar value using the provider’s own pay-as-you-go rates for the models a typical developer would reach for. When the allowance is metered in requests, tokens or minutes rather than dollars, we assume median usage of the cheapest capable model. Because assumptions are involved, the figure carries the est. flag — treat it as an order of magnitude, not a quote.
note: ~$5/month free credits on signup; ~$30/month after adding a payment method (a card on file is required to use Modal); billed by compute-second. Value shown is the no-card free tier.
| Plan | Type | Monthly | Input /1M | Output /1M | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free tier (source-reported) | free | — | — | — | ~$5/month credits on sign up; ~$30/month after adding a payment method. A payment method on file is required to use Modal; billed by compute time. |
| Free tier | free | — | Free | Free | $30/mo compute, 10 GPU concurrency |
| Pay-as-you-go | payg | — | $1.10 | — | per-second billing; model costs self-managed |
| Starter (Free) | free | — | — | — | $30/month in compute credits; 10 GPU concurrency. |
| H100 SXM PAYG | payg | — | — | — | Estimated hourly rate based on serverless usage ($0.044/min). |
Pricing normalized from public sources — always verify with the provider.
// model prices
| Model | Input /1M | Output /1M | Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| No fixed free-model list (self-deploy any supported model, billed by compute) | — | — | — |
$ Does Modal have a free tier?
Yes — Modal offers a free tier that we value at roughly $5.00 in free credits (estimate — derived from rate-limited usage at pay-as-you-go prices). Always confirm current limits on Modal's official pricing page — free tiers change without notice.
$ How much does Modal cost per 1M tokens?
Modal does not publish simple per-1M-token pricing (it may bill per request, per output, or via a subscription plan). Check their official pricing page for exact figures.
$ Is Modal safe to use?
Uprouter rates Modal as low risk. Rated low risk. an official provider with a free tier with pricing, authentication and terms documented on its own site. The model coverage is consistent with a real upstream, so data and reliability risk are modest. Risk ratings are editorial, evidence-based, and never influenced by affiliate relationships.
$ Can I use Modal through Uprouter Connect?
Modal is not marked Connect-compatible in our catalog yet. You can still use their API directly, or request compatibility via /submit.
Raw community sentiment, shown unblended. Votes never feed into objective data fields like price, risk, or status — and never into sort order.
No published reviews yet — be the first.
// more_informationprice history · live status · risk & confidence · code snippets
price_history
No recorded changes yet.
live_status
current: upNo probes recorded yet.
Uprouter runs its own probes; best-effort, not a guarantee. Probe results depend on our network location and cadence — for production, always use the provider’s own status page.
risk_&_confidence
Rated low risk. an official provider with a free tier with pricing, authentication and terms documented on its own site. The model coverage is consistent with a real upstream, so data and reliability risk are modest.
Confidence reflects how much verifiable evidence (official docs, probe history, community reports) backs this entry. Risk is our editorial assessment of operator reliability and terms — not financial advice.
code_snippets
# Modal's own API — get a key from their dashboard
curl https://YOUR-PROVIDER-ENDPOINT/chat/completions \
-H "Authorization: Bearer THEIR_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"model": "no-fixed-free-model-list-self-deploy-any-supported-model-billed-by-compute",
"messages": [{ "role": "user", "content": "Hello" }]
}'Direct to the provider — Uprouter receives nothing; verify their current pricing before purchasing.
Ranked by neutral similarity signals only — live status, Connect compatibility, free-tier shape and free-credit proximity. Commercial relationships never influence this list.