Inference comparison
Modal vs Together AI
Serverless GPU against managed inference api. Editorial fit scores help shortlist; live pricing stays on the provider sites.
Modal product facts checked October 2, 2026Modal editorial scores reviewed September 3, 2026Together AI product facts checked October 2, 2026Together AI editorial scores reviewed September 3, 2026
Serverless GPU
Modal
Functions: per-second CPU, memory and GPU resources; Shared Endpoints: per-token. Storage and network egress have separate allowances and rates.
Managed inference API
Together AI
Serverless per-token; dedicated inference per GPU-minute for ready replicas; GPU clusters and provisioned throughput have separate contracts.
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| Dimension | Modal | Together AI |
|---|---|---|
| Category | ||
| Category | Serverless GPU | Managed inference API |
| Billing | ||
| Billing | Functions: per-second CPU, memory and GPU resources; Shared Endpoints: per-token. Storage and network egress have separate allowances and rates. | Serverless per-token; dedicated inference per GPU-minute for ready replicas; GPU clusters and provisioned throughput have separate contracts. |
| GPU choice | ||
| GPU choice | Choose supported GPU types through the function GPU setting, including T4, L4, A10, L40S, A100, RTX PRO 6000, H100, H200, B200 and B300; allocation and multi-GPU limits vary. | Managed serverless; dedicated deployment profiles with selected hardware; separate GPU clusters for infrastructure control. |
| Cold start | ||
| Cold start | Can be noticeable on cold containers; benchmark the real image and model. | Dedicated replicas need provisioning/model loading after restart or zero replicas; ready warm replicas continue billing while idle. No universal startup latency is established. |
| Model access | ||
| Model access | Package models in images or pull at runtime | Serverless catalog plus supported dedicated models, fine-tunes and uploaded LoRA adapters. Custom deployment profiles must meet Together's supported-runtime requirements. |
| Best for | ||
| Best for | Developers who want GPU code as functions with autoscaling | Serving open-weight models without operating your own GPU fleet |
| Watch out | ||
| Watch out | You can choose a specific supported GPU type, but containers and scaling remain managed. Warm idle containers consume billable resources. Starter compute credits do not cover Shared Endpoints tokens. | Serverless token APIs, dedicated GPU hours and provisioned throughput have different cost models. Each PTU represents reserved capacity; tokens per minute depend on the model and token type. Together announced $800M in Series C funding on July 1, 2026; this does not guarantee endpoint availability or service levels. |
| GPU choice (1–10) | ||
| GPU choice (1–10) | Winner: 6/10 | 3/10 |
| Time-to-serving (editorial) (1–10) | ||
| Time-to-serving (editorial) (1–10) | 7/10 | Winner: 9/10 |
| Price clarity (1–10) | ||
| Price clarity (1–10) | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Production ops (1–10) | ||
| Production ops (1–10) | 8/10 | 8/10 |
| Open-model breadth (1–10) | ||
| Open-model breadth (1–10) | 7/10 | Winner: 9/10 |
Chart
Fit scores on the decision axes
Editorial 1–10 ratings for this pair only — not live pricing or latency benchmarks.
GPU choice
Pick exact GPUs
Time-to-serving (editorial)
Warm-path fit
Price clarity
Easy to forecast
Production ops
Less DIY ops
Open-model breadth
Catalog depth
Scores are editorial planning ratings (1–10) for product shape — not published $/hour quotes or vendor SLAs. Verify current pricing on each provider site.
How to decide
Prefer Modal when developers who want gpu code as functions with autoscaling. Prefer Together AI when serving open-weight models without operating your own gpu fleet. If those statements both feel true, rent a GPU for control and keep a managed API for peak traffic — do not force one product to do both jobs.
Common questions
Modal vs Together AI
Answered from the verified figures on this page rather than general guidance.