Lightning AI vs Modal
As of , Lightning AI lists the lower on-demand rate on 4 of the 6 GPUs both offer on-demand; Modal wins on 2. On the priciest shared card both list on-demand, NVIDIA H200: Lightning AI $4.50 vs Modal $4.54 per GPU-hour on-demand — Lightning AI is $0.04 (1%) cheaper.
On-demand, per GPU-hour
| GPU |  Lightning AI |  Modal | Difference | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA H200 median $4.54 · 56 providers · lowest Beam $2.09 from | $4.50 captured Deploy ↗ | $4.54 GPU only captured Deploy ↗ | $0.04 (1%) | Lightning AI |
| NVIDIA L40S median $1.52 · 42 providers · lowest CloudRift $0.63 | $3.54 captured Deploy ↗ | $1.95 GPU only captured Deploy ↗ | $1.59 (45%) | Modal |
| NVIDIA A100 40GB median $1.98 · 22 providers · lowest CloudGPU $0.63 | $2.19 captured Deploy ↗ | $2.10 GPU only captured Deploy ↗ | $0.09 (4%) | Modal |
| NVIDIA A100 80GB median $1.99 · 63 providers · lowest CloudRift $1.05 | $1.85 captured Deploy ↗ | $2.50 GPU only captured Deploy ↗ | $0.65 (26%) | Lightning AI |
| NVIDIA L4 median $0.80 · 24 providers · lowest Hikube $0.27 GPU only | $0.79 captured Deploy ↗ | $0.80 GPU only captured Deploy ↗ | $0.01 (1%) | Lightning AI |
| NVIDIA T4 median $0.57 · 18 providers · lowest immers.cloud $0.24 | $0.55 captured Deploy ↗ | $0.59 GPU only captured Deploy ↗ | $0.04 (7%) | Lightning AI |
How this is compared
Cloud GPU rental prices of Lightning AI and Modal, compared per GPU-hour on the GPUs both list. Where a provider has several tiers or regions, its cheapest on-demand rate is used and labelled. Community capacity (RunPod Community Cloud) and marketplace floors are shown only where a provider has nothing else, and never decide which is cheaper.
GPU by GPU
- NVIDIA H200: Lightning AI $4.50 vs Modal $4.54 per GPU-hour on-demand — Lightning AI is $0.04 (1%) cheaper.
- NVIDIA L40S: Lightning AI $3.54 vs Modal $1.95 per GPU-hour on-demand — Modal is $1.59 (45%) cheaper.
- NVIDIA A100 40GB: Lightning AI $2.19 vs Modal $2.10 per GPU-hour on-demand — Modal is $0.09 (4%) cheaper.
- NVIDIA A100 80GB: Lightning AI $1.85 vs Modal $2.50 per GPU-hour on-demand — Lightning AI is $0.65 (26%) cheaper.
- NVIDIA L4: Lightning AI $0.79 vs Modal $0.80 per GPU-hour on-demand — Lightning AI is $0.01 (1%) cheaper.
- NVIDIA T4: Lightning AI $0.55 vs Modal $0.59 per GPU-hour on-demand — Lightning AI is $0.04 (7%) cheaper.
Not compared: GPUs only one of the two lists, reserved/committed tiers, and anything either provider prices only on request. See each provider's page for its full list.
Data updated: