Modal vs Selectel: Complete Comparison (2026)
An in-depth comparison of Modal and Selectel to help you choose the right tool for your business.
Last updated: November 2026
Modal
6.7/10
Modal is a serverless cloud platform that runs Python code on GPUs and CPUs with per-second billing, aimed at teams building and serving AI applications.
Selectel
6.6/10
Russian infrastructure provider offering dedicated servers, cloud servers, VDS, managed Kubernetes, managed databases, S3 storage, CDN and GPU/ML services for businesses.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| Overall Rating | 6.7/10 | 6.6/10 |
| Integration | 6/10 | 6/10 |
| Analytics | 6/10 | 5/10 |
| Customization | 7/10 | 8/10 |
| Ease of Use | 8/10 | 6/10 |
| Support | 6/10 | 6/10 |
| Cost | 5/10 | 7/10 |
| Scalability | 9/10 | 7/10 |
| Security | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Cheapest paid plan | $250/mo Team | RUB 200/mo VDS small |
| Estimated cost for 10 users | $250/mo Team | RUB 200/mo VDS small |
| Features | ||
| API and CLI | ||
| Managed WordPress | Not listed | |
| Multiple Regions | ||
| Object Storage | ||
| Serverless Functions | Not listed | |
| Dedicated Servers | ||
| Cloud Compute | ||
| Shared Hosting | Not listed | |
| Managed Databases | Not listed | |
| DDoS Protection | Not listed | |
| Uptime SLA | Not listed | |
| Managed Kubernetes | Not listed | |
| VPS Hosting | Not listed | |
| Content Delivery Network | Not listed | |
| Automatic Backups | Not listed | |
Modal vs Selectel cost by team size
| Team size | Modal | Selectel |
|---|---|---|
| 1 user | FreeStarter | RUB 200/moVDS small |
| 5 users | $250/moTeam | RUB 200/moVDS small |
| 10 users | $250/moTeam | RUB 200/moVDS small |
| 25 users | $250/moTeam | RUB 200/moVDS small |
| 50 users | $250/moTeam | RUB 200/moVDS small |
The plan that fits each team size, billed monthly, before add-ons and usage charges. Each cost opens that tool's pricing calculator for the team size.
Which One Should You Choose?
Why choose Modal
- Has a free plan (Selectel does not)
- Higher Ease of Use score (8/10 vs 6/10)
- Higher Scalability score (9/10 vs 7/10)
- Better fit for developers (9/10 vs 7/10)
Why choose Selectel
- Higher Cost score (7/10 vs 5/10)
- Higher Customization score (8/10 vs 7/10)
- Includes Dedicated Servers, which Modal lacks
Pros & Cons
Modal
Pros
- GPUs from the T4 up to the B300 are available without quota requests or reservations, and workloads can burst to thousands of containers.
- Per-second billing and scale-to-zero mean idle bursty inference workloads cost nothing.
- Python developers define infrastructure in code and deploy with a single CLI command, with no Kubernetes or Dockerfiles needed.
- The free Starter plan includes $30 a month of compute, and startup and academic credit programs are available.
- Sandboxes support large numbers of concurrent isolated environments for AI agents and untrusted code.
Cons
- Always-on or steady workloads can cost more than reserved GPU rentals from providers such as RunPod or Lambda.
- Containers stay billable for 60 seconds after the last request by default, and keep-warm settings are a common source of bill surprises.
- Region pinning raises prices by 1.15 to 1.75 times, and non-preemptible execution by 3 times.
- SSO, audit logs, and HIPAA support are limited to the custom-priced Enterprise plan.
- Credits from AWS, GCP, or Azure cannot be applied to Modal usage.
Selectel
Pros
- Very broad catalogue from one vendor: bare metal, VDS, cloud, Kubernetes, DBaaS, S3, CDN, VMware and GPU/ML.
- Certified for Russian personal data law (152-FZ) and holds FSTEC/FSB licences, plus PCI DSS, ISO 27001 and SOC 2.
- Low entry prices, with VDS from about 200 RUB a month and desktop-CPU dedicated servers from 800 RUB.
- Infrastructure can be automated through the API and Terraform.
Cons
- Capacity is concentrated in Russia, with only a few sites in Central Asia and Kenya.
- Prices are in rubles and services are aimed at the Russian market, so sanctions and payment issues may apply for foreign buyers.
- No serverless functions product appears in the catalogue.
- Little independent English-language review coverage.
Not sold on either?
Frequently Asked Questions
Modal scores higher on our AI Software criteria: 6.7/10 against 6.6/10 for Selectel. The largest gap is in Cost: 5/10 for Modal and 7/10 for Selectel.
Modal has a free plan; Selectel does not list one.
Modal is the better fit for developers: we rate it 9/10 for them, against 7/10 for Selectel.
Selectel has Dedicated Servers, which Modal lacks.
