Modal vs Yandex Cloud: Complete Comparison (2026)
An in-depth comparison of Modal and Yandex Cloud 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.
Yandex Cloud
6.3/10
Public cloud platform from Yandex offering virtual machines, managed Kubernetes, managed databases, serverless and ML services, mainly for businesses in Russia and Kazakhstan.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| Overall Rating | 6.7/10 | 6.3/10 |
| Integration | 6/10 | 5/10 |
| Analytics | 6/10 | 6/10 |
| Customization | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Ease of Use | 8/10 | 6/10 |
| Support | 6/10 | 5/10 |
| Cost | 5/10 | 7/10 |
| Scalability | 9/10 | 7/10 |
| Security | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Cheapest paid plan | $250/mo Team | $3/mo Pay-as-you-go |
| Estimated cost for 10 users | $250/mo Team | Free Serverless free tier |
| Features | ||
| API and CLI | Not listed | |
| Managed WordPress | ||
| Multiple Regions | ||
| Object Storage | ||
| Serverless Functions | ||
| Dedicated Servers | Not listed | |
| Cloud Compute | ||
| Shared Hosting | ||
| Automatic Backups | Not listed | |
| Content Delivery Network | Not listed | |
| DDoS Protection | Not listed | |
| Managed Databases | Not listed | |
| Managed Kubernetes | Not listed | |
| VPS Hosting | Not listed | |
Modal vs Yandex Cloud cost by team size
Modal and Yandex Cloud cost the same at 1 user; Yandex Cloud costs less from 5 users.
| Team size | Modal | Yandex Cloud |
|---|---|---|
| 1 user | FreeStarter | FreeServerless free tier |
| 5 users | $250/moTeam | FreeServerless free tier |
| 10 users | $250/moTeam | FreeServerless free tier |
| 25 users | $250/moTeam | FreeServerless free tier |
| 50 users | $250/moTeam | FreeServerless free tier |
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
- Higher Ease of Use score (8/10 vs 6/10)
- Higher Scalability score (9/10 vs 7/10)
- Better fit for startups (9/10 vs 6/10)
Why choose Yandex Cloud
- Lower estimated cost for 10 users: Free vs $250/mo
- Higher Cost score (7/10 vs 5/10)
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.
Yandex Cloud
Pros
- The service catalogue is broad: VMs, Kubernetes, serverless, more than six managed database engines including ClickHouse and YDB, CDN, and backup.
- The Russia region has five availability zones, and data stays in the region where it was created.
- Native ML services such as YandexGPT and SpeechKit sit alongside the infrastructure services.
- Compliance credentials include ISO/IEC 27017 and PCI DSS across service categories.
- Entry pricing is low, with VMs from $2.85 per month and a serverless free tier.
Cons
- Only two regions, Russia and Kazakhstan, with no presence in Europe, the Americas or Asia beyond them.
- Some services, including Cloud Functions and Smart Web Security, are not available in the Kazakhstan region.
- Western companies face sanctions exposure.
- English documentation is weaker and the third-party ecosystem is smaller than on AWS, Azure or Google Cloud.
- Independent English-language reviews are scarce; TrustRadius shows only a single review.
Not sold on either?
Frequently Asked Questions
Modal scores higher on our AI Software criteria: 6.7/10 against 6.3/10 for Yandex Cloud. The largest gap is in Cost: 5/10 for Modal and 7/10 for Yandex Cloud.
Yandex Cloud costs less for 10 users: free on its Serverless free tier plan, against about $250/mo on its Team plan for Modal, billed monthly.
Yes, both Modal and Yandex Cloud have a free plan.
Modal is the better fit for startups: we rate it 9/10 for them, against 6/10 for Yandex Cloud.
