Modal – AICreditMart – Buy & Sell AI Credits https://aicreditmart.com The marketplace for trading unused AI credits from OpenAI, Anthropic, AWS, Azure & more Sun, 01 Mar 2026 14:20:49 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.1 https://aicreditmart.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/cropped-icon-32x32.png Modal – AICreditMart – Buy & Sell AI Credits https://aicreditmart.com 32 32 Modal Free Tier: How to Get $30/Month in Compute Credits (2026) https://aicreditmart.com/ai-credits-providers/modal-free-tier-how-to-get-30-month-in-compute-credits-2026/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=modal-free-tier-how-to-get-30-month-in-compute-credits-2026 Sat, 21 Feb 2026 22:38:43 +0000 https://aicreditmart.com/?p=10000023 Get $30 in free Modal credits. Step-by-step registration, eligibility rules, service limits, and how to buy more at 30-70% off.

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$30 a month in compute credits is real money if you’re running inference, batch jobs, or a small fine-tune. Modal gives every Starter plan user $30 in free compute credits monthly, with no monthly fee and no credit card required. If you searched for Modal free credits, this is the program you want.

Solo devs shipping a prototype, startup engineers trying to stretch runway, researchers who need short bursts of GPU time. This free tier fits all of those because Modal bills per second and scales down to zero when nothing is running.

Below: eligibility, the exact signup steps, what the credits cover, the hard limits, and a few practical ways to make the $30 go further.

Program at a Glance

What You Actually Get

Modal’s Starter plan includes $30 in free compute credits every month and charges only for actual compute time (billed per second). You can run serverless functions, scheduled cron jobs, web endpoints for model serving, GPU-backed notebooks, and sandboxes for isolated execution. On the hardware side, Modal supports a wide range of NVIDIA GPUs from T4 through B200, plus CPU and memory billed by usage. There are no idle charges, so when your functions aren’t running, you pay nothing.

In practical terms, $30/month is enough for a lot of “spiky” work. For GPUs, Modal’s own pricing table puts you at roughly 50 hours of T4 time per month, or around a dozen hours on an A100, or roughly 5 hours on a B200. If you mostly run CPU jobs, $30 can stretch far because CPU is priced per core-second and the minimum allocation is only 0.125 cores.

Who Qualifies (and Who Doesn’t)

The Starter plan free credits are the simple part: if you can create a Modal account, you qualify, and the credits appear immediately when your workspace is created. There’s no application, no waitlist, and no “approved partners only” gate.

  • You need to sign up for a Modal account using GitHub, Google, or SSO (it’s OAuth-based, not a traditional email/password form).
  • No credit card is required on Starter, which is honestly one of the nicest parts of this offer.
  • Expect one workspace per signup, and plan around the Starter workspace seat limit of up to 3 seats.
  • If you want to run beyond the free $30 each month, you will need to add billing explicitly.

There isn’t a long list of “you’re disqualified if…” rules for the free tier in Modal’s description. The main “doesn’t qualify” scenario is practical: if you refuse OAuth sign-in (GitHub/Google/SSO), you can’t create the account, so you can’t access the credits.

How to Sign Up

Signup is quick, and the CLI setup is the only part that takes a few extra minutes.

  1. Go to modal.com/signup.
  2. Click “Continue with GitHub”, “Continue with Google”, or use SSO (there’s no email/password form).
  3. Authorize the Modal app. For GitHub, it requests user:email and optionally read:org for workspace invites, and it does not access your repos.
  4. Your workspace is created immediately with $30 in free monthly credits.
  5. Install the Python package locally: pip install modal.
  6. Run modal setup in your terminal. This opens a browser tab so you can authenticate your CLI with a token.
  7. You are ready to deploy. Run modal run your_script.py to test.

After you create the workspace, the $30/month credit is already there. If you exceed $30 without adding a payment method, your workloads stop rather than quietly charging you.

What the Credits Cover

The free credits apply to Modal compute usage on Starter, which includes CPU, memory, and GPU time billed per second. It also covers the platform primitives you actually use to ship work: serverless functions, autoscaling, scheduled jobs, and HTTPS endpoints. Modal runs on top of major cloud providers, but you do not need your own AWS or GCP account to use the Starter credits.

Not everything is available on Starter. Custom domains are not available, and log retention is short (1 day), which matters more than people expect when you’re debugging production-ish endpoints.

Limitations to Know About

Every free program has catches. Modal’s are mostly operational limits rather than “we won’t let you use GPUs,” which is a good trade for a $0 plan.

  • The $30 credit resets monthly, and unused credits do not roll over.
  • The Starter plan caps you at 100 concurrent containers and 10-way GPU concurrency.
  • You can deploy up to 5 cron jobs and 8 web endpoints on Starter.
  • Starter includes 1-day log retention, 3 workspace seats, and only 3 deployment rollback versions; custom domains are not available.

When the credits run out, you don’t get auto-billed if you never added a payment method. Your workloads stop. To go beyond $30/month, you must explicitly add billing, which keeps the free tier pretty safe for experimenting.

Have Unused Modal Credits?

Free credits are great, but they also expire into nothing when you’re busy and don’t ship that month. Bigger Modal programs (like startup and academic credits) can be in the thousands, and teams often end up using only a slice before deadlines hit. If you’re sitting on Modal credits you won’t realistically burn down, AI Credit Mart lets you sell unused credits instead of watching them go to waste.

List your unused Modal credits →

Need More Modal Credits?

Once you hit the $30/month ceiling, the next step is usually adding billing or moving up to Team. Another option is buying discounted credits. AI Credit Mart lists Modal credits from companies with surplus allocations, often at 30–70% below retail, which is a clean way to extend your runway for inference and experiments.

Browse discounted Modal credits →

Tips for Getting the Most Out of Your Credits

  • Keep Starter “safe mode” enabled by not adding a payment method until you’re ready, because workloads stop when you exceed $30 instead of charging you.
  • Use Modal Volumes for model weights and large artifacts so you’re not re-downloading files on each cold start.
  • For large dataset storage, Modal recommends Cloudflare R2 over S3 due to zero egress fees, and you can mount cloud buckets as file systems.
  • If you already have committed cloud spend, consider routing usage through the AWS or GCP Marketplace so it draws from existing commitments.
  • Be honest about workload shape. Always-on 24/7 services can be cheaper on reserved GPU providers, while Modal shines for bursty and autoscaling usage.

Related Credit Programs

If the $30/month free tier feels tight, the next step is usually a bigger Modal allocation. Modal Startup Credits: How to Get Up to $25K (2026 Guide) is the obvious companion program when you have a real product timeline and want to scale beyond hobby usage.

For a more “managed notebook/lab” experience with fewer deployment knobs, Amazon SageMaker Studio Lab: Free ML Environment Guide (2026) can be a better fit, especially for coursework and exploratory modeling.

If you’re comparing GPU compute options and want something closer to raw instance time, How to Get $5-$500 in RunPod Free Credits for New Users (2026) is worth reading alongside Modal’s per-second serverless model.


Quick reference:

Frequently Asked Questions

How much are Modal – $30/Month Free Compute Credits credits worth?

They’re worth $30 of Modal compute usage every month on the Starter plan. Based on Modal’s published GPU prices, that’s roughly 50 hours on a T4, around 15 hours on an L40S, about a dozen hours on an A100-class GPU, or roughly 5 hours on a B200 (give or take). For CPU workloads, the value stretches further because you pay per core-second and there are no idle charges. The best use is bursty work: batch inference, scheduled jobs, or short fine-tunes that can scale up and then drop back to zero.

Do I need a credit card to sign up for Modal – $30/Month Free Compute Credits?

No.

How long do Modal free credits last?

They reset every month, and unused credits do not roll over.

Can I sell my unused Modal credits?

Yes. If you have Modal credits you won’t use before they expire, you can list them on AI Credit Mart and sell them at up to 70% of face value. Companies regularly list surplus credits from startup programs and enterprise agreements.

Where can I buy discounted Modal credits?

AI Credit Mart has discounted Modal credits available from companies with surplus allocations. Prices are typically 30-70% below retail.

What happens when Modal credits expire?

Unused Starter credits don’t carry forward, and the monthly allocation resets.

What are the Starter plan limits for GPUs and deployments?

Starter includes 10 GPU concurrency, up to 100 concurrent containers, 5 deployed cron jobs, and 8 deployed web endpoints. You also get 1-day log retention, up to 3 workspace seats, and only 3 rollback versions per deployment. Custom domains aren’t available on Starter.

Will Modal charge me if I go over $30/month?

Not unless you add billing. Modal notes there’s no billing surprise risk on Starter: if you exceed $30 without a payment method, workloads stop rather than incurring charges, and you must explicitly add billing to go past the free tier.

Modal’s $30/month free tier is one of the cleaner deals in compute: per-second billing, real GPUs, and no credit card gate. Claim it, build something bursty, and if you end up with surplus credits later, you’ve got a place to sell them.

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]]> Modal Startup Credits: How to Get Up to $25K (2026 Guide) https://aicreditmart.com/ai-credits-providers/modal-startup-credits-how-to-get-up-to-25k-2026-guide/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=modal-startup-credits-how-to-get-up-to-25k-2026-guide Sat, 21 Feb 2026 22:37:58 +0000 https://aicreditmart.com/?p=10000022 Modal offers $25K for startups. Full eligibility, application steps, what's covered, and how to buy or sell unused Modal credits at a discount.

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Up to $25,000 in Modal free credits can cover a serious amount of serverless GPU compute, plus CPU and memory, if you qualify for the Modal Startup Program. The big draw is that you can apply those credits to per-second billed GPU time (including H100s), so you’re not paying for idle capacity.

Founders building AI products, engineers shipping inference endpoints, and teams doing fine-tuning or batch jobs all tend to get value here. Honestly, Modal’s “scale to zero” approach is a nice fit when your workload is spiky or still evolving.

This guide covers Modal Startup Credits eligibility, the exact signup steps, what the credits cover, the restrictions that trip people up, and a few practical ways to stretch the grant.

Program at a Glance

What You Actually Get

Modal’s startup program offers up to $25,000 in free serverless compute credits for accepted early-stage AI startups. The credits apply to GPU, CPU, and memory usage on Modal’s serverless platform, which supports AI inference, fine-tuning, batch processing, and training workloads. On top of the credits, approved startups get direct access to Modal’s engineering team, go-to-market amplification, and an exclusive founder network. Modal bills per second with no idle costs, and can auto-scale from zero to thousands of GPUs based on traffic.

The $25K tier can be meaningful in real workload terms. Modal’s own estimate is roughly 6,300 hours of H100 time, about 11,900 hours of A100 (40 GB), or roughly 42,500 hours of T4 time (all approximate). That’s enough to run a real inference service for a while, or do multiple fine-tuning runs and batch evaluations without immediately sweating the bill.

Who Qualifies (and Who Doesn’t)

Modal splits eligibility by funding stage, and the rules are not identical across tiers. If you are bootstrapped, you can qualify without being in a specific VC partner network. If you’re Seed through Series A (or later), the investor requirement is the main gate.

  • You’ll qualify for Bootstrapped credits (up to $5,000) if you have a full-time team, have raised less than about $500K outside Modal’s VC network, and you have an active company website.
  • The Seed-to-Series-A tier can be up to $25,000, but it requires VC funding up to $30M and an investor from Modal’s partner VC network.
  • Series B+ / Scaling is a custom credit amount, typically for companies over $30M funding or post-Series B, and it also hinges on partner VC involvement.
  • No credit card is required to sign up and start using Modal’s Starter plan free credits.

If your investors aren’t in Modal’s partner VC network, you may not qualify for the Seed-to-Series-A or Series B+ tiers (even if you’re otherwise a fit). Also, the startup credits are a one-time grant per tier, so you cannot reapply after receiving credits in a given tier.

How to Sign Up

Signup is quick, and the startup application is a separate step.

  1. Go to modal.com/signup.
  2. Sign up using GitHub, Google, or SSO (no credit card required at signup).
  3. After signup, you immediately receive $30/month in free compute credits on the Starter plan.
  4. To apply for startup credits, go to modal.com/startups.
  5. Click “Apply Now” and fill out the application form with your company details, funding stage, and use case.
  6. Wait for review; Modal evaluates applications based on your tier eligibility and VC backing.
  7. If approved, credits are applied to your workspace as a one-time grant.

One small gotcha: you can start on the free tier without payment info, but a payment method is needed once you exceed free credits or want to scale beyond the free tier.

What the Credits Cover

Modal startup credits apply to all Modal compute usage, and everything is billed per second with no minimums. That includes GPU time across multiple NVIDIA options, plus CPU (physical core) and memory (per GiB). You can use the platform for inference endpoints, fine-tuning jobs, batch processing, and training workflows.

What’s easy to miss: the “credits” apply to compute usage, not some separate product add-on. You still need to stay within the free tier limits if you’re only using the Starter plan (like GPU concurrency), or move beyond it with a payment method.

Limitations to Know About

Every free credit program has catches. Modal’s are mostly about tier gating, reapplication, and what happens after your free allowance is gone.

  • The Seed-to-Series-A and Series B+ tiers require an investor from Modal’s partner VC network, and the full list is not publicly listed.
  • Startup credits are a one-time grant, so you cannot reapply after receiving credits in a given tier.
  • The Starter plan free tier has limits (for example: 3 workspace seats, 100 max containers, and 10 GPU concurrency).
  • You won’t need a credit card to sign up, but you will need a payment method to exceed free credits or scale beyond the free tier.

When your credits run out, your workloads don’t magically stay free. If you’ve added a payment method, usage continues as normal and you pay per second; if you haven’t, you will need to add payment details to keep scaling past the free allocation. The startup grant itself is applied as a one-time credit to your workspace, so once it’s consumed, you’re back to standard billing.

Have Unused Modal Credits?

Credits are great until they’re not. Teams get grants, priorities change, and suddenly a chunk of compute budget sits unused while the clock keeps moving. If you end up with surplus Modal credits you can’t realistically burn, AI Credit Mart gives you a way to sell them instead of letting the value go to zero. It’s a practical option when you’ve outgrown Modal, moved stacks, or simply overestimated GPU needs.

List your unused Modal credits →

Need More Modal Credits?

Once your Modal free credits are gone, paying retail isn’t your only path. On AI Credit Mart, companies that can’t use all of their allocations list discounted Modal credits, and buyers typically see about 30–70% off face value. If you’re scaling inference or running bigger training batches, that discount can stretch runway without changing providers.

Browse discounted Modal credits →

Tips for Getting the Most Out of Your Credits

  • Start with the $30/month free tier first, because it lets you validate cold starts, endpoints, and basic job flows without any payment setup.
  • Lean into per-second billing by designing jobs that stop cleanly when idle; Modal is built to scale back to zero, so take advantage of it.
  • If your utilization is steady and high (roughly “always on”), do a reality check: Modal itself notes other reserved instance options may be cheaper for 24/7 dedicated GPUs.
  • If you already have committed spend with AWS or GCP, consider paying for Modal through the AWS or GCP Marketplace so that spend may count toward existing cloud commitments or credits.
  • Outgrowing the Starter plan doesn’t mean you must jump straight to enterprise; Modal’s Team plan is $250/month and includes $100/month in credits, with higher limits.

Related Credit Programs

If you’re not sure you’ll qualify for the VC-network tiers (or you just want to test performance first), start with Modal Free Tier: How to Get $30/Month in Compute Credits (2026). It’s the same platform, no application, and it helps you estimate burn before you ask for a larger grant.

If your bottleneck is more “model API spend” than GPU orchestration, OpenAI for Startups: How to Get $2500-$5000 in Credits (2026) can pair well with Modal. A common pattern is running custom inference or batch pipelines on GPUs while still using an API model for specific features.

For teams comparing GPU-first infrastructure providers, Together AI Startup Credits: How to Get Up to $50K (2026 Guide) is another startup program worth benchmarking. Different stack, different economics, but it’s close enough that you’ll learn something by pricing both out.


Quick reference:

Frequently Asked Questions

How much are Modal Startup Credits – Up to $25000 credits worth?

Up to $25,000 in credits can translate into a lot of GPU time on Modal’s per-second billing. Modal estimates the $25K tier at roughly 6,300 hours of H100, about 11,900 hours of A100 (40 GB), or roughly 42,500 hours of T4 usage (approximate equivalents). In practice, the value depends on what GPU you pick, how much CPU and memory you attach, and whether your workloads actually scale down to zero when idle. If you’re building an API with bursty traffic, the “no idle costs” part is often where you really win.

Do I need a credit card to sign up for Modal Startup Credits – Up to $25000?

No—signup does not require a credit card, but you’ll need a payment method once you exceed free credits or want to scale beyond the free tier.

How long do Modal free credits last?

The startup grant is described as a one-time credit applied to your workspace, but Modal does not specify an exact expiration timeline on the program page.

Can I sell my unused Modal credits?

Yes. If you have Modal credits you won’t use before they expire, you can list them on AI Credit Mart and sell them at up to 70% of face value. Companies regularly list surplus credits from startup programs and enterprise agreements.

Where can I buy discounted Modal credits?

AI Credit Mart has discounted Modal credits available from companies with surplus allocations. Prices are typically 30-70% below retail.

What happens when Modal credits expire?

Once your credits are used up, continued usage is billed at standard per-second rates (and you’ll need a payment method to keep scaling past the free allocation).

What funding stages qualify for the $25K tier?

The Seed-to-Series-A tier offers up to $25,000 for startups with VC funding up to $30M, and it requires an investor from Modal’s partner VC network.

Can I apply again if I already received Modal startup credits?

No. Modal states the startup credits are a one-time grant and you cannot reapply after receiving credits in a given tier.

Modal’s startup program is one of the better “real GPU” credit deals if your investor situation matches their tiers. Get the free $30/month started today, apply for the grant when you’re ready, and if you end up with surplus credits later, you’ve got a place to move them.

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