Comparison

Modal vs Serverless Framework

On the evidence we track, Serverless Framework leads this comparison with a composite score of 65/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

Modal full profile →Serverless Framework full profile →

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Modal56

★Serverless Framework65

Attribute comparison across 2 tools
Attribute	Modal	Serverless FrameworkLeader
vioscaleAI score	56 / 100medium · 72%	65 / 100high · 75%
Pricing
Free tierpricing.free_tier	✓	✓
Modelpricing.model	freemium	freemium
Price levelpricing.price_level	high	low
Starting pricepricing.starting_price	$250	$4
Transparentpricing.transparent	✓	✓
Integrations
Countintegrations.count	2	9
Security
Certificationssecurity.certifications	SOC 2 Type II	-
Disclosure policysecurity.disclosure_policy	✓	✓
Gdprsecurity.gdpr	-	✓
Hipaasecurity.hipaa	✓	-
Scorecardsecurity.scorecard	-	6.7
Soc2security.soc2	✓	✓
Trust centersecurity.trust_center	https://modal.com/docs/guide/security	-
Vulnerabilitiessecurity.vulnerabilities	-	Count: 1 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=npm&package_name=serverless&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 1 · Max severity: HIGH
Reliability
Status pagereliability.status_page	✓	✓
Adoption
Dependent reposadoption.dependent_repos	-	12,543
Github starsadoption.github_stars	-	46,922
Package downloads weeklyadoption.package_downloads_weekly	-	1,294,273
Activity
Commits last 30dactivity.commits_last_30d	-	53
Release
Cadence daysrelease.cadence_days	-	13
Historyrelease.history	-	20 items
Language
Primarylanguage.primary	-	JavaScript
Market
Availabilitymarket.availability	Available worldwide · Popular in US · HQ US	Available worldwide · HQ US
Content
Faqcontent.faq	7 items	6 items

Score

vioscaleAI score

Modal56 / 100medium · 72%

Serverless Framework65 / 100high · 75%

Pricing

Free tier

Modal✓

Serverless Framework✓

Model

Modalfreemium

Serverless Frameworkfreemium

Price level

Modalhigh

Serverless Frameworklow

Starting price

Modal$250

Serverless Framework$4

Transparent

Modal✓

Serverless Framework✓

Integrations

Count

Modal2

Serverless Framework9

Security

Certifications

ModalSOC 2 Type II

Serverless Framework–

Disclosure policy

Modal✓

Serverless Framework✓

Gdpr

Modal–

Serverless Framework✓

Hipaa

Modal✓

Serverless Framework–

Scorecard

Modal–

Serverless Framework6.7

Soc2

Modal✓

Serverless Framework✓

Trust center

Modalhttps://modal.com/docs/guide/security

Serverless Framework–

Vulnerabilities

Modal–

Serverless FrameworkCount: 1 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=npm&package_name=serverless&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 1 · Max severity: HIGH

Reliability

Status page

Modal✓

Serverless Framework✓

Adoption

Dependent repos

Modal–

Serverless Framework12,543

Github stars

Modal–

Serverless Framework46,922

Package downloads weekly

Modal–

Serverless Framework1,294,273

Activity

Commits last 30d

Modal–

Serverless Framework53

Release

Cadence days

Modal–

Serverless Framework13

History

Modal–

Serverless Framework20 items

Language

Primary

Modal–

Serverless FrameworkJavaScript

Market

Availability

ModalAvailable worldwide · Popular in US · HQ US

Serverless FrameworkAvailable worldwide · HQ US

Content

Faq

Modal7 items

Serverless Framework6 items

Capabilities

Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for serverless & edge platforms. “-” means undocumented, not absent.

Capability comparison for Serverless & Edge Platforms
Capability	Modal	Serverless Framework
Core
Execution substrate	Container	-
Language / runtime breadth	Python	Node.js, Python
Reach
Runs at global edge PoPs	✓	-
Scale
Scale to zero	✓	✓
Performance
Cold-start profile	Low	-
Limits
Max execution duration	-	-
Integration
Event source breadth	HTTP, cron/scheduled, events	HTTP, scheduled tasks, SQS workers
HTTP endpoint trigger	✓	✓
Cron / scheduled invocations	✓	✓
State
Durable state / workflow primitive	✓	✓
Flexibility
Bring-your-own runtime / container	✓	✓
Deployment
Hosting	Cloud only	Cloud + self-hosted
Ops
Built-in logs / metrics / tracing	✓	✓
Extensibility
CLI + IaC / framework support	✓	✓

Core

Execution substrate

ModalContainer

Serverless Framework-

Language / runtime breadth

ModalPython

Serverless FrameworkNode.js, Python

Reach

Runs at global edge PoPs

Modal✓

Serverless Framework-

Scale

Scale to zero

Modal✓

Serverless Framework✓

Performance

Cold-start profile

ModalLow

Serverless Framework-

Limits

Max execution duration

Modal-

Serverless Framework-

Integration

Event source breadth

ModalHTTP, cron/scheduled, events

Serverless FrameworkHTTP, scheduled tasks, SQS workers

HTTP endpoint trigger

Modal✓

Serverless Framework✓

Cron / scheduled invocations

Modal✓

Serverless Framework✓

State

Durable state / workflow primitive

Modal✓

Serverless Framework✓

Flexibility

Bring-your-own runtime / container

Modal✓

Serverless Framework✓

Deployment

Hosting

ModalCloud only

Serverless FrameworkCloud + self-hosted

Ops

Built-in logs / metrics / tracing

Modal✓

Serverless Framework✓

Extensibility

CLI + IaC / framework support

Modal✓

Serverless Framework✓

What each one is

The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.

Modal

A cloud platform that automatically scales applications based on demand and charges only for actual compute consumed, measured per CPU cycle. Provides direct GPU access for AI inference and training, with support for Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, and Go.

Independently observed

Serverless Framework

Leader

A CLI tool and framework that simplifies building and deploying serverless applications to AWS Lambda and managed cloud services. It uses YAML configuration to provision infrastructure, supports multiple programming languages, and automates operational tasks like scaling, domain management, and monitoring with minimal maintenance overhead.

Independently observed

Pricing

List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.

Modal

from $250/moUsage-basedFree tier

Free tier with $30/month compute. Pay-per-second metering: CPUs from $0.0000131/core/sec, GPUs from $0.000164/sec (T4) to $0.001972/sec (B300), memory at $0.00000222/GiB/sec.

StarterFree
- 3 workspace seats
- 100 containers
- 10 GPU concurrency
- Limited scheduled and web functions
- Real-time metrics and logs
- +1 more
Team$250/month base + compute usage ($100/month free credits)
- Unlimited workspace seats
- 5000 containers
- 50 GPU concurrency
- Unlimited scheduled functions
- Custom domains
- +3 more
EnterpriseContact sales
- Volume-based discounts
- Embedded ML engineering services
- Private Slack support
- Audit logs
- SAML SSO
- +1 more

as of 2026-09-18verify ↗

Serverless Framework

Leader

from $4/Service Instance/moHybridFree tier

Free CLI for organizations under $2M revenue; $1-$4 per Service Instance per month for larger organizations; annual subscriptions available with discounts

Free (CLI)Free
- Full CLI access
- AWS Lambda deployment
- Service Instance tracking
Paid (CLI Subscription)$4 per Service Instance per month (standard); $1-$1.50 with discounts
- Full CLI access
- AWS Lambda deployment
- License Key management
Dashboard (Free Tier)Free
- 2 free Service Instances
- Free Metrics and Traces
- Dashboard access

as of 2026-10-13verify ↗

Platform & deployment

Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.

Platform and deployment support comparison
Supports	Modal	Serverless Framework
WebPlatforms	✓	✗
CLIPlatforms	✓	✓
Cloud / SaaSDeployment	✓	✓

Platforms

Web

Modal✓

Serverless Framework✗

CLI

Modal✓

Serverless Framework✓

Deployment

Cloud / SaaS

Modal✓

Serverless Framework✓

Integrations

What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.

Modal

4 total

AWS Marketplace
GCP Marketplace
Datadog
Sentry.io

Independently observed

Serverless Framework

Leader

10 total

AWS Lambda
AWS DynamoDB
AWS S3
AWS API Gateway
AWS SQS
AWS CloudWatch
AWS EventBridge
AWS Cognito
AWS AppSync
Amazon Bedrock

Independently observed

Still deciding?

Modal or Serverless Framework: which one depends on you

A composite score cannot know your constraints. Describe them and both get re-weighted against what you actually need, with the evidence behind every position.

Free to run, no account needed to start. How the evaluation works

Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.