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Modal Cron

Schedulers 5.2/10 Jun 16, 2026

Schedule Python functions and serverless compute jobs, including ML and container workloads.

Free credit
$30
Credit window
30 days
Card required
No

Modal Cron scores 5.2/10 for free value in Schedulers. The main constraint: Starter includes recurring compute credit according to current Modal pricing; heavy jobs can exhaust it quickly.

Category Schedulers Kind Serverless compute cron Caveats Overkill for simple webhooks. Watch compute credits, log retention, and GPU spend. Renewal monthly Card required No Eligibility anyone

Free value score

5.2 / 10
Show the math
Overall 5.2/10
value = 5.2/100
weighted_components_v1
Run value 4/10
value = 30 $ one-time
fixed_log_v1
Reliability 6.4/10
value = 6.4/100
policy_score_v1
Workflow fit 6.5/10
value = 6.5/100
policy_score_v1

Key metrics

43.2K/mo Run quota Uses stated run/message/execution quota when present; otherwise a conservative floor.
60.0/hr Granularity/reliability Derived from minimum interval with conservative reliability adjustment.
6 Workflow/runtime concurrency, cron, history, logs, timeout, webhooks
5 jobs Cron jobs
1 min Min interval
Executions gated by $30/mo compute credit
1 logs Run history
24 hr Job timeout

What you get

Cron schedules for Modal functions

Serverless Python and container execution

Good for compute-heavy scheduled work

Gotchas

  • $30/month free compute credits

    Starter plan includes $30 of compute credits each month that reset on the billing cycle; heavy GPU or CPU workloads can exhaust this quickly.

  • 5 deployed crons max

    Starter tier hard-caps you at 5 simultaneously deployed cron schedules; upgrading to Team ($250/mo) removes the limit.

  • 8 deployed webhook endpoints

    Only 8 web-function endpoints can be deployed at once on the Starter plan.

  • 1-day log retention only

    Logs are retained for just 1 day on the Starter plan versus 30 days on Team, making debugging scheduled jobs painful.

  • 3 workspace seats included

    Starter allows up to 3 collaborators; Team plan offers unlimited seats.

  • 100 container / 10 GPU concurrency cap

    Maximum of 100 concurrent containers and 10 simultaneous GPU containers; burst workloads above this will queue or fail.

  • No custom domains or static IP

    Custom domains and static IP proxy are Team/Enterprise-only features, limiting production webhook deployments.

  • No deployment rollbacks

    Deployment rollbacks (3 versions) are a Team-tier feature; Starter has no rollback capability.

  • No SSO, audit logs, or HIPAA

    Enterprise security features (Okta SSO, audit logs, HIPAA compatibility, RBAC) are unavailable on the free tier.

  • Startup/academic credits need approval

    Additional free compute (startup grants or up to $10k academic grants) require an application and manual approval from Modal.

Sources

python cron serverless ml compute

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