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fal vs Modal: startup credits compared

Side-by-side amounts, eligibility and access paths, both verified against the official program pages.

fal$1K–$5K (Startup Program, Europe and Asia) or $10K–$50K via YC, a16z or Entrepreneur FirstVerified Nov 4, 2026ModalFree Modal credits, tiered by stage (amount set on approval)Verified Nov 3, 2026

At a glance

FactfalModal
Value$1K–$5K (Startup Program, Europe and Asia) or $10K–$50K via YC, a16z or Entrepreneur FirstFree Modal credits, tiered by stage (amount set on approval)
TypeCreditsCredits
DurationNot statedNot stated
StagesAny stageSeed, Series A, Series B+
RegionsGlobalGlobal
Max funding raisedNot statedNot stated
Max company ageNot statedNot stated
Ways to get it
  • Y Combinator — $50,000 fal Serverless or $20,000 Model API credits
  • a16z — $50,000 fal Serverless or $20,000 Model API credits
  • Entrepreneur First — $10,000 in fal Serverless or Model API credits
  • Apply directly — $1,000 Startup pack, growing to $5,000 with fal spend
  • fal partner funds — Priority review and larger grant sizing in the Startup Program
  • Modal VC partner network — Seed to Series A tier credits
  • Apply directly — Seed to Series A tier credits
  • AWS Activate — Additional Modal credits for Activate members
Requirements
  • Startup Program: team based in Europe or Asia, generative media core to the product, and real traction or institutional backing
  • Accelerator deals: portfolio company of Y Combinator, a16z or Entrepreneur First
  • A fal account, since credits are applied to it
  • New to Modal (no prior credits in the tier)
  • VC funding from a Modal partner fund, or more than $1M raised from any fund (Seed to Series A tier)
  • More than $30M raised or beyond Series B for the custom Scaling tier
Not eligible
  • Startup Program applicants based outside Europe and Asia
  • Products where generative media is a side feature (Startup Program)
  • Reselling or transferring credits
  • Companies that already received credits in the same tier
  • Cloud-provider credits (AWS, GCP, Azure) cannot be applied to Modal usage
VerificationVerified· Nov 4, 2026Partially verified· Nov 3, 2026

Which should you pick?

The two programs are not directly comparable on dollar value. fal accepts a wider range of funding stages, while Modal is more targeted. Note that only fal is fully verified against its official page; double-check the other before relying on it. If you qualify for both, there is usually no reason not to apply to both; the programs are independent.

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