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Fireworks AI vs Modal: startup credits compared

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

At a glance

FactFireworks AIModal
ValueBuild credits + higher rate limits (amount not published)Free Modal credits, tiered by stage (amount set on approval)
TypeCreditsCredits
DurationNot statedNot stated
StagesPre-seed, Seed, Series A, Series B+Seed, Series A, Series B+
RegionsGlobalGlobal
Max funding raisedNot statedNot stated
Max company ageNot statedNot stated
Ways to get it
  • Apply directly — Build credits, rate-limit increases, applied AI engineer access
  • AWS Generative AI Innovation Center — Funded proof-of-concept and hands-on support
  • 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 building on the Fireworks inference platform
  • 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 eligibleNone stated
  • Companies that already received credits in the same tier
  • Cloud-provider credits (AWS, GCP, Azure) cannot be applied to Modal usage
VerificationPartially verified· Nov 3, 2026Partially verified· Nov 3, 2026

Which should you pick?

The two programs are not directly comparable on dollar value. Fireworks AI accepts a wider range of funding stages, while Modal is more targeted. If you qualify for both, there is usually no reason not to apply to both; the programs are independent.