Cheapest serverless per GB-second
Ranked by the per-GB-second memory rate — the charge that usually dominates a serverless bill, since GB-seconds = requests x duration x memory. Modal has the lowest listed GB-second rate ($0.0000022 / GB-s), though CPU-split platforms (Cloud Run, Cloud Functions, Azure Container Apps) add a separate vCPU-second charge, while Lambda, Azure Functions and Scaleway fold CPU into one GB-second rate. Compare a real workload in the calculator rather than the headline rate alone.
Source: Provider pricing pages. Data as of June 2026.
Ranked: price per GB-second
| Rank | Platform | Per GB-second | Per 1M requests | Pricing model |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Modal | $0.0000022 / GB-s | Not request-priced | Serverless compute (per CPU-s + GiB-s, GPU) |
| #2 | Google Cloud Functions | $0.0000025 / GB-s | $0.40 / 1M | FaaS (now on Cloud Run model) |
| #3 | Google Cloud Run | $0.0000025 / GB-s | $0.40 / 1M | Serverless containers (vCPU-s + GiB-s + request) |
| #4 | Azure Container Apps | $0.000004 / GB-s | $0.40 / 1M | Serverless containers (consumption) |
| #5 | Scaleway Serverless Functions | $0.0000055 / GB-s | $0.17 / 1M | FaaS + containers (EU, request + GB-s) |
| #6 | Azure Functions | $0.000016 / GB-s | $0.20 / 1M | FaaS (Consumption / Flex Consumption) |
| #7 | AWS Lambda | $0.0000167 / GB-s | $0.20 / 1M | FaaS (request + GB-second) |
| #8 | DigitalOcean Functions | $0.0000185 / GB-s | No per-request fee | FaaS (GB-second only, no per-request fee) |
Source: Provider pricing pages. Data as of June 2026.
CPU-split platforms (Cloud Run, Cloud Functions, Container Apps) also charge a separate vCPU-second rate, so their low GB-second figure is only part of the cost. Resource-time platforms are excluded. Snapshot June 2026 — verify on the vendor's pricing page.
Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest serverless platform per GB-second?
Google Cloud Run, Cloud Functions and Azure Container Apps are cheapest on memory at about $0.0000025 per GiB-second (they bill CPU separately as vCPU-seconds). Among providers that fold CPU into the GB-second rate, Scaleway (~$0.0000055/GB-s), Azure Functions ($0.000016/GB-s) and AWS Lambda ($0.0000167/GB-s) are competitive; DigitalOcean Functions is $0.0000185/GiB-s but charges nothing per request. Snapshot captured June 2026.
Why does the GB-second rate matter so much?
Because GB-seconds = requests x duration x memory, and that product usually dwarfs the per-request fee. Doubling your function's memory or its run time doubles the GB-second cost. Cutting cold paths, lowering memory to the minimum that performs, and shortening duration are the highest-leverage serverless cost optimisations.
Are vCPU-second and GB-second rates comparable across platforms?
Not directly. Lambda, Azure Functions, Scaleway and DigitalOcean bundle CPU into a single GB-second rate, while Cloud Run, Cloud Functions (2nd gen) and Azure Container Apps split it into separate vCPU-second and GiB-second charges. So a low GiB-second rate on Cloud Run is offset by a separate $0.000024/vCPU-second charge. Use the calculator to compare like-for-like on a real workload. Resource-time platforms (Cloudflare Workers, Vercel Functions, Netlify Functions, AWS Fargate, Deno Deploy, Fly.io Machines, Supabase Edge Functions, Render, Railway) are not GB-second metered at all.
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Last updated: 2026-06-21