kitio.aidstack vs ZenML
A side-by-side look at pricing plans, free tiers, features, pros and cons, updated for 2026. dstack starts at See pricing page and ZenML starts at $39/mo. Check both pricing pages for current plans.
At a glance
Best for
Category
Pricing model
Starting price
Free plan
Made by
Based in
Rating
Key features
- GPU provisioning
- Training and inference jobs
- Dev environments
- Multi-cloud and on-prem fleets
- Kubernetes support
- Python pipeline orchestration
- Runs on your own infrastructure
- Agent session replay with Kitaru
- Evaluators and experiment runs
- Model and artifact control planes
- Self-hosted open source
| Feature | dstack | ZenML |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Open-source control plane for provisioning and orchestrating GPUs | Open-source orchestration for ML pipelines and AI agents |
| Category | Models & APIs | Models & APIs |
| Pricing model | Freemium | Freemium |
| Starting price | See pricing page | $39/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Made by | dstack | ZenML |
| Based in | – | Germany |
| Rating | No ratings yet | No ratings yet |
| Key features |
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Pricing compared
dstack starts at See pricing page and ZenML starts at $39/mo. Check both pricing pages for current plans.
Free plan
Cheapest paid plan
Top plan
Free trial
4 plans
Open Source
Free
- Self-hosted
- Evaluators and experiment runs
- Community support
Kitaru Cloud
$39/mo
- 3 agents and 2 seats
- 90-day session retention
- Hosted dashboard
- 14-day full-access trial
Scale
$999/mo
- 2,000 executions per month
- 3 projects
- Model and artifact control planes
- Audit logs
Enterprise
Custom
- Air-gapped deployment
- Custom limits
Prices in USD, checked Oct 29, 2026 or later. Plans change often, so confirm on each tool's site before you buy.
Pros and cons
dstack
- Open source and self-hostable
- Works across many GPU providers
- Avoids hand-written Kubernetes setup
- Aimed at ML engineers, not casual users
- You still pay your compute providers
- Homepage gives little pricing detail
ZenML
- Apache 2.0 open source core
- Works with existing orchestrators and clouds
- Replays real sessions to test agent changes
- Flat $39 plan for Kitaru Cloud
- Scale plan starts at $999 a month
- Requires Python engineering skills
- Self-hosting means running it yourself
Which one should you choose?
Choose dstack if you want:
- Open source and self-hostable
- Works across many GPU providers
- Avoids hand-written Kubernetes setup
Watch out: aimed at ml engineers, not casual users.
Choose ZenML if you want:
- Apache 2.0 open source core
- Works with existing orchestrators and clouds
- Replays real sessions to test agent changes
Watch out: scale plan starts at $999 a month.
dstack vs ZenML FAQ
What is the difference between dstack and ZenML?
dstack: Open-source control plane for provisioning and orchestrating GPUs. ZenML: Open-source orchestration for ML pipelines and AI agents. Both are models & apis tools.
Is dstack or ZenML cheaper?
dstack starts at See pricing page and ZenML starts at $39/mo. Check both pricing pages for current plans.
Do dstack and ZenML have free plans?
dstack: Yes. ZenML: Yes.
Who makes dstack?
dstack is made by dstack.
Who makes ZenML?
ZenML is made by ZenML, based in Germany.
Which should I choose, dstack or ZenML?
Choose dstack if you value open source and self-hostable and works across many gpu providers. Choose ZenML if you value apache 2.0 open source core and works with existing orchestrators and clouds.