Side by side
modAL vs Potato
Both stand on active learning tools. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.
Free plan LinuxMacWindows
Visit modAL 
Free plan APILinuxMac+3
Potato offers broad annotation and AI-assisted labeling options in a free, self-hosted package. It is a fit for users prepared to run and maintain it themselves; there is no managed cloud tier.
Visit PotatoThe facts
| modAL | Potato | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Not published | Not published |
| Runs on | Linux, Mac, Windows | API, Linux, Mac, Self-hosted, Web, Windows |
| Lowest paid plan | Not published | Free or on request |
| Plans published | None | 1 |
| Maker | Not published | Not published |
| Website | modal-python.readthedocs.io | potatoannotator.com |
| On active learning tools | #9 of 16 | #5 of 16 |
modAL: what it does well
Potato: what it does well
- Lists 61 annotation types across multiple media.
- AI assistance includes suggestions, pre-annotation and consistency checks.
- Imports and exports a range of data formats.
- Runs locally or on users’ own servers, with offline use supported.
- Free plan has all features and no usage limits.
What to know first
- Self-hosted only; users must run it themselves.
- No managed cloud tier.
- Installation requires Python 3.7 or later.