Gravity modulation of an unbounded fluid layer with surface tension variations along its free surface is investigated. The stability of such systems is often characterized in terms of the wavenumber, α and the Marangoni number, Ma. In (α, Ma) parameter space, modulation has a destabilizing effect on the unmodulated neutral stability curve for large Prandtl number, Pr, and small modulation frequency, Ω, while a stabilizing effect is observed for small Pr and large Ω. As Ω → ∞ the modulated neutral stability curves approach the unmodulated neutral stability curve. At certain values of Pr and Ω, multiple minima are observed and the neutral stability curves become highly distorted. Closed regions of subharmonic instability are also observed. In (1/Ω, g1Ra)-space, where g1 is the relative modulation amplitude, and Ra is the Rayleigh number, alternating regions of synchronous and subharmonic instability separated by thin stable regions are observed. However, fundamental differences between the stability boundaries occur when comparing the modulated Marangoni–Bénard and Rayleigh–Bénard problems. Modulation amplitudes at which instability tongues occur are strongly influenced by Pr, while the fundamental instability region is weakly affected by Pr. For large modulation frequency and small amplitude, empirical relations are derived to determine modulation effects. A one-term Galerkin approximation was also used to reduce the modulated Marangoni–Bénard problem to a Mathieu equation, allowing qualitative stability behaviour to be deduced from existing tables or charts, such as Strutt diagrams. In addition, this reduces the parameter dependence of the problem from seven transport parameters to three Mathieu parameters, analogous to parameter reductions of previous modulated Rayleigh–Bénard studies. Simple stability criteria, valid for small parameter values (amplitude and damping coefficients), were obtained from the one-term equations using classical method of averaging results.