AI Agent & Code-Execution Sandboxes
Data last verified 2026-07-26
Compare at a glance
| Sandbox | Isolation | Cold start | $/vCPU-hr | GPU | Session | MCP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blaxel | microVM | 25ms | $0.083 | No | Persistent (hibernation) | Yes |
| Cloudflare Sandbox SDK | V8 isolate + container | 50ms | $0.072 | No | 30min execution cap | Yes |
| Daytona | Docker container | 90ms | $0.05 | Yes | Persistent (lifecycle-managed) | Yes |
| E2B | Firecracker microVM | 150ms | $0.05 | No | Up to 24h | — |
| Northflank | Kata / gVisor microVM (selectable) | 300ms | $0.01667 | Yes | Unlimited | — |
| Fly.io Machines | microVM | 300ms | $0.07 | Yes | Persistent | Yes |
| Vercel Sandbox | Firecracker microVM | 400ms | $0.128 | No | 45min (Hobby) / 24h (Pro) | — |
| Runloop | microVM | 400ms | $0.108 | No | Configurable | Yes |
| CodeSandbox SDK | Firecracker microVM | 500ms | $0.05 | No | Configurable | — |
| Modal | gVisor | 800ms | $0.14 | Yes | Configurable | — |
Figures are vendor-published approximations as of the verified date. Tap a name for sources.
All ai sandboxes
Blaxel
Blaxel is an idle-cost-optimized sandbox that resumes from hibernation in ~25ms with memory and processes intact, and charges $0 for compute on standby.
Cloudflare Sandbox SDK
Cloudflare Sandbox SDK runs code on Cloudflare Containers + Durable Objects, blending V8 isolates (sub-50ms) with containers, bundled into the Workers Paid plan.
Daytona
Daytona is an open-source, container-isolated sandbox for AI agents with sub-90ms creation, persistent stateful workspaces, mid-execution snapshots and optional H100 GPUs.
E2B
E2B is a Firecracker-microVM sandbox that gives AI agents a secure, ~150ms-cold-start environment to run generated code, with pause/resume and filesystem snapshots.
Northflank
Northflank runs sandboxes with selectable Kata/gVisor microVM isolation, unlimited session duration, any OCI image and BYOC deployment — at the lowest published vCPU rate in the category.
Fly.io Machines
Fly.io Machines are fast-booting microVMs with a persistent ext4 filesystem, ~300ms checkpoints, zero idle cost and a native MCP endpoint.
Vercel Sandbox
Vercel Sandbox is a Firecracker-based, JavaScript/TypeScript-native sandbox that is persistent by default, billed on active CPU plus a per-creation fee.
Runloop
Runloop provides enterprise "devbox" infrastructure for coding agents — SOC 2, 10K+ parallel instances, git-style disk snapshots with branching, and built-in SWE-bench evaluation.
CodeSandbox SDK
CodeSandbox SDK (now Together Code Sandbox) runs Firecracker microVMs with a git-versioned filesystem, ~500ms resume and sub-second forking, tuned for web-dev agents.
Modal
Modal is a Python-first serverless compute platform whose Sandboxes offer gVisor isolation, sub-second cold start and — uniquely — GPUs (T4 through B200) inside the sandbox.
FAQ
What is an AI agent sandbox?
An AI agent sandbox is an isolated compute environment — usually a microVM or container — where an AI agent can execute generated code securely, without risking the host. Key attributes are cold-start time, isolation strength, pricing, persistence and GPU support.
Which AI sandbox has the fastest cold start?
Among tracked providers, V8-isolate and hibernation-based options are fastest (Cloudflare isolates ~50ms, Blaxel resume ~25ms), while Firecracker microVMs like E2B land around 150ms. Full container/microVM cold starts range up to a few seconds.
Which AI sandboxes support GPUs?
Modal, Daytona, Northflank and Fly.io offer GPU access inside or alongside the sandbox; Modal is the standout for GPU-in-sandbox workloads.
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