AI agent sandbox pricing, compared
What it costs to give an agent a 2 vCPU, 4 GB sandbox on eight providers, taken from each one's own pricing page, with the limits that change the real bill: free tiers, session caps, and whether a paused sandbox keeps its memory.
Summary
For a 2 vCPU, 4 GB sandbox running a full hour, published prices range from $0.010 (Workpaper) to $0.341 (Vercel Sandbox) per hour. E2B, Daytona and Blaxel all come to $0.166. E2B, Daytona (VM sandboxes) and Blaxel keep memory when paused; E2B and Daytona can fork a running sandbox. Prices checked 12 October 2026.
- Lowest / hour
- $0.010
- Median of others
- $0.220
- Highest / hour
- $0.341
- Keep memory on pause
- 4/8
Price per hour for 2 vCPU, 4 GB
Each price is the provider's published rate for 2 vCPU and 4 GB, running for a full hour with the CPU busy. "Always on" is that price for 730 hours. Vercel and Cloudflare charge for CPU only while it's working, so the next column shows them with the CPU busy 10% of the time, as Vercel's own examples assume. Storage, network and taxes are left out.
| Provider | Per hour | Always on / month | CPU busy 10% | Plan needed | Rate source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Workpaperthis is us | $0.010₹1.0 | $15 | – | $15/mo Pro, all returned as usage credit | source flat price; also $5 once for 150 hours (about $0.033/h) without a plan |
| E2B | $0.166₹16 | $121 | – | $0 (Pro $150/mo for sessions over 1 h) | source |
| Daytona | $0.166₹16 | $121 | – | $0 | source |
| Blaxel | $0.166₹16 | $121 | – | $0 | source billed on memory only ($0.0000115 per GB-second); vCPU at 4 GB not published |
| Cloudflare Sandbox | $0.220₹21 | $161 | $0.090 | $5/mo Workers Paid required | source closest size is 2 vCPU, 8 GB (standard-3); CPU billed only while busy |
| Modal Sandboxes | $0.238₹23 | $174 | – | $0 | source priced per physical core (2 vCPU) |
| Runloop | $0.317₹30 | $231 | – | $0 (suspend/resume on $250/mo Pro) | source |
| Vercel Sandbox | $0.341₹32 | $249 | $0.110 | $0 Hobby (Pro includes $20 usage) | source CPU billed only while busy (active CPU) |
Free tiers, limits and pause behaviour
Price per hour is only half of it. A one-hour session cap, or a sandbox that forgets its memory when paused, changes how an agent has to be built.
| Provider | Free | Session length | Memory kept on pause | Fork a running sandbox | Open source | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Workpaperthis is us | 60 minutes, no sign-up | 1 h per start; stop and start to continue | Yes | Yes (needs an account) | No | docs |
| E2B | $100 one-time credit | 1 h Hobby, 24 h Pro | Yes | Yes | Yes (Apache-2.0) | docs |
| Daytona | $200 compute credit | No cap (auto-stops after 15 min idle by default) | VM sandboxes only | VM sandboxes only | Not verified | docs |
| Blaxel | Up to $200 credit | No cap stated | Yes (standby) | From standby snapshot; live fork not documented | Partly (sandbox API, MIT) | docs |
| Cloudflare Sandbox | Monthly allowance on Workers Paid | No fixed cap (stops after up to 6 h idle) | No | Disk snapshot only (beta) | SDK only (Apache-2.0) | docs |
| Modal Sandboxes | $30/mo credit | 5 min default, 24 h max | No (memory snapshots in alpha) | Snapshot ends the sandbox | SDK only (Apache-2.0) | docs |
| Runloop | $50 credit, no card | 1 h default, max not published | No (disk only) | Disk snapshots only | SDKs only (MIT) | docs |
| Vercel Sandbox | Hobby: 5 CPU-hours a month | 45 min Hobby, 24 h Pro | No (disk only) | From snapshot; snapshot shuts the sandbox down | SDK only (Apache-2.0) | docs |
How fast do they start?
The neutral number is ComputeSDK's Sandbox Burst TTI, which starts 100 sandboxes at once and scores the time to first command out of 100. Scores are ComputeSDK's published board of 9 October 2026. Workpaper's is our own run of the same harness, written up here, not an official listing.
| Provider | Burst TTI score |
|---|---|
| Daytona | 92.7 |
| Vercel Sandbox | 92.6 |
| Cloudflare Sandbox | 92.2 |
| Workpaperthis is us | 90.3 self-run |
| Modal Sandboxes | 88.5 |
| Blaxel | 86.6 |
| E2B | 85.3 |
| Runloop | not on board |
How we priced it
- One size for everyone. 2 vCPU and 4 GB, the default small sandbox on most providers. Where a provider doesn't sell that size, we used its closest and said so.
- Published rates only. No discounts, credits or enterprise deals. Every number links to the provider's own page.
- Default region, US dollars. Rupee figures use ₹95 to the dollar.
- Checked monthly. Last checked 12 October 2026. If a price has changed, email [email protected] and we'll correct it.
- Our bias. Workpaper sells one of these sandboxes. That's why every figure is sourced, and why the limits that work against us (a 1-hour session, a $15 plan) are in the tables.
Questions
How much does E2B cost per hour?
E2B charges $0.000014 per vCPU-second and $0.0000045 per GiB-second, so a 2 vCPU, 4 GiB sandbox costs about $0.166 an hour, or about $121 a month if it runs all the time. New accounts get a $100 one-time credit. Sessions are capped at 1 hour on Hobby and 24 hours on Pro ($150/mo).
Daytona vs E2B pricing: which is cheaper?
They cost the same per hour: Daytona's $0.0504 per vCPU-hour and $0.0162 per GiB-hour match E2B's per-second rates exactly, so 2 vCPU and 4 GB is about $0.166 an hour on both. Daytona gives $200 of free compute; E2B gives $100.
What is the cheapest sandbox for AI agents?
From published rates on 12 October 2026, Workpaper is the lowest at $0.010 an hour for 2 vCPU and 4 GB, which needs its $15/mo plan (returned as usage credit). Among the others, E2B, Daytona and Blaxel are tied at about $0.166 an hour. Vercel and Cloudflare bill CPU only while it's busy, so for mostly idle agents they cost less than their full-hour price.
Which sandboxes keep memory and running programs when paused?
E2B, Daytona (VM sandboxes only), Blaxel and Workpaper save memory, so programs continue where they stopped. Vercel and Runloop keep only the disk. Cloudflare keeps nothing when a sandbox stops. Modal's memory snapshots are in alpha.
Which sandboxes can fork a running sandbox?
E2B and Daytona (VM sandboxes) document copying a running sandbox, memory included, into a new one, and so does Workpaper. Modal and Vercel snapshots end the sandbox they copy; Runloop and Cloudflare snapshot the disk only.
How often is this page updated?
Every month. Each price links to the provider's own page; if a number is out of date, email [email protected] and we'll fix it.
Cite this page
The data is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0. Please link back.
Workpaper, "AI agent sandbox pricing, compared", updated 12 October 2026. https://workpaper.co/sandbox-pricing