# AI agent sandbox pricing, compared

Updated 12 October 2026 · https://workpaper.co/sandbox-pricing · published by Workpaper, one of the providers listed

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.

## Price per hour, 2 vCPU, 4 GB

Published rates, full hour, CPU busy. Always on = 730 hours. "CPU busy 10%" applies to providers that bill active CPU only. Storage, network and taxes excluded. ₹95 = $1.

| Provider | Per hour | ₹ per hour | Always on / month | CPU busy 10% | Plan needed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Workpaper (us) | $0.010 | ₹1.0 | $15 | – | $15/mo Pro, all returned as usage credit | https://workpaper.co/#pricing |
| E2B | $0.166 | ₹16 | $121 | – | $0 (Pro $150/mo for sessions over 1 h) | https://e2b.dev/pricing |
| Daytona | $0.166 | ₹16 | $121 | – | $0 | https://www.daytona.io/pricing |
| Blaxel | $0.166 | ₹16 | $121 | – | $0 | https://blaxel.ai/pricing |
| Cloudflare Sandbox | $0.220 | ₹21 | $161 | $0.090 | $5/mo Workers Paid required | https://developers.cloudflare.com/containers/pricing/ |
| Modal Sandboxes | $0.238 | ₹23 | $174 | – | $0 | https://modal.com/pricing |
| Runloop | $0.317 | ₹30 | $231 | – | $0 (suspend/resume on $250/mo Pro) | https://www.runloop.ai/pricing |
| Vercel Sandbox | $0.341 | ₹32 | $249 | $0.110 | $0 Hobby (Pro includes $20 usage) | https://vercel.com/docs/sandbox/pricing |

## Free tiers, limits and pause behaviour

| Provider | Free | Session length | Memory kept on pause | Fork a running sandbox | Open source | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Workpaper | 60 minutes, no sign-up | 1 h per start; stop and start to continue | Yes | Yes (needs an account) | No | https://docs.workpaper.co/how-it-works |
| E2B | $100 one-time credit | 1 h Hobby, 24 h Pro | Yes | Yes | Yes (Apache-2.0) | https://docs.e2b.dev/sandbox/persistence |
| Daytona | $200 compute credit | No cap (auto-stops after 15 min idle by default) | VM sandboxes only | VM sandboxes only | Not verified | https://www.daytona.io/docs/en/sandboxes.md |
| Blaxel | Up to $200 credit | No cap stated | Yes (standby) | From standby snapshot; live fork not documented | Partly (sandbox API, MIT) | https://docs.blaxel.ai/Sandboxes/Overview |
| 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) | https://developers.cloudflare.com/sandbox/concepts/lifetime/ |
| 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) | https://modal.com/docs/guide/sandbox-snapshots |
| Runloop | $50 credit, no card | 1 h default, max not published | No (disk only) | Disk snapshots only | SDKs only (MIT) | https://docs.runloop.ai/docs/devboxes/lifecycle |
| 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) | https://vercel.com/docs/sandbox/concepts/snapshots |

## Start time

ComputeSDK Sandbox Burst TTI scores (board of 9 October 2026): Daytona 92.7, Vercel Sandbox 92.6, Cloudflare Sandbox 92.2, Workpaper 90.3 (self-run), Modal Sandboxes 88.5, Blaxel 86.6, E2B 85.3. Runloop is not on that board.

## 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 hello@workpaper.co and we'll fix it.

## Cite

Workpaper, "AI agent sandbox pricing, compared", updated 12 October 2026. https://workpaper.co/sandbox-pricing (CC BY 4.0)