Sanbox By Sanlabs

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Sanbox vs E2B: E2B alternative with persistent computers (2026)

By the Sanbox team updated

Ask ChatGPT Ask Claude

E2B and Sanbox both run agents in Firecracker microVMs, but they're built for different jobs. E2B gives agents on-demand sandboxes that your application creates from a Python or JavaScript SDK, runs for minutes or hours, then pauses or kills, paying per second. Sanbox gives each agent a persistent Computer that stays on until you stop it, comes with an agent already set up (OpenCode, Hermes, a browser agent) or with Docker, runs in EU data centres, and costs a flat monthly fee. Pick E2B for bursty code runs inside your own product. Pick Sanbox when the agent needs a machine it keeps.

How do E2B and Sanbox compare?

E2B facts were checked on e2b.dev and docs.e2b.dev on 2026-11-06.

E2BSanbox
Built forOn-demand machines for agents and AI-generated code, driven from your appGiving each agent its own long-lived computer
IsolationFirecracker microVM per sandboxFirecracker microVM per Computer
CompanyFoundryLabs, Inc., Delaware lawSanlabs GmbH, German law
Where it runsGoogle Cloud (US West on AWS); a shared EU cluster on requestEU data centres
How you drive itPython and JavaScript SDKs, CLI, APICLI, API, web console (chat, browser terminal), SSH
Default lifetime5-minute timeout, extendableStays on until you stop it (OpenCode and Hermes Computers)
Longest continuous run1 hour on Hobby, 24 hours on ProNo documented limit
Pause or stopPause keeps memory, processes and filesStop keeps the disk, not RAM or processes
CopiesSnapshots and forks of running sandboxesSnapshots and forks of stopped Computers, warm pools
Ready-made agentsTemplates such as claude (Claude Code)OpenCode, Browser, Hermes and Docker Computers
Outbound networkOpen by default; allow and deny listsDeny by default; allow list per host and port
SecretsInjected into outbound HTTPS by an egress proxySecret Proxies add the key on the way out
PricingPer second: Hobby free with $100 one-time credit, Pro $150 a month plus usagePer organisation; talk to us

How long does each machine live?

E2B. A new sandbox times out after 5 minutes unless you set a longer timeout. By default a timeout kills it and its state is gone. Set the timeout action to pause instead and E2B saves the filesystem and memory, including running processes. Continuous runtime is capped at 1 hour on Hobby and 24 hours on Pro, and pausing and resuming resets that clock. A paused sandbox has no time-to-live, isn't billed for compute and doesn't count toward your concurrency limit. With auto-resume on, the next SDK call or HTTP request wakes it.

Sanbox. OpenCode and Hermes Computers stay active until you stop them. Nothing puts them to sleep on its own. A stop ends compute and saves the disk: /workspace, installed packages and other system changes. It doesn't keep RAM, running processes or network connections. Resume boots the same runtime fresh with that disk.

sanbox run --template <computer-template-id> --json
sanbox runs stop <run-id> --wait --json
sanbox runs resume <run-id> --wait --json

So E2B gives you a frozen process you can thaw. Sanbox gives you a machine that keeps running, and a disk that survives when it doesn't. See what survives a stop for the full Sanbox table.

How do you control each one?

E2B is SDK-first. Your application creates a sandbox, runs commands, reads and writes files and kills it, all from Python or JavaScript. That suits a product that runs user code as one step in a larger flow.

Sanbox is machine-first. You create a template once, then start Computers from it and reach them several ways:

  • the console, with a chat view, a persistent browser terminal and, for Browser Computers, a live browser you can take over
  • sanbox ssh <run-id> for a private SSH session with no public port
  • sanbox exec and sanbox cp for scripts, CI and other agents
  • sanbox opencode connect <run-id> --expires 1h for the native OpenCode SDK
sanbox cp ./app <run-id>:/workspace
# OpenCode Computers include Node 22 and npm
sanbox exec <run-id> --cwd /workspace/app -- npm test

A dropped connection doesn't stop an exec command, and --detach lets you follow its output later.

How do network access and secrets differ?

Both keep API keys out of the machine, which is the important part.

  • E2B sandboxes have outbound internet by default. You can turn it off or set allow and deny lists by IP, CIDR or domain, with domain filtering on ports 80 and 443. Its secrets are injected into matching outbound HTTPS requests by an egress proxy outside the sandbox.
  • Sanbox templates start with egress denied. You list each allowed destination and port in a network policy, and a blocked request names the host it couldn't reach. Secret Proxies attach a stored credential to matching HTTPS requests on their way out, so the agent calls the normal URL and never sees the key. They keep the key off the machine, so the agent can't copy it; they don't prevent misuse of an API the agent is allowed to call.

What does it cost?

E2B charges about $0.000014 per vCPU-second and $0.0000045 per GiB-second of RAM, with disk included. By our arithmetic, the default 2 vCPU, 4 GiB sandbox costs about $0.17 an hour, or about $121 for a month running non-stop. Runs longer than an hour need Pro at $150 a month, unless you pause and resume.

Sanbox is priced per organisation for business use; talk to us for a quote. Model costs are separate on both: you bring your own provider and key.

For short jobs that run a few minutes a day, E2B's per-second billing is usually cheaper. For an agent that's on all day, a flat plan is easier to predict.

Where E2B is stronger

  • SDKs in Python and JavaScript for creating sandboxes from application code.
  • Memory-preserving pause and fork. Pause keeps running processes, and a fork creates running copies of a live sandbox in one call. Sanbox forks only stopped Computers, and children boot fresh.
  • Per-second billing with no compute charge while paused, plus a free Hobby tier with a $100 one-time credit. Sanbox has no free tier.
  • Scale. Pro allows 100 concurrent sandboxes, with add-ons up to 1,100.
  • Deployment options. BYOC runs E2B inside your AWS, Google Cloud or Azure account on Enterprise, and E2B Embed is an Apache-2.0 runtime for a single machine.
  • Desktop sandboxes for computer-use agents with a graphical desktop.
  • A SOC 2 Type II report, available through its Trust Center. Sanbox doesn't hold SOC 2; its DPA, sub-processor list and technical and organisational measures are available on request.

Where Sanbox is stronger

  • Always-on agent Computers. No 1-hour or 24-hour runtime cap to work around, and no timeout that kills the machine by default.
  • Agents ready to run. OpenCode as a private server, a Browser Computer you can watch and take over, Hermes with an email inbox and Telegram, or Docker Engine and Compose in a microVM.
  • Deny-by-default egress on every template.
  • An EU company and EU data centres. Sanlabs GmbH signs an Article 28 DPA under German law. E2B's EU cluster changes where the machine runs, not who you sign with.
  • A console for people, not only an SDK for code: chat, a persistent browser terminal and live browser takeover.
  • A predictable bill for agents that run all day.

When not to use Sanbox

  • You run many short code executions from your app and want per-second billing and an SDK.
  • You need memory and running processes to survive a pause, or forks of a running machine.
  • You need hundreds of concurrent sandboxes on a self-serve, pay-per-second plan. Sanbox plans are agreed per organisation; talk to sales@sanlabs.ai about your scale.
  • You need GPUs, Windows, static egress IPs or WebSockets into the machine.
  • You need large disks self-serve. Computers take 1 to 8 GB, and larger disks are enabled on request.
  • You need a vendor with a SOC 2 report.

For a business use case, talk to us. Our forward-deployed engineers can build it with you.

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