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E2B alternatives

Updated

Six E2B alternatives for running agent and untrusted code in a sandbox (Prized, Daytona, Modal, Vercel Sandbox, Cloudflare Sandboxes and Sprites) with when each fits better and where E2B still wins, each fact from the vendor's own pages, checked October 27, 2026.

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E2B runs agent code in Firecracker microVMs from its Python and JavaScript SDKs; a session lasts up to 1 hour on the free Hobby plan and 24 hours on Pro, at $150 a month plus usage. The alternatives differ in isolation, how long a sandbox runs, what survives a stop, and whether CPU is billed while it waits on a model.

Pick one

  • Firecracker microVMs that pause with their memory and fork into live copies, for less per hour than E2B: Prized. A sandbox runs 24 hours by default and up to 7 days, extendable, and most E2B code runs on it by changing its imports (Moving from E2B). Not there yet: GPUs, your own image, Docker, root, preview links to its ports, egress rules, and regions other than Oregon (Not yet).
  • GPUs, Windows, or no time limit: Daytona. Containers by default; Linux VM sandboxes pause with their memory and fork. $200 of free compute.
  • GPUs, or a Python stack already on Modal: Modal. gVisor or a VM runtime; up to 24 hours a sandbox. $30 of free credit every month.
  • Sandboxes that mostly wait on a model: Vercel Sandbox. Firecracker microVMs that bill CPU only while it is busy, from your own OCI image, in 19 regions; files are saved when a sandbox stops, by default, and kept 30 days after last use unless you change it.
  • An app already on Cloudflare Workers: Cloudflare Sandboxes. Your Worker starts a Linux microVM from your image; its files and processes end when the instance stops unless you save a snapshot of the files (in beta).
  • An agent's own computer that pays only for storage while it sleeps: Sprites, from Fly.io. A Linux VM whose disk survives sleep, with filesystem checkpoints and an HTTPS URL that wakes it, billed on the CPU and memory it actually uses.
  • Stay on E2B for templates from your own image with fork and pause in the same sandbox, regions in the EU and Asia Pacific, or its stack in your own cloud (BYOC on Enterprise, or the Apache-2.0 runtime you host).

For an agent that needs one computer for weeks, with no run time limit, a Prized box fits better than a sandbox (Boxes or Sandboxes?).

Side by side

IsolationLongest runWhen it stops2 vCPU and 4 GB, an hourFree use
E2BFirecracker microVM1 hour on Hobby, 24 hours on Pro; a pause resets itA pause keeps memory and files until you delete it$0.166$100 of credit once, no card
PrizedFirecracker microVM7 days at a time, 24 hours by default, extendable (60 minutes of running in all on the free tier)A pause keeps memory and files until you delete it (30 days after last use on the free tier)$0.131, 10 GB disk included$30 of credit once, no card
DaytonaContainer; Linux VM sandboxes optionalNo limit; stops after 15 idle minutes by defaultFiles kept; memory too on VM sandboxes, which pause$0.166$200 of compute, no card
ModalgVisor; VM runtime optional24 hours; 5 minutes by defaultFilesystem snapshots; memory snapshots in alpha$0.238 (a core is 2 vCPU)$30 a month on Starter
Vercel SandboxFirecracker microVM45 minutes a session on Hobby, 24 hours on ProFiles saved and restored on resume, by default; kept 30 days after last use unless you change it$0.341 with the CPU busy, $0.085 idle5 CPU-hours and 420 GB-hours of memory a month on Hobby
Cloudflare SandboxesmicroVM, started by your WorkerUntil its inactivity timeout, at most 6 hours, once requests stop; no run time is guaranteedFiles and processes end, unless you save a snapshot of the files (in beta)$0.220 busy, $0.076 idle, for its standard-3 size (2 vCPU, 8 GiB, 16 GB disk)Usage included in the Workers Paid plan, $5 a month
SpritesHardware-isolated VMNo run time limit listed; sleeps within seconds when nothing is activeThe disk stays; checkpoints save the filesystemAbout $0.165 using both CPUs and 4 GB all hour, plus storage; less when it uses less$30 of trial credit once

Prices are pay-as-you-go list prices for a running sandbox, before plans or region surcharges. Prized, E2B, Daytona and Modal bill the vCPU and memory you ask for, busy or idle; Vercel and Cloudflare bill CPU only while it works, and Sprites bills the CPU and memory actually used. Prized, E2B, Daytona and Modal in more depth: Prized vs E2B, Daytona and Modal.

Moving to Prized

  1. Make a key: on the API keys page, with Sandboxes: Write; sign-up comes with $30 of free credit and no card.
  2. Swap the import: download prized_e2b.py or prized-e2b.ts next to your code and point your E2B imports at it (Moving from E2B).
  3. Run it: create, run, pause and fork as before; Agent quickstart has the same steps with plain HTTP calls.

Common questions

What is the best E2B alternative?

For E2B's model (microVMs that pause with memory and fork) at a lower hourly rate and longer runs: Prized. For GPUs: Daytona or Modal. For sandboxes that mostly wait on a model: Vercel Sandbox; inside a Cloudflare app, Cloudflare Sandboxes.

Which sandbox runs longest without a pause?

Prized runs a sandbox up to 7 days at a time, and you can extend it again; Daytona has no run time limit, only an idle auto-stop you can turn off. E2B's and Vercel's limits apply per session and reset on each resume, and Modal stops at 24 hours.

Is there an E2B alternative with GPUs?

Daytona and Modal. E2B and Prized sandboxes have no GPUs.

Is there an open-source E2B alternative I can host myself?

E2B's own runtime is open source (Apache-2.0), and E2B Embed runs the whole stack on one node of yours. Daytona can run sandboxes on your own compute under its control plane. Prized, Modal, Vercel Sandbox, Cloudflare Sandboxes and Sprites run on their vendors' clouds.

Can I keep my E2B code?

On Prized, most of it: a one-file adapter keeps E2B's calls, results and errors for Python and TypeScript (Moving from E2B). The others have their own SDKs.

Sources

Checked October 27, 2026:

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