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Sandboxer vs Expo EAS Build

EAS Build is Expo's hosted service that builds Android and iOS apps, each on a dedicated VM, billed as a flat price per build after plan credit. Sandboxer is a general-purpose sandbox, not a mobile build service. Pick EAS for Expo and React Native builds; pick Sandboxer for agent and dev environments.

Checked against Expo EAS Build's public docs on October 24, 2026. Sources are linked in the table and listed below.

At a glance

Sandboxer and Expo EAS Build compared
CapabilitySandboxerExpo EAS Build
IsolationmicroVM
Cloud Hypervisor, its own kernel
dedicated VM per build
Each build runs on its own VM.
Full Linux with root
Ubuntu 24.04, sudo, systemd
Docker inside
Preinstalled
Nested virtualization (/dev/kvm)
Pause and resume with memory
Running processes come back
Fork a sandbox
Copy-on-write disk copy that boots fresh
HTTPS URL per port
Private with a token, or public
Longest sessionNo limit on paid plans
Auto-stop is up to 30 days or off
45 min Free, 2 h paid
Build timeout per plan.
BillingPer second, flat rate per size
Stopped sandboxes are free
flat price per build after plan credit
Android medium $1, large $2; iOS medium $2, large $4.
GPUs
Self-host or open source
RegionsUS East (Virginia) and EU Central (Finland)Google Cloud (Android), Expo macOS cloud (iOS)
Specific regions not stated.

= not documented publicly.

Where Expo EAS Build is strong

  • Builds iOS apps on Mac mini hosts, each build on its own fresh macOS VM.
  • Flat per-build pricing that is easy to predict.
  • Integrated with Expo tooling for submit and updates.
  • Medium 4 vCPU / 16 GB and large 8 vCPU / 32 GB Android workers.

Where Sandboxer differs

  • EAS builds are one-shot jobs with a 45-minute to 2-hour timeout; Sandboxer sandboxes persist and can run with no time limit on a paid plan.
  • EAS bills per build; Sandboxer bills per second of machine time.
  • EAS provides macOS builders; Sandboxer has no macOS VMs.

Pick Expo EAS Build if

  • You ship an Expo or React Native app and need iOS builds and store submission.
  • You want flat per-build pricing and submission to the app stores included on every plan.

Pick Sandboxer if

  • Need a long-lived machine you can stop, resume and reach over SSH or an HTTPS URL, not a machine that exists for one job.
  • Want coding agents preinstalled and a prompt API, MCP server, SDKs and CLI for driving them.
  • Need Docker, nested KVM and full root in a VM that can stop with memory saved and resume with processes running.

Sources

Products change. If something here is out of date, email hello@sandboxer.com and we'll fix it. Expo EAS Build is a trademark of its owner. Sandboxer is an independent product and is not affiliated with Expo EAS Build.

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