Sandboxer vs Zipbox

Zipbox is a cloud computer for AI agents: each runs in its own Firecracker microVM with full root, billed per second while running. It differs from Sandboxer in being a consumer-style product with fixed monthly sizes, wallets and email for the agent, rather than an API-first infrastructure product. Pick Zipbox for a simple hosted agent computer; pick Sandboxer for programmatic fleets with Docker and nested KVM.

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

At a glance

Sandboxer and Zipbox compared
Capability	Sandboxer	Zipbox
Isolation	microVM Cloud Hypervisor, its own kernel	Firecracker microVM Own kernel behind hardware KVM.
Full Linux with root	Ubuntu 24.04, sudo, systemd	'Full root for the agent'.
Docker inside	Preinstalled
Nested virtualization (/dev/kvm)
Pause and resume with memory	Running processes come back	partial Paused computers cost nothing; memory retention not stated.
Fork a sandbox	Copy-on-write disk copy that boots fresh
HTTPS URL per port	Private with a token, or public	partial Served apps reachable over HTTPS at name.zbox.sh; port configuration not described.
Longest session	No limit on paid plans Auto-stop is up to 30 days or off
Billing	Per second, flat rate per size Stopped sandboxes are free	per second while running Tiny $0.0068/h to Large $0.0548/h; AI model usage extra.
GPUs
Self-host or open source
Regions	US East (Virginia) and EU Central (Finland)

= not documented publicly.

Price for one 4 vCPU, 8 GB machine

Sandboxer

$0.036/hour

Flat per-second rate for the default size

Zipbox

$0.027/hour

Medium size (4 vCPU / 8 GB RAM / 160 GB disk) listed at $0.0274/h; AI model usage extra

List prices from each provider's pricing page, before free credits, plans and storage. This compares price only.

Where Zipbox is strong

Firecracker microVM per computer with full root.
Paused computers cost nothing.
Credits never expire; $25 credit with a one-time $5 top-up.
Extras like browser, email address and public domain for the agent.

Where Sandboxer differs

Zipbox publishes fixed sizes up to 6 vCPU / 16 GB (Medium 4 vCPU / 8 GB at $0.0274/h); Sandboxer sizes go up to 16 vCPU / 32 GB (xlarge, on the $100 plan or higher).
Zipbox pages do not state Docker, nested virtualization or an API for fleets.
Zipbox bundles model usage billing, while Sandboxer exposes agents via a prompt API.

Pick Zipbox if

You want a simple hosted computer for one coding agent.
You want a low entry price from $5/month.
You want the agent to have a browser, email and public domain.

Pick Sandboxer if

You need a full Ubuntu 24.04 VM with root, systemd, Docker and nested KVM rather than a bare sandbox runtime.
You want coding agents preinstalled in every sandbox and driven through a prompt API with streamed events.

Sources

Zipbox homepage

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

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