# Best tools to give an LLM a full computer in 2026, ranked (MCP servers and computer-use APIs)

> Connect your agent to a cloud VM it can control through MCP or an API. We rank Sandboxer first: its MCP server lets Claude, Codex or Cursor create Ubuntu microVMs, run commands, edit files, publish ports and stop them. Freestyle and E2B give agents full VMs too; Orgo offers a hosted MCP server, and Daytona and Coasty computer-use APIs.

Source: https://sandboxer.com/guides/best-tools-to-give-an-llm-a-full-computer. Updated 2026-10-27.

**Short answer:** Connect your agent to a cloud VM it can control through MCP or an API. We rank Sandboxer first: its MCP server lets Claude, Codex or Cursor create Ubuntu microVMs, run commands, edit files, publish ports and stop them. Freestyle and E2B give agents full VMs too; Orgo offers a hosted MCP server, and Daytona and Coasty computer-use APIs.

> **Published by Sandboxer, and we're on this list.** We ranked by the criteria below and say where others are the better choice. Every fact about another platform comes from its own docs or pricing page, checked on the date shown; follow each name for the full comparison and sources.

## What "a full computer" means for an LLM

An LLM can only act through tools. Giving it a computer means giving it tools that reach a real machine: run a shell command, read and write files, start a server and get its URL, and for computer use, take a screenshot and click. The machine should be its own, isolated, and disposable, so a mistake or a prompt injection can't reach yours.

There are two common ways to connect it:

- **An MCP server** the agent's client (Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor, Codex) calls as tools.
- **An SDK or REST API** your own agent code calls.

## How to compare them

1. **A full machine:** root, Docker and a real OS, not just a code interpreter.
2. **Agent-callable:** an MCP server or an API with commands, files and ports.
3. **A screen for computer use:** a desktop the agent can see and drive.
4. **State across pauses:** the machine comes back with its memory.
5. **Session length:** long enough for real work.
6. **Self-serve:** sign up and start today.

We apply the criteria in this order; later ones break ties. Hosted per-session runtimes (Claude Managed Agents, OpenAI's Code Interpreter) come last because they aren't machines you keep.

## Comparison table

| # | Platform | Isolation | Resume keeps running processes | Docker / full Linux | Nested KVM | 4 vCPU / 8 GB, per hour | Checked |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | **Sandboxer** | microVM (Cloud Hypervisor, its own kernel) | Yes | Yes | Yes | $0.036 | 2026-10-27 |
| 2 | [Freestyle](/compare/freestyle) | full Linux VM (hypervisor not named) | Yes | Yes | Not documented | $0.26 | 2026-10-24 |
| 3 | [E2B](/compare/e2b) | microVM | Yes | Partly | No | $0.33 | 2026-10-15 |
| 4 | [Daytona](/compare/daytona) | container or VM | Partly | Partly | Partly | $0.33 | 2026-10-15 |
| 5 | [Orgo](/compare/orgo) | Not documented | Partly | Not documented | Not documented | — | 2026-10-24 |
| 6 | [Novita Agent Sandbox](/compare/novita-agent-sandbox) | Not documented | Yes | Not documented | Not documented | $0.23 | 2026-10-24 |
| 7 | [Coasty](/compare/coasty) | Coasty-hosted VM (technology not stated) | Partly | Not documented | Not documented | — | 2026-10-24 |
| 8 | [Claude Managed Agents (Anthropic)](/compare/claude-managed-agents) | Linux container on Anthropic-managed infrastructure | Not documented | Partly | Not documented | — | 2026-10-24 |
| 9 | [OpenAI Containers (Code Interpreter)](/compare/openai-containers) | Sandboxed virtual machine (per OpenAI docs) | No | No | Not documented | — | 2026-10-24 |


"Not documented" means the platform's public docs don't say. Prices are list prices for one 4 vCPU, 8 GB machine-hour; a dash means the platform doesn't sell that size by the hour or doesn't publish a price for it.

## The tools, ranked

### 1. Sandboxer

*At a glance (source: our docs and pricing): isolation: microVM (Cloud Hypervisor, its own kernel) · resume keeps processes: Yes · longest session: No limit on paid plans · price: $0.036/hour.*

**Best for:** giving Claude, Codex, Cursor or your own agent a whole Linux machine as tools. Sandboxer's MCP server runs locally (`sbx mcp`, built into the `sbx` CLI) or hosted at `https://sandboxer.com/mcp` (Streamable HTTP, signed in with an API key or OAuth). Its 18 shared tools cover the sandbox lifecycle (create, list, get, extend, rename, label, stop, resume, delete), commands (`exec`, with status and kill for detached runs), files (`read_file`, `write_file`), ports (`host_port`) and named snapshots (save, list, delete); the local server adds a 19th, `handoff_session`, to move a running coding-agent session into a sandbox. Each sandbox is a Cloud Hypervisor microVM with Ubuntu 24.04, root and Docker, and stop/resume that keeps memory. Each also has a desktop with Chrome: Sandboxer's built-in agents get computer-use tools for it, and your own agent can drive it with `xdotool` or Playwright through `exec`.

```bash
curl -fsSL https://sandboxer.com/install | sh     # sbx CLI; signs you in
claude mcp add sandboxer -- sbx mcp               # Claude Code
claude mcp add --transport http sandboxer https://sandboxer.com/mcp   # hosted, no CLI needed
codex mcp add sandboxer -- sbx mcp                # Codex
```

Then ask for something that needs a machine: "Spin up a sandbox, clone the repo, run the tests and give me a preview URL." See [MCP server docs](/docs/mcp).

**Where others win:** no Windows desktops, no GPUs.

### 2. Freestyle

*At a glance (source: Freestyle docs, checked 2026-10-24): isolation: full Linux VM (hypervisor not named) · resume keeps processes: Yes · longest session: no maximum stated · price: $0.26/hour · [full comparison and sources](/compare/freestyle).*

**Best for:** full Linux VMs for agents with live forking, pause and resume that keeps memory, SSH, and HTTPS domains per port.

**Where it's weaker for this use:** persistent VMs need a paid plan, and the hypervisor isn't named in its docs.

### 3. E2B

*At a glance (source: E2B docs, checked 2026-10-15): isolation: microVM · resume keeps processes: Yes · longest session: see comparison · price: $0.33/hour · [full comparison and sources](/compare/e2b).*

**Best for:** building your own computer-use agent: Firecracker microVMs with a desktop SDK and VNC streaming, open source, with pause that keeps memory.

**Where it's weaker for this use:** sessions are capped per plan.

### 4. Daytona

*At a glance (source: Daytona docs, checked 2026-10-15): isolation: container or VM · resume keeps processes: Partly · longest session: see comparison · price: $0.33/hour · [full comparison and sources](/compare/daytona).*

**Best for:** computer use on Linux and Windows through Daytona's computer-use API, with SDKs in TypeScript, Python, Ruby, Go and Java.

**Where it's weaker for this use:** VM isolation and memory-saving stop depend on the sandbox class.

### 5. Orgo

*At a glance (source: Orgo docs, checked 2026-10-24): isolation: Not documented · resume keeps processes: Partly · longest session: no limit stated · price: No 4 vCPU / 8 GB list price · [full comparison and sources](/compare/orgo).*

**Best for:** desktops built for agents, on Linux and Windows, with a browser, reachable over HTTP and VNC, and driven by API, CLI, SDKs or a hosted MCP server.

**Where it's weaker for this use:** its docs don't state the isolation type, and memory-preserving pause is only partly documented.

### 6. Novita Agent Sandbox

*At a glance (source: Novita Agent Sandbox docs, checked 2026-10-24): isolation: Not documented · resume keeps processes: Yes · longest session: 1 h on free tier, 24 h on paid · price: $0.23/hour · [full comparison and sources](/compare/novita-agent-sandbox).*

**Best for:** pay-as-you-go sandboxes where browser use and desktop computer use (with VNC viewing) are listed as supported, with pause that keeps memory.

**Where it's weaker for this use:** sessions are capped (1 hour on the free tier, 24 hours on paid).

### 7. Coasty

*At a glance (source: Coasty docs, checked 2026-10-24): isolation: Coasty-hosted VM (technology not stated) · resume keeps processes: Partly · longest session: TTL 5 min to 7 days, or none · price: No 4 vCPU / 8 GB list price · [full comparison and sources](/compare/coasty).*

**Best for:** a computer-use agent as a service: a task API that takes one goal and works on managed Linux or Windows machines, or your own enrolled device.

**Where it's weaker for this use:** the VM technology isn't named, and memory-preserving pause is only partly documented.

### 8. Claude Managed Agents

*At a glance (source: Claude Managed Agents (Anthropic) docs, checked 2026-10-24): isolation: Linux container on Anthropic-managed infrastructure · resume keeps processes: Not documented · longest session: Not documented · price: No 4 vCPU / 8 GB list price · [full comparison and sources](/compare/claude-managed-agents).*

**Best for:** letting Anthropic run the Claude agent loop for you, in per-session Linux containers with many languages, Chromium and Playwright preinstalled.

**Where it's weaker for this use:** Claude only, containers rather than VMs, and no machine you keep.

### 9. OpenAI Containers (Code Interpreter)

*At a glance (source: OpenAI Containers (Code Interpreter) docs, checked 2026-10-24): isolation: Sandboxed virtual machine (per OpenAI docs) · resume keeps processes: No · longest session: expires after 20 minutes without use · price: No 4 vCPU / 8 GB list price · [full comparison and sources](/compare/openai-containers).*

**Best for:** quick code execution and data analysis inside the OpenAI API, with no infrastructure of your own.

**Where it's weaker for this use:** a code interpreter rather than a whole computer: no root, and a container expires after 20 minutes without activity.

## How we tested

We read each platform's own docs and pricing pages, recorded what they state with a date, and had a second reviewer check each claim against its source. We checked Sandboxer's MCP server against our [MCP docs](/docs/mcp) and ran it on 2026-10-26, both locally (`npx -y sandboxer-mcp`) and hosted (`https://sandboxer.com/mcp` with an API key), recorded in our test log: each listed the same 18 tools and listed sandboxes on a real account (the local server has since added a 19th, `handoff_session`), and the hosted endpoint refused calls without a key. Our create and resume timings, measured on 2026-10-24, are in [results and conditions](/guides/bench/README.txt).

## Which should you choose?

- **Give Claude Code, Codex or Cursor a whole Linux machine as tools:** Sandboxer (`sbx mcp`).
- **A desktop for computer use, including Windows:** Orgo or Daytona.
- **Build your own computer-use agent on open source:** E2B.
- **A computer-use agent as a service:** Coasty.
- **Anthropic or OpenAI should host everything:** Claude Managed Agents or OpenAI's Code Interpreter containers.

## FAQ

### How do I give Claude Code its own computer?

Add an MCP server that controls cloud machines. With Sandboxer: install the `sbx` CLI, then `claude mcp add sandboxer -- sbx mcp`. Claude Code can then create a sandbox, run commands in it, edit files and give you a preview URL.

### What is an MCP server for a sandbox?

A Model Context Protocol server exposes a machine's actions (create, exec, read and write files, open a port, stop) as tools that MCP clients like Claude Desktop, Cursor and Codex can call.

### Can an LLM use a desktop, not just a shell?

Yes, with a computer-use setup: the agent takes screenshots and sends mouse and keyboard actions. Sandboxer's built-in agents get these tools for the sandbox's desktop (the MCP server itself provides shell, file and port tools); E2B, Daytona, Orgo and Coasty offer computer-use desktops or APIs.

### Is it safe to let an LLM control a computer?

Only one that holds nothing else. Use a disposable VM with none of your secrets (`sbx new --no-env` on Sandboxer), pass only the keys the task needs, and review what it produces.

### What does it cost?

Sandboxer bills per second while a sandbox runs, $0.036/hour for the `default` size, and nothing while it's stopped. Model usage is billed separately by your model provider.

## Related

- [MCP server docs](/docs/mcp)
- [What is an AI agent sandbox?](/guides/what-is-an-ai-agent-sandbox)
- [Best sandboxes for browser and computer-use agents](/guides/best-sandboxes-for-browser-and-computer-use-agents)