CreateOS Sandbox vs AWS CodeBuild
AWS CodeBuild is the natural choice for CI that must run inside your AWS account under IAM and VPC rules. CreateOS Sandbox is the better fit for interactive agent code that needs to pause, resume, fork and serve a port on a public URL.
Pricing at a Glance
CreateOS rates verified 17 October 2026. AWS CodeBuild pricing as published on 17 October 2026. Rates billed per GB rather than per GiB, or as bundled sizes, are quoted as published rather than converted.
CreateOS Sandbox
- Compute
- $0.0362 /vCPU-hr
- Memory
- $0.0116 /GiB-hr
AWS CodeBuild
AWS CodeBuild's worked examples show general1.small at $0.005 per build minute, lambda.arm.1GB at $0.00001 per build second and reserved.x86-64.g1.small at $0.003 per instance minute, as of 17 October 2026.
Where CreateOS Sandbox Fits Better
What CreateOS Sandbox brings to this matchup, with a plain note on where AWS CodeBuild has the edge.
Pause and resume with memory state, and fork from a paused sandbox; CodeBuild has no pause or snapshot model.
Opt-in public HTTPS URL into the running environment; CodeBuild builds have no public URL.
No 36-hour ceiling; a sandbox runs until you stop it.
Where AWS CodeBuild is strong
CodeBuild is native to AWS: IAM roles, VPC access, very large build machines up to 72 vCPU / 144 GiB, GPU fleets, Lambda-based builds with fast start, and builds up to 36 hours, all in most AWS Regions.
Which to Pick
Pick CreateOS Sandbox if
- An agent needs a sandbox it can pause, resume and fork.
- You need to reach a web service running in the environment.
Pick AWS CodeBuild if
- Your CI must run inside your AWS account under IAM and VPC controls.
- You need large build machines or GPU build fleets.
- You want managed GitHub Actions or GitLab runners on AWS compute.
Head-to-Head Comparison
Every dimension side by side, checked on 17 October 2026 against each vendor's own docs and pricing pages. "Not published" means we could not find it on the vendor's pages, not that the feature is missing.
| Dimension | CreateOS Sandbox | AWS CodeBuild |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Sandboxes created by API for agent and untrusted code | CI builds and tests inside AWS, including managed GitHub Actions and GitLab runners |
| Isolation | Firecracker micro-VM with its own guest kernel | Not published on the pages read; builds run a container image on CodeBuild-managed EC2 or Lambda |
| Trigger model (pipeline vs API) | API call from REST, SDK, CLI or MCP | Build projects started by pipeline or API; sandbox mode adds start-command-execution for debugging |
| Session length | No session length cap; optional idle auto-pause from 60 s to 24 h, off by default | Maximum build timeout 2,160 minutes (36 hours) |
| Pause and resume | Yes: pause saves disk, memory and CPU state; vCPU stops billing, memory and storage still bill | No pause or snapshot model; reserved fleets keep instances warm |
| Outbound network | Open with no rules; deny-by-default once any host, IP, CIDR or wildcard rule exists, enforced on the host outside the VM | Not published on the pages read; builds can run inside your VPC |
| Billing | Per second: $0.03616363 per vCPU-hour, $0.01159025 per GiB-hour, storage $0.0001584 per GB-hour | Per build minute (EC2), per build second (Lambda) or per instance minute (reserved) |
Common Questions
Is the CodeBuild sandbox the same as a CreateOS sandbox?
No. The CodeBuild sandbox mode exists for debugging builds, with SSH through SSM Session Manager and a start-command-execution API, and it is tied to a build project. A CreateOS sandbox is a standalone micro-VM you create by API, with no build project behind it.
How long can an AWS CodeBuild build run?
A CodeBuild build can run for up to 2,160 minutes, which is 36 hours. CreateOS sandboxes have no lifetime cap and can also auto-pause after an idle window you set, from 60 seconds to 24 hours.
Does AWS CodeBuild have a free tier?
Yes: 100 build minutes per month on general1.small or arm1.small and 6,000 build seconds on Lambda 1GB types, with none for reserved capacity or sandbox mode. The CreateOS Free plan gives 500 credits and 1 concurrent sandbox up to 1 vCPU / 1 GB.
Sources
Checked 17 October 2026.
See CreateOS Sandbox for yourself
Book a demo, or explore the Sandbox and its pricing.