CreateOS Sandbox vs Docker Cloud Sandboxes
Docker Cloud Sandboxes are the natural pick for developers who run off-the-shelf coding agents from the sbx CLI and want the same sandbox on a laptop and in the cloud. CreateOS Sandbox is the pick when your own app creates sandboxes through an SDK or REST API, sessions run past an hour, or you need pause with memory and fork.
Pricing at a Glance
CreateOS rates verified 17 October 2026. Docker Cloud Sandboxes 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
Docker Cloud Sandboxes
Docker Cloud Sandboxes cost $0.070/hour for Micro (1 vCPU, 2 GB) up to $1.118/hour for XL (16 vCPU, 32 GB), billed by the second from start to stop; local sandboxes and the sbx CLI are free, as of 17 October 2026.
Where CreateOS Sandbox Fits Better
What CreateOS Sandbox brings to this matchup, with a plain note on where Docker Cloud Sandboxes has the edge.
Six SDKs plus REST, CLI and MCP for creating sandboxes from your own code; Docker documents only the sbx CLI for cloud sandboxes.
No session cap, where Docker cloud sandboxes expire after one hour unless you change the TTL.
Pause saves memory and CPU state, and fork clones a paused sandbox; fork is not published for Docker.
Where Docker Cloud Sandboxes is strong
One CLI covers a free local microVM sandbox and a paid cloud one, and sbx move shifts a sandbox between them, so an agent can start on a laptop and finish in the cloud.
Which to Pick
Pick CreateOS Sandbox if
- Your product creates sandboxes programmatically for users or agents.
- Agent runs last longer than an hour and you do not want to manage TTLs.
- You want to fork a paused sandbox into many attempts.
Pick Docker Cloud Sandboxes if
- You already use Docker and run Claude Code, Codex or Copilot from a terminal.
- You want a free local microVM sandbox with the option to move it to the cloud.
- You need up to 16 vCPU and 32 GB in one cloud sandbox.
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 | Docker Cloud Sandboxes |
|---|---|---|
| Isolation | Firecracker micro-VM with its own guest kernel | Micro-VM with its own kernel and Docker daemon; hypervisor not named |
| Pause and resume | Pause saves disk, memory and CPU state; vCPU stops billing, memory and storage still bill | Persists until TTL; on expiry, resumable sandboxes stop and the rest are deleted |
| Fork | Yes, fork a paused sandbox into many independent copies | Not published |
| Outbound network default | Open with no rules; deny-by-default once any host, IP, CIDR or wildcard rule exists, enforced on the host outside the VM | Cloud: policy set with --allow-network, default not stated. Local: deny-by-default host proxy |
| Inbound access | Closed by default; opt-in public HTTPS URL | Public HTTPS URL per exposed port; auth not published |
| Largest size | 8 vCPU / 16 GB on Enterprise; 8 vCPU / 8 GB on Pro | XL: 16 vCPU, 32 GB |
| Session length | No cap; idle auto-pause 60 s to 24 h, off by default | One-hour default TTL, configurable; maximum not published |
| Billing | Per second: $0.03616363 per vCPU-hour, $0.01159025 per GiB-hour, storage $0.0001584 per GB-hour; no egress fees, 50 GiB bandwidth budget per sandbox | Per second from start to stop, $0.070 to $1.118 per hour by size |
| SDKs and interfaces | TypeScript, Go, Python, Rust, C#, Java SDKs (all but TypeScript pre-1.0), CLI, MCP, REST | sbx CLI with --cloud; SDK, REST and MCP not published on pages read |
| GPU | No GPU shapes | No in the cloud; local sandboxes can use the host GPU |
Common Questions
Can I move a Docker sandbox from my laptop to the cloud?
Yes. The sbx move command copies a sandbox's filesystem between local and cloud, so an agent can start on a laptop and finish in Docker's cloud. CreateOS Sandbox runs in its managed eu and us regions, or on enterprise self-hosted machines.
Is there an API for Docker Cloud Sandboxes?
Docker documents the sbx CLI with a --cloud flag; an SDK, REST API or MCP server is not published on the pages read. CreateOS Sandbox has TypeScript, Go, Python, Rust, C# and Java SDKs, a REST API, a CLI and an MCP server.
How long does a Docker cloud sandbox last?
One hour by default. The TTL and the action on timeout are configurable, but a maximum is not published. CreateOS Sandbox has no lifetime cap, and you can set idle auto-pause anywhere from 60 seconds to 24 hours.
Does Docker offer free cloud sandbox credit?
Yes. The standard offer is a $25 one-time compute credit, and signups from 22 September to 31 October 2026 get $250, with a card required and expiry six months after redemption. The CreateOS Free plan includes 500 credits with no card required.
Sources
Checked 17 October 2026.
See CreateOS Sandbox for yourself
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