CreateOS Sandbox vs Freestyle
Freestyle is the stronger pick for agent platforms that need big, durable VMs: up to 32 vCPU / 64 GiB on Pro, snapshots of running machines and a deny-by-default firewall with VPCs. CreateOS Sandbox suits teams who want lower per-vCPU and per-GiB rates, no per-GB egress charge, and SDKs in Python, Go and other languages beyond TypeScript. Both pause with memory intact.
Pricing at a Glance
CreateOS rates verified 17 October 2026. Freestyle 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
Lower compute rate- Compute
- $0.0362 /vCPU-hr
- Memory
- $0.0116 /GiB-hr
Freestyle
- Compute
- $0.0403 /vCPU-hr
- Memory
- $0.0129 /GiB-hr
Freestyle charges $0.04032 per vCPU-hour, $0.0129 per GiB-hour of memory, $0.000086 per GiB-hour of storage and $0.02 per GB of data transfer beyond included amounts; Hobby is $50/month and Pro $500/month plus usage above those amounts, as of 17 October 2026.
Where CreateOS Sandbox Fits Better
What CreateOS Sandbox brings to this matchup, with a plain note on where Freestyle has the edge.
Lower list rates: $0.03616363 per vCPU-hour and $0.01159025 per GiB-hour, against Freestyle's $0.04032 and $0.0129.
No per-GB egress price; each sandbox has a 50 GiB bandwidth budget by default. Freestyle bills $0.02 per GB past its included transfer.
Python, Go, Rust, C# and Java SDKs alongside TypeScript (non-TypeScript pre-1.0); Freestyle publishes a TypeScript SDK.
Where Freestyle is strong
Freestyle treats a sandbox as a durable machine: pause keeps memory, a snapshot of a running VM is ready in under 50 ms (vendor-stated), CPU and memory resize live up to 32 vCPU / 64 GiB, and every VM starts deny-by-default behind a firewall with VPCs and custom domains.
Which to Pick
Pick CreateOS Sandbox if
- Your agent backend is Python, Go, Rust, C# or Java.
- Your jobs are short 'run AI code' scripts, which Freestyle's own docs say it is not built for.
- You want per-second rates below Freestyle's on both vCPU and memory.
Pick Freestyle if
- Your agents need more than 8 vCPU / 16 GB per machine.
- You want to branch a running VM without pausing it.
- You want deny-by-default networking from the first create call.
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 | Freestyle |
|---|---|---|
| Isolation | Firecracker micro-VM with its own guest kernel | Full Linux VM with nested virtualization, FUSE and eBPF (vendor-stated); hypervisor not named |
| Pause and resume | Saves disk, memory and CPU state; vCPU billing stops while paused, memory and storage still bill | Pause saves memory and resumes the same processes; persistent VMs need a paid plan |
| Fork | Fork a paused sandbox into many independent copies | Snapshot a running VM, ready in under 50 ms, and create VMs from it (vendor-stated) |
| 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 | Deny-by-default; allow rules required at create |
| Inbound access | Closed by default; opt-in HTTPS URL | TLS ingress on a free *.style.dev subdomain or custom domain; SSH; WireGuard |
| Largest size | 8 vCPU / 16 GB on Enterprise; 8 / 8 on Pro, 4 / 4 on Beginner, 1 / 1 on Free | Free 4 vCPU / 8 GiB, Hobby 8 / 16, Pro 32 / 64; more on Enterprise |
| Concurrency | 1 / 5 / 20 / 30 by plan (Free to Enterprise); paused sandboxes count | Free 10, Hobby 40, Pro 400; paused VMs do not count |
| Session length | No cap; optional idle auto-pause from 60 s to 24 h, off by default | No fixed maximum; optional idle, TTL and run-time policies; exec() max 5 minutes |
| 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) | $0.04032 per vCPU-hour, $0.0129 per GiB-hour, $0.02/GB transfer past allowance; Hobby $50, Pro $500 monthly |
| SDKs and interfaces | TypeScript, Go, Python, Rust, C#, Java (all but TypeScript pre-1.0), CLI, MCP, REST | TypeScript SDK, CLI, REST API |
Common Questions
Does Freestyle block outbound traffic by default?
Yes. A Freestyle VM reaches nothing it has not been allowed to, and create calls must pass allow rules. CreateOS starts open and becomes deny-by-default as soon as you add one host, IP, CIDR or wildcard rule, enforced on the host outside the VM.
Do paused sandboxes count toward concurrency on Freestyle and CreateOS?
On Freestyle, paused VMs do not count against concurrency but do count as saved VMs. On CreateOS, a paused sandbox still counts toward the plan's concurrent cap, and only destroying it frees a slot. Plan for that if you keep many paused agents.
Which is better for agent tasks that run for days, Freestyle or CreateOS?
Both run without a fixed lifetime. Freestyle adds live resize up to 32 vCPU / 64 GiB and snapshots of running VMs, which helps long, growing workloads. CreateOS keeps sandboxes running until you destroy or pause them, with optional idle auto-pause from 60 seconds to 24 hours.
Can I drive Freestyle from Python?
Freestyle publishes a TypeScript SDK, a CLI and a REST API, so Python code would call the REST API directly. CreateOS has an official Python SDK, createos-sandbox, at a pre-1.0 version, alongside TypeScript, Go, Rust, C# and Java SDKs.
Sources
Checked 17 October 2026.
See CreateOS Sandbox for yourself
Book a demo, or explore the Sandbox and its pricing.