CreateOS Sandbox vs Sandbox0
Sandbox0 suits teams that keep thousands of idle agent workspaces, since it bills only on configured memory and charges no compute while paused. CreateOS Sandbox suits teams that want each sandbox in a Firecracker micro-VM with its own kernel and a pause that keeps running processes by default. Sandbox0 runs on gVisor per its homepage and has withdrawn self-hosting.
Pricing at a Glance
CreateOS rates verified 17 October 2026. Sandbox0 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
Sandbox0
- Compute
- See below
- Memory
- $0.0150 /GiB-hr
Sandbox0 charges $0.015 per GiB-hour of configured memory, billed per second with no separate CPU charge, plus $0.02 per GiB-month of retained incremental storage, as of 17 October 2026.
Where CreateOS Sandbox Fits Better
What CreateOS Sandbox brings to this matchup, with a plain note on where Sandbox0 has the edge.
Each sandbox gets a Firecracker micro-VM with its own guest kernel; Sandbox0's homepage diagram shows gVisor.
Pause saves memory and CPU state as well as disk, so processes continue after resume. Sandbox0's default resume restores files with fresh processes, and its memory checkpoints are experimental.
The egress default is written down: open with no rules, deny-by-default once any rule exists, enforced on the host outside the VM.
Self-hosting or BYOC on Enterprise; Sandbox0's homepage says self-hosting is no longer supported and BYOC is only planned.
Where Sandbox0 is strong
Billing on memory alone, with no compute charge while paused, plus fork from a running or paused sandbox, makes it cheap to keep thousands of idle agent workspaces on hand.
Which to Pick
Pick CreateOS Sandbox if
- Your agent must resume with its processes and memory where it left off.
- You want a Firecracker micro-VM boundary with a guest kernel per sandbox.
- You need a written egress default and host-enforced allowlist rules.
Pick Sandbox0 if
- You keep many mostly idle workspaces and want no compute charge while paused.
- You need far more retained sandboxes than 30; Sandbox0 keeps 2,000 paused per team by default.
- You want to fork from a running sandbox, not only a paused one.
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 | Sandbox0 |
|---|---|---|
| Isolation | Firecracker micro-VM with its own guest kernel | gVisor (runsc) per the homepage diagram; docs do not name the runtime |
| Pause and resume | Pause saves disk, memory and CPU state; vCPU stops billing, memory and storage still bill | Pause checkpoints the writable root filesystem and releases compute; default resume starts fresh processes; memory checkpoints experimental |
| Fork | Yes, fork a paused sandbox into many independent copies | Yes, from a running or paused source |
| 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 | Default not published; traffic rules, allow/deny policy and destination-scoped credential injection |
| Inbound access | Closed by default; opt-in public HTTPS URL | Public HTTP routes through services; auth not published |
| Largest size | 8 vCPU / 16 GB on Enterprise; 8 vCPU / 8 GB on Pro | Memory up to 16Gi by default; CPU derived from memory |
| Concurrency | 1 / 5 / 20 / 30 by plan; paused sandboxes count toward the cap | 20 running and 2,000 paused per team by default; increases on request |
| Session length | No cap; idle auto-pause 60 s to 24 h, off by default | ttl and hard_ttl default to disabled; no maximum 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 | $0.015 per GiB-hour of configured memory, per second; no compute charge while paused |
| Self-host or BYOC | Enterprise only, onboarded by our team | Self-hosting no longer supported (homepage); BYOC planned, not available |
Common Questions
What isolation does Sandbox0 use?
Sandbox0's homepage diagram shows gVisor (runsc), although its docs do not name the runtime. CreateOS Sandbox runs every sandbox as a Firecracker micro-VM with its own guest kernel, root filesystem and network identity.
Does a paused Sandbox0 sandbox keep running processes?
Not by default. Sandbox0 pause checkpoints the writable root filesystem, and default resume restores files with fresh processes; memory checkpoints are experimental. A CreateOS Sandbox pause saves disk, memory and CPU registers together.
Can I still self-host Sandbox0?
Sandbox0's homepage says self-hosting is no longer supported and BYOC is planned but not available, although an Apache-2.0 archive remains on GitHub. CreateOS Sandbox offers self-hosting and BYOC to enterprise customers, onboarded by our team.
Is Sandbox0 cheaper for idle workspaces?
Often, yes. Sandbox0 charges no compute while paused and bills only configured memory at $0.015 per GiB-hour. A paused CreateOS sandbox stops vCPU billing but still bills memory and storage, and it counts toward the concurrency cap.
Sources
Checked 17 October 2026.
See CreateOS Sandbox for yourself
Book a demo, or explore the Sandbox and its pricing.