Apify AI Code Sandbox vs Shellbox

Apify AI Code Sandbox bills memory only, at $0.20 per GiB-hour. Shellbox costs $0.01 per vCPU-hour. Apify AI Code Sandbox runs containers and has no session limit. Shellbox runs Firecracker microVMs and has no session limit.

Updated

Apify AI Code Sandbox

Isolation
Container
Free tier
$5 of usage every month
Max session
No limit

Shellbox

Isolation
Firecracker microVM
Free tier
Not listed
Max session
No limit

What is different

9 fields differ. The rest are the same or not listed.

Apify AI Code Sandbox
Shellbox
vCPU, per hour
Apify AI Code Sandbox: Included
Shellbox: $0.01
RAM, per GiB-hour
Apify AI Code Sandbox: $0.20
Shellbox: Included
Storage
Apify AI Code Sandbox: Disk in the run is part of the compute price. The workspace backup goes to a key-value store at $1 per 1,000 GB-hours, plus reads and writes. Data transfer out $0.20 per GB
Shellbox: A stopped box costs $0.50 per x1 slot per month
Paid plan from
Apify AI Code Sandbox: $19 / month
Shellbox: Pay as you go
Billing
Apify AI Code Sandbox: Memory only
Shellbox: Bundled machine time
Idle stop
Apify AI Code Sandbox: After 15 minutes
Shellbox: After 2 minutes
Concurrent sandboxes
Apify AI Code Sandbox: Up to 256
Shellbox: Up to 16
Isolation
Apify AI Code Sandbox: Container
Shellbox: Firecracker microVM
Integrations
Apify AI Code Sandbox: MCP, Claude Code
Shellbox: Claude Code

Full comparison

18 fields, at each provider's list price

Pricing

vCPU, per hour
Apify AI Code Sandbox: Included
Shellbox: $0.01
RAM, per GiB-hour
Apify AI Code Sandbox: $0.20
Shellbox: Included
Storage
Apify AI Code Sandbox: Disk in the run is part of the compute price. The workspace backup goes to a key-value store at $1 per 1,000 GB-hours, plus reads and writes. Data transfer out $0.20 per GB
Shellbox: A stopped box costs $0.50 per x1 slot per month
Free tier
Apify AI Code Sandbox: $5 of usage every month
Shellbox: Not listed
Paid plan from
Apify AI Code Sandbox: $19 / month
Shellbox: Pay as you go
Billing
Apify AI Code Sandbox: Memory only
Shellbox: Bundled machine time

Limits

Max session
Apify AI Code Sandbox: No limit
Shellbox: No limit
Idle stop
Apify AI Code Sandbox: After 15 minutes
Shellbox: After 2 minutes
Largest sandbox
Apify AI Code Sandbox: Not listed
Shellbox: 16 vCPU · 32 GiB
Concurrent sandboxes
Apify AI Code Sandbox: Up to 256
Shellbox: Up to 16

Platform

Isolation
Apify AI Code Sandbox: Container
Shellbox: Firecracker microVM
GPU
Apify AI Code Sandbox: Not listed
Shellbox: Not listed
Snapshots
Apify AI Code Sandbox: Not listed
Shellbox:
Pause and resume
Apify AI Code Sandbox: Not listed
Shellbox:

Developer

SDKs
Apify AI Code Sandbox: Python, JavaScript / TypeScript
Shellbox: Not listed
Integrations
Apify AI Code Sandbox: MCP, Claude Code
Shellbox: Claude Code

Trust

License
Apify AI Code Sandbox: Not listed
Shellbox: Not listed
BYOC
Apify AI Code Sandbox: Not listed
Shellbox: Not listed

Hourly cost

One sandbox running for one hour

Apify AI Code Sandbox
Shellbox
1 vCPU · 2 GiB
Apify AI Code Sandbox: $0.400
Shellbox: $0.010
2 vCPU · 4 GiB
Apify AI Code Sandbox: $0.800
Shellbox: $0.020
4 vCPU · 8 GiB
Apify AI Code Sandbox: $1.600
Shellbox: $0.040

Compute only, at list rates.

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Which one fits

Based on the fields above

Apify AI Code Sandbox fits when

  • You use MCP.
  • You want one rate for memory, with CPU included.
  • You need SOC 2 Type II and GDPR.

Shellbox fits when

  • You want to pay only for usage, with no plan fee.
  • You want each sandbox in its own microVM.
  • You want the lower list price: $0.020 against $0.800 an hour for 2 vCPU and 4 GiB.
  • You need snapshots.

More comparisons

See all comparisons

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