Azure Container Apps Sandboxes vs InstaVM

Azure Container Apps Sandboxes costs $0.0864 per vCPU-hour and InstaVM costs $0.0504 per vCPU-hour. Azure Container Apps Sandboxes runs microVMs. InstaVM runs Firecracker microVMs.

Updated Oct 14, 2026

Azure Container Apps Sandboxes

Isolated microVM sandboxes that start on demand.

Isolation: MicroVM
Free tier: Not listed
Max session: Not listed

Visit site Azure Container Apps Sandboxes profile

InstaVM

Hardware-isolated microVMs for AI agent code.

Isolation: Firecracker microVM
Free tier: $50 credit
Max session: Not listed

Visit site InstaVM profile

What is different

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

Field

Azure Container Apps Sandboxes

InstaVM

vCPU, per hour: Azure Container Apps Sandboxes: $0.0864; InstaVM: $0.0504
RAM, per GiB-hour: Azure Container Apps Sandboxes: $0.0108; InstaVM: $0.0162
Storage: Azure Container Apps Sandboxes: Storage charge coming soon; InstaVM: $0.0002 per GiB-hour after 10 free GiB
Isolation: Azure Container Apps Sandboxes: MicroVM; InstaVM: Firecracker microVM

Full comparison

18 fields, at each provider's list price

Azure Container Apps Sandboxessandboxes.azure.com/docs/sandboxes/costsandboxes.azure.com

InstaVMinstavm.io/pricing

Pricing

vCPU, per hour: Azure Container Apps Sandboxes: $0.0864; InstaVM: $0.0504
RAM, per GiB-hour: Azure Container Apps Sandboxes: $0.0108; InstaVM: $0.0162
Storage: Azure Container Apps Sandboxes: Storage charge coming soon; InstaVM: $0.0002 per GiB-hour after 10 free GiB
Free tier: Azure Container Apps Sandboxes: Not listed; InstaVM: $50 credit
Paid plan from: Azure Container Apps Sandboxes: Not listed; InstaVM: $100 / month
Billing: Azure Container Apps Sandboxes: Per second; InstaVM: Per second

Limits

Max session: Azure Container Apps Sandboxes: Not listed; InstaVM: Not listed
Idle stop: Azure Container Apps Sandboxes: Not listed; InstaVM: Not listed
Largest sandbox: Azure Container Apps Sandboxes: 4 vCPU · 8 GiB; InstaVM: Not listed
Concurrent sandboxes: Azure Container Apps Sandboxes: Not listed; InstaVM: Up to 100

Platform

Isolation: Azure Container Apps Sandboxes: MicroVM; InstaVM: Firecracker microVM
GPU: Azure Container Apps Sandboxes: Not listed; InstaVM: Not listed
Snapshots: Azure Container Apps Sandboxes:; InstaVM:
Pause and resume: Azure Container Apps Sandboxes:; InstaVM:

Developer

SDKs: Azure Container Apps Sandboxes: Python, TypeScript; InstaVM: Python, TypeScript
Integrations: Azure Container Apps Sandboxes: Not listed; InstaVM: Not listed

Trust

License: Azure Container Apps Sandboxes: Not listed; InstaVM: Not listed
BYOC: Azure Container Apps Sandboxes: Not listed; InstaVM: Not listed

Hourly cost

One sandbox running for one hour

Size

Azure Container Apps Sandboxes

InstaVM

1 vCPU · 2 GiB: Azure Container Apps Sandboxes: $0.108; InstaVM: $0.083
2 vCPU · 4 GiB: Azure Container Apps Sandboxes: $0.216; InstaVM: $0.166
4 vCPU · 8 GiB: Azure Container Apps Sandboxes: $0.432; InstaVM: $0.331

Compute only, at list rates.

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Which one fits

Based on the fields above

InstaVM fits when

You want the lower list price: $0.166 against $0.216 an hour for 2 vCPU and 4 GiB.
You need a desktop in the sandbox.
You need SOC 2 Type II.

More comparisons

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Azure Container Apps Sandboxes

InstaVM

What is different

Full comparison

Pricing

Limits

Platform

Developer

Trust

Hourly cost

Which one fits

InstaVM fits when

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