Azure Container Apps Sandboxes vs Shellbox

Azure Container Apps Sandboxes costs $0.0864 per vCPU-hour and Shellbox costs $0.01 per vCPU-hour. Azure Container Apps Sandboxes runs microVMs. Shellbox runs Firecracker microVMs and has no session limit.

Updated Oct 23, 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

Shellbox

Linux microVMs for developers and AI agents, made and controlled over SSH.

Isolation: Firecracker microVM
Free tier: Not listed
Max session: No limit

Visit site Shellbox profile

What is different

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

Field

Azure Container Apps Sandboxes

Shellbox

vCPU, per hour: Azure Container Apps Sandboxes: $0.0864; Shellbox: $0.01
RAM, per GiB-hour: Azure Container Apps Sandboxes: $0.0108; Shellbox: Included
Storage: Azure Container Apps Sandboxes: Storage charge coming soon; Shellbox: A stopped box costs $0.50 per x1 slot per month
Billing: Azure Container Apps Sandboxes: Per second; Shellbox: Bundled machine time
Largest sandbox: Azure Container Apps Sandboxes: 4 vCPU · 8 GiB; Shellbox: 16 vCPU · 32 GiB
Isolation: Azure Container Apps Sandboxes: MicroVM; Shellbox: Firecracker microVM

Full comparison

18 fields, at each provider's list price

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

Shellboxshellbox.dev/#pricingshellbox.dev

Pricing

vCPU, per hour: Azure Container Apps Sandboxes: $0.0864; Shellbox: $0.01
RAM, per GiB-hour: Azure Container Apps Sandboxes: $0.0108; Shellbox: Included
Storage: Azure Container Apps Sandboxes: Storage charge coming soon; Shellbox: A stopped box costs $0.50 per x1 slot per month
Free tier: Azure Container Apps Sandboxes: Not listed; Shellbox: Not listed
Paid plan from: Azure Container Apps Sandboxes: Not listed; Shellbox: Pay as you go
Billing: Azure Container Apps Sandboxes: Per second; Shellbox: Bundled machine time

Limits

Max session: Azure Container Apps Sandboxes: Not listed; Shellbox: No limit
Idle stop: Azure Container Apps Sandboxes: Not listed; Shellbox: After 2 minutes
Largest sandbox: Azure Container Apps Sandboxes: 4 vCPU · 8 GiB; Shellbox: 16 vCPU · 32 GiB
Concurrent sandboxes: Azure Container Apps Sandboxes: Not listed; Shellbox: Up to 16

Platform

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

Developer

SDKs: Azure Container Apps Sandboxes: Python, TypeScript; Shellbox: Not listed
Integrations: Azure Container Apps Sandboxes: Claude Code; Shellbox: Claude Code

Trust

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

Hourly cost

One sandbox running for one hour

Size

Azure Container Apps Sandboxes

Shellbox

1 vCPU · 2 GiB: Azure Container Apps Sandboxes: $0.108; Shellbox: $0.010
2 vCPU · 4 GiB: Azure Container Apps Sandboxes: $0.216; Shellbox: $0.020
4 vCPU · 8 GiB: Azure Container Apps Sandboxes: $0.432; Shellbox: $0.040

Compute only, at list rates.

Open the calculator

Which one fits

Based on the fields above

Shellbox fits when

You want the lower list price: $0.020 against $0.216 an hour for 2 vCPU and 4 GiB.
You need a sandbox larger than 4 vCPU · 8 GiB.

More comparisons

See all comparisons

Azure Container Apps Sandboxes

Shellbox

What is different

Full comparison

Pricing

Limits

Platform

Developer

Trust

Hourly cost

Which one fits

Shellbox fits when

More comparisons

Related

Compare

Pricing

Browse