DigitalOcean MicroVMs vs Docker Sandboxes

DigitalOcean MicroVMs costs $0.022 per vCPU-hour and Docker Sandboxes costs $0.07 per vCPU-hour. DigitalOcean MicroVMs runs Firecracker microVMs. Docker Sandboxes runs microVMs and limits a session to 24 hours.

Updated Oct 15, 2026

DigitalOcean MicroVMs

Lightweight virtual machines that run a container image in their own kernel and pause when idle.

Isolation: Firecracker microVM
Free tier: Not listed
Max session: Not listed

Visit site DigitalOcean MicroVMs profile

Docker Sandboxes

Cloud microVM sandboxes for coding agents, run by Docker.

Isolation: MicroVM
Free tier: $25 credit, one time
Max session: 24 hours

Visit site Docker Sandboxes profile

What is different

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

Field

DigitalOcean MicroVMs

Docker Sandboxes

vCPU, per hour: DigitalOcean MicroVMs: $0.022; Docker Sandboxes: $0.07
RAM, per GiB-hour: DigitalOcean MicroVMs: $0.0085; Docker Sandboxes: Included
Billing: DigitalOcean MicroVMs: Per second; Docker Sandboxes: Bundled machine time
Isolation: DigitalOcean MicroVMs: Firecracker microVM; Docker Sandboxes: MicroVM

Full comparison

18 fields, at each provider's list price

DigitalOcean MicroVMsdocs.digitalocean.com/products/microvms/details/pricingdocs.digitalocean.com

Docker Sandboxesdocker.com/c/sbx-promodocker.com

Pricing

vCPU, per hour: DigitalOcean MicroVMs: $0.022; Docker Sandboxes: $0.07
RAM, per GiB-hour: DigitalOcean MicroVMs: $0.0085; Docker Sandboxes: Included
Storage: DigitalOcean MicroVMs: $0.05 per GiB per month, charged when running or paused. Checkpoints are charged until deleted.; Docker Sandboxes: Not listed
Free tier: DigitalOcean MicroVMs: Not listed; Docker Sandboxes: $25 credit, one time
Paid plan from: DigitalOcean MicroVMs: Not listed; Docker Sandboxes: Pay as you go
Billing: DigitalOcean MicroVMs: Per second; Docker Sandboxes: Bundled machine time

Limits

Max session: DigitalOcean MicroVMs: Not listed; Docker Sandboxes: 24 hours
Idle stop: DigitalOcean MicroVMs: After 5 minutes; Docker Sandboxes: Not listed
Largest sandbox: DigitalOcean MicroVMs: 16 vCPU · 32 GiB; Docker Sandboxes: 16 vCPU · 32 GiB
Concurrent sandboxes: DigitalOcean MicroVMs: Not listed; Docker Sandboxes: Up to 10

Platform

Isolation: DigitalOcean MicroVMs: Firecracker microVM; Docker Sandboxes: MicroVM
GPU: DigitalOcean MicroVMs: Not listed; Docker Sandboxes: Not listed
Snapshots: DigitalOcean MicroVMs:; Docker Sandboxes:
Pause and resume: DigitalOcean MicroVMs:; Docker Sandboxes:

Developer

SDKs: DigitalOcean MicroVMs: Not listed; Docker Sandboxes: JavaScript / TypeScript
Integrations: DigitalOcean MicroVMs: Not listed; Docker Sandboxes: MCP, Claude Code

Trust

License: DigitalOcean MicroVMs: Not listed; Docker Sandboxes: Not listed
BYOC: DigitalOcean MicroVMs: Not listed; Docker Sandboxes: Not listed

Hourly cost

One sandbox running for one hour

Size

DigitalOcean MicroVMs

Docker Sandboxes

1 vCPU · 2 GiB: DigitalOcean MicroVMs: $0.039; Docker Sandboxes: $0.070
2 vCPU · 4 GiB: DigitalOcean MicroVMs: $0.078; Docker Sandboxes: $0.140
4 vCPU · 8 GiB: DigitalOcean MicroVMs: $0.156; Docker Sandboxes: $0.280

Compute only, at list rates.

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Which one fits

Based on the fields above

DigitalOcean MicroVMs fits when

You want the lower list price: $0.078 against $0.140 an hour for 2 vCPU and 4 GiB.

Docker Sandboxes fits when

You use MCP or Claude Code.

More comparisons

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DigitalOcean MicroVMs

Docker Sandboxes

What is different

Full comparison

Pricing

Limits

Platform

Developer

Trust

Hourly cost

Which one fits

DigitalOcean MicroVMs fits when

Docker Sandboxes fits when

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