Docker Sandboxes vs Shellbox

Docker Sandboxes costs $0.07 per vCPU-hour and Shellbox costs $0.01 per vCPU-hour. Docker Sandboxes runs microVMs and limits a session to 24 hours. Shellbox runs Firecracker microVMs and has no session limit.

Updated

Docker Sandboxes

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

Shellbox

Isolation
Firecracker microVM
Free tier
Not listed
Max session
No limit

What is different

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

Docker Sandboxes
Shellbox
vCPU, per hour
Docker Sandboxes: $0.07
Shellbox: $0.01
Storage
Docker Sandboxes: Free
Shellbox: A stopped box costs $0.50 per x1 slot per month
Max session
Docker Sandboxes: 24 hours
Shellbox: No limit
Concurrent sandboxes
Docker Sandboxes: Up to 10
Shellbox: Up to 16
Isolation
Docker Sandboxes: MicroVM
Shellbox: Firecracker microVM
Integrations
Docker Sandboxes: MCP, Claude Code
Shellbox: Claude Code

Full comparison

18 fields, at each provider's list price

Pricing

vCPU, per hour
Docker Sandboxes: $0.07
Shellbox: $0.01
RAM, per GiB-hour
Docker Sandboxes: Included
Shellbox: Included
Storage
Docker Sandboxes: Free
Shellbox: A stopped box costs $0.50 per x1 slot per month
Free tier
Docker Sandboxes: $25 credit, one time
Shellbox: Not listed
Paid plan from
Docker Sandboxes: Pay as you go
Shellbox: Pay as you go
Billing
Docker Sandboxes: Bundled machine time
Shellbox: Bundled machine time

Limits

Max session
Docker Sandboxes: 24 hours
Shellbox: No limit
Idle stop
Docker Sandboxes: Not listed
Shellbox: After 2 minutes
Largest sandbox
Docker Sandboxes: 16 vCPU · 32 GiB
Shellbox: 16 vCPU · 32 GiB
Concurrent sandboxes
Docker Sandboxes: Up to 10
Shellbox: Up to 16

Platform

Isolation
Docker Sandboxes: MicroVM
Shellbox: Firecracker microVM
GPU
Docker Sandboxes: Not listed
Shellbox: Not listed
Snapshots
Docker Sandboxes:
Shellbox:
Pause and resume
Docker Sandboxes:
Shellbox:

Developer

SDKs
Docker Sandboxes: JavaScript / TypeScript
Shellbox: Not listed
Integrations
Docker Sandboxes: MCP, Claude Code
Shellbox: Claude Code

Trust

License
Docker Sandboxes: Not listed
Shellbox: Not listed
BYOC
Docker Sandboxes: Not listed
Shellbox: Not listed

Hourly cost

One sandbox running for one hour

Docker Sandboxes
Shellbox
1 vCPU · 2 GiB
Docker Sandboxes: $0.070
Shellbox: $0.010
2 vCPU · 4 GiB
Docker Sandboxes: $0.140
Shellbox: $0.020
4 vCPU · 8 GiB
Docker Sandboxes: $0.280
Shellbox: $0.040

Compute only, at list rates.

Open the calculator

Which one fits

Based on the fields above

Docker Sandboxes fits when

  • You use MCP.
  • You need SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001 and GDPR.

Shellbox fits when

  • A session must run longer than 24 hours.
  • You want the lower list price: $0.020 against $0.140 an hour for 2 vCPU and 4 GiB.

More comparisons

See all comparisons

Related