InstaVM vs Shellbox

InstaVM costs $0.0504 per vCPU-hour and Shellbox costs $0.01 per vCPU-hour. InstaVM runs Firecracker microVMs. Shellbox runs Firecracker microVMs and has no session limit.

Updated Oct 23, 2026

InstaVM

Hardware-isolated microVMs for AI agent code.

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

Visit site InstaVM 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

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

Field

InstaVM

Shellbox

vCPU, per hour: InstaVM: $0.0504; Shellbox: $0.01
RAM, per GiB-hour: InstaVM: $0.0162; Shellbox: Included
Storage: InstaVM: $0.0002 per GiB-hour after 10 free GiB; Shellbox: A stopped box costs $0.50 per x1 slot per month
Paid plan from: InstaVM: $100 / month; Shellbox: Pay as you go
Billing: InstaVM: Per second; Shellbox: Bundled machine time
Concurrent sandboxes: InstaVM: Up to 100; Shellbox: Up to 16
Integrations: InstaVM: Claude Code, OpenAI Agents SDK; Shellbox: Claude Code

Full comparison

18 fields, at each provider's list price

InstaVMinstavm.io/pricing

Shellboxshellbox.dev/#pricingshellbox.dev

Pricing

vCPU, per hour: InstaVM: $0.0504; Shellbox: $0.01
RAM, per GiB-hour: InstaVM: $0.0162; Shellbox: Included
Storage: InstaVM: $0.0002 per GiB-hour after 10 free GiB; Shellbox: A stopped box costs $0.50 per x1 slot per month
Free tier: InstaVM: $50 credit; Shellbox: Not listed
Paid plan from: InstaVM: $100 / month; Shellbox: Pay as you go
Billing: InstaVM: Per second; Shellbox: Bundled machine time

Limits

Max session: InstaVM: Not listed; Shellbox: No limit
Idle stop: InstaVM: Not listed; Shellbox: After 2 minutes
Largest sandbox: InstaVM: Not listed; Shellbox: 16 vCPU · 32 GiB
Concurrent sandboxes: InstaVM: Up to 100; Shellbox: Up to 16

Platform

Isolation: InstaVM: Firecracker microVM; Shellbox: Firecracker microVM
GPU: InstaVM: Not listed; Shellbox: Not listed
Snapshots: InstaVM:; Shellbox:
Pause and resume: InstaVM:; Shellbox:

Developer

SDKs: InstaVM: Python, TypeScript; Shellbox: Not listed
Integrations: InstaVM: Claude Code, OpenAI Agents SDK; Shellbox: Claude Code

Trust

License: InstaVM: Not listed; Shellbox: Not listed
BYOC: InstaVM: Not listed; Shellbox: Not listed

Hourly cost

One sandbox running for one hour

Size

InstaVM

Shellbox

1 vCPU · 2 GiB: InstaVM: $0.083; Shellbox: $0.010
2 vCPU · 4 GiB: InstaVM: $0.166; Shellbox: $0.020
4 vCPU · 8 GiB: InstaVM: $0.331; Shellbox: $0.040

Compute only, at list rates.

Open the calculator

Which one fits

Based on the fields above

InstaVM fits when

You use the OpenAI Agents SDK.
You need a desktop in the sandbox.
You need SOC 2 Type II.

Shellbox fits when

You want to pay only for usage, with no plan fee.
You want the lower list price: $0.020 against $0.166 an hour for 2 vCPU and 4 GiB.

More comparisons

See all comparisons

InstaVM

Shellbox

What is different

Full comparison

Pricing

Limits

Platform

Developer

Trust

Hourly cost

Which one fits

InstaVM fits when

Shellbox fits when

More comparisons

Related

Compare

Pricing

Browse