OpenAI Code Interpreter vs Runtime

OpenAI Code Interpreter bills memory only, at $0.09 per GiB-hour. Runtime costs $0.025 per vCPU-hour. OpenAI Code Interpreter runs containers. Runtime runs Firecracker microVMs and has no session limit.

Updated

OpenAI Code Interpreter

Isolation
Container
Free tier
Not listed
Max session
Not listed

Runtime

Isolation
Firecracker microVM
Free tier
100 hours of a 1 GB machine in the first 30 days
Max session
No limit

What is different

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

OpenAI Code Interpreter
Runtime
RAM, per GiB-hour
OpenAI Code Interpreter: $0.09
Runtime: $0.0075
Billing
OpenAI Code Interpreter: Memory only
Runtime: Active CPU time only
Idle stop
OpenAI Code Interpreter: After 20 minutes
Runtime: After 5 minutes
Isolation
OpenAI Code Interpreter: Container
Runtime: Firecracker microVM
SDKs
OpenAI Code Interpreter: Python, JavaScript / TypeScript, Go, Java, Ruby
Runtime: JavaScript / TypeScript, Python, Go, Ruby, Java
Integrations
OpenAI Code Interpreter: OpenAI Agents SDK
Runtime: OpenAI Agents SDK, Vercel AI SDK, Claude Agent SDK, LangChain, MCP, Claude Code

Full comparison

18 fields, at each provider's list price

Pricing

vCPU, per hour
OpenAI Code Interpreter: Not listed
Runtime: $0.025
RAM, per GiB-hour
OpenAI Code Interpreter: $0.09
Runtime: $0.0075
Storage
OpenAI Code Interpreter: Not listed
Runtime: $0.000119 per GiB-hour after 10 free GiB
Free tier
OpenAI Code Interpreter: Not listed
Runtime: 100 hours of a 1 GB machine in the first 30 days
Paid plan from
OpenAI Code Interpreter: Not listed
Runtime: Pay as you go
Billing
OpenAI Code Interpreter: Memory only
Runtime: Active CPU time only

Limits

Max session
OpenAI Code Interpreter: Not listed
Runtime: No limit
Idle stop
OpenAI Code Interpreter: After 20 minutes
Runtime: After 5 minutes
Largest sandbox
OpenAI Code Interpreter: Not listed
Runtime: 16 vCPU · 64 GiB
Concurrent sandboxes
OpenAI Code Interpreter: Not listed
Runtime: Up to 200

Platform

Isolation
OpenAI Code Interpreter: Container
Runtime: Firecracker microVM
GPU
OpenAI Code Interpreter: Not listed
Runtime: No
Snapshots
OpenAI Code Interpreter: Not listed
Runtime:
Pause and resume
OpenAI Code Interpreter: Not listed
Runtime:

Developer

SDKs
OpenAI Code Interpreter: Python, JavaScript / TypeScript, Go, Java, Ruby
Runtime: JavaScript / TypeScript, Python, Go, Ruby, Java
Integrations
OpenAI Code Interpreter: OpenAI Agents SDK
Runtime: OpenAI Agents SDK, Vercel AI SDK, Claude Agent SDK, LangChain, MCP, Claude Code

Trust

License
OpenAI Code Interpreter: Not listed
Runtime: Not listed
BYOC
OpenAI Code Interpreter: Not listed
Runtime: Not listed

Hourly cost

One sandbox running for one hour

OpenAI Code Interpreter
Runtime
1 vCPU · 2 GiB
OpenAI Code Interpreter: $0.180
Runtime: $0.040
2 vCPU · 4 GiB
OpenAI Code Interpreter: $0.360
Runtime: $0.080
4 vCPU · 8 GiB
OpenAI Code Interpreter: $0.720
Runtime: $0.160

Compute only, at list rates.

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Which one fits

Based on the fields above

OpenAI Code Interpreter fits when

  • You want one rate for memory, with CPU included.
  • You need SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001 and GDPR.

Runtime fits when

  • You want each sandbox in its own microVM.
  • You use the Vercel AI SDK, the Claude Agent SDK, LangChain, MCP or Claude Code.
  • You want the lower list price: $0.080 against $0.360 an hour for 2 vCPU and 4 GiB.
  • You need snapshots.

More comparisons

See all comparisons

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