OpenAI Code Interpreter vs Shardflux

OpenAI Code Interpreter bills memory only, at $0.09 per GiB-hour. Shardflux costs $0.04 per vCPU-hour. OpenAI Code Interpreter runs containers. Shardflux runs Firecracker microVMs and offers GPUs.

Updated Oct 15, 2026

OpenAI Code Interpreter

Sandboxed containers where OpenAI models write and run Python code.

Isolation: Container
Free tier: Not listed
Max session: Not listed

Visit site OpenAI Code Interpreter profile

Shardflux

Serverless VMs for cloud agents that park when idle and keep their state.

Isolation: Firecracker microVM
Free tier: 30-day Pro trial, no card needed
Max session: Not listed

Visit site Shardflux profile

What is different

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

Field

OpenAI Code Interpreter

Shardflux

RAM, per GiB-hour: OpenAI Code Interpreter: $0.09; Shardflux: $0.015
Billing: OpenAI Code Interpreter: Memory only; Shardflux: Active CPU time only
Isolation: OpenAI Code Interpreter: Container; Shardflux: Firecracker microVM
SDKs: OpenAI Code Interpreter: Python, JavaScript, Go, Java, Ruby; Shardflux: TypeScript, Python

Full comparison

18 fields, at each provider's list price

OpenAI Code Interpreterdevelopers.openai.com/api/docs/pricingdevelopers.openai.com

Shardfluxshardflux.dev/#pricingshardflux.dev

Pricing

vCPU, per hour: OpenAI Code Interpreter: Not listed; Shardflux: $0.04
RAM, per GiB-hour: OpenAI Code Interpreter: $0.09; Shardflux: $0.015
Storage: OpenAI Code Interpreter: Not listed; Shardflux: Retained storage is a monthly allowance per plan. No hourly storage rate is published.
Free tier: OpenAI Code Interpreter: Not listed; Shardflux: 30-day Pro trial, no card needed
Paid plan from: OpenAI Code Interpreter: Not listed; Shardflux: $9 / month
Billing: OpenAI Code Interpreter: Memory only; Shardflux: Active CPU time only

Limits

Max session: OpenAI Code Interpreter: Not listed; Shardflux: Not listed
Idle stop: OpenAI Code Interpreter: After 20 minutes; Shardflux: Not listed
Largest sandbox: OpenAI Code Interpreter: Not listed; Shardflux: 32 vCPU · 64 GiB
Concurrent sandboxes: OpenAI Code Interpreter: Not listed; Shardflux: Up to 200

Platform

Isolation: OpenAI Code Interpreter: Container; Shardflux: Firecracker microVM
GPU: OpenAI Code Interpreter: Not listed; Shardflux:
Snapshots: OpenAI Code Interpreter: Not listed; Shardflux:
Pause and resume: OpenAI Code Interpreter: Not listed; Shardflux:

Developer

SDKs: OpenAI Code Interpreter: Python, JavaScript, Go, Java, Ruby; Shardflux: TypeScript, Python
Integrations: OpenAI Code Interpreter: Not listed; Shardflux: Claude Code, MCP

Trust

License: OpenAI Code Interpreter: Not listed; Shardflux: Not listed
BYOC: OpenAI Code Interpreter: Not listed; Shardflux: Not listed

Hourly cost

One sandbox running for one hour

Size

OpenAI Code Interpreter

Shardflux

1 vCPU · 2 GiB: OpenAI Code Interpreter: $0.180; Shardflux: $0.070
2 vCPU · 4 GiB: OpenAI Code Interpreter: $0.360; Shardflux: $0.140
4 vCPU · 8 GiB: OpenAI Code Interpreter: $0.720; Shardflux: $0.280

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.

Shardflux fits when

You need GPUs.
You want each sandbox in its own microVM.
You use Claude Code or MCP.
You want the lower list price: $0.140 against $0.360 an hour for 2 vCPU and 4 GiB.

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OpenAI Code Interpreter

Shardflux

What is different

Full comparison

Pricing

Limits

Platform

Developer

Trust

Hourly cost

Which one fits

OpenAI Code Interpreter fits when

Shardflux fits when

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