Compare / Sandboxes
E2B vs Daytona
E2B and Daytona charge the same per vCPU and per GiB. E2B finished the latest build benchmark; Daytona didn't. E2B isolates more strongly by default, with a microVM with its own kernel. Daytona uses a shared-kernel container.
At a glance
| E2B | Daytona | |
|---|---|---|
| Isolation | Firecracker microVM | Linux container by default, with optional VM, Windows, macOS and GPU runtimes |
| Price | $0.000014 per vCPU-second and $0.0000045 per GiB-second. | Disk is $0.000108 per GiB-hour after 5 GiB free. |
| 2 vCPU, 4 GiB for an hour | $0.17 | $0.17 |
| Free tier | One-time $100 credit on the free Hobby plan. Pro is $150 a month plus usage. | $200 of free compute, no card needed. |
| Longest session | 1 hour on Hobby, 24 hours on Pro. Pausing resets the clock. | No time limit by default. Idle sandboxes auto-stop after 15 minutes and archive after 7 days. |
| Largest sandbox | 8 vCPU and 8 GiB (default 2 vCPU, 4 GiB) | 4 vCPU, 8 GB and 10 GB disk per organization by default |
| Pause and persistence | Pause keeps memory and files, about 4 s per GiB to pause and 1 s to resume. Paused sandboxes are kept indefinitely. | Stopping keeps files but clears memory; archived sandboxes move to object storage. |
| Start time (published) | Not published in milliseconds; boots from a snapshot. | Under 90 ms advertised (container runtime). |
| GPUs | No | Yes |
| Self-hosting | Yes. The infrastructure is open source under Apache-2.0, with Terraform for Google Cloud, AWS and Azure, and a single-host option. | Enterprise bring-your-own-cloud only. The open-source repository was archived on 3 October 2026. |
| SDKs | Python, JavaScript/TypeScript | TypeScript, Python, Ruby, Go, Java |
| Real build benchmark | 7 of 7 phases, 75.9 s | 0 of 7 phases |
On a real coding-agent build
The open-source ComputeSDK sandbox-dax benchmark runs OpenCode's provider benchmark in each sandbox: install packages and Bun, clone OpenCode, bun install, then bun typecheck. Results from the run of 30 October 2026:
- E2B completed all seven phases in 75.9 s on a sandbox reporting 8 CPUs and about 16 GiB: clone 3.0 s, install 17.2 s, typecheck 40.8 s.
- Daytona completed 0 of 7 phases; the run hit an API error, so this says nothing about speed.
Each provider is one run, and sandboxes report different CPU counts, so treat small gaps as noise. For what this build needs from a sandbox, and what isolation costs, see our benchmark write-up.
Which should you choose?
Choose E2B if
- you want a separate kernel for each sandbox
- you want a sandbox that completed the latest real build benchmark
- you need pause and resume that keeps memory, not just files
- you may need to run it in your own cloud or data center
Choose Daytona if
- you need GPUs inside the sandbox
- your agents run for longer than 24 hours
If neither fits because your code and API keys must stay on your own hardware, Hotcell runs sandboxes on machines you control, and Directionally Local sets it up with the Autopilot coding agent harness in one command. More options: E2B alternatives.
More comparisons
- E2B vs Modal
- E2B vs Vercel Sandbox
- E2B vs Blaxel
- E2B vs Northflank
- Modal vs Daytona
- Daytona vs Vercel Sandbox
Sources
- E2B: E2B pricing
- E2B: E2B persistence docs
- E2B: e2b-dev/infra
- Daytona: Daytona pricing
- Daytona: Daytona sandboxes docs
- Daytona: daytonaio/daytona (archived)
- Benchmark: ComputeSDK sandbox-dax results
Prices change often. We check them by hand and the benchmark refreshes on every build; if something here is out of date, tell us.
FAQs
Is E2B cheaper than Daytona?
They charge the same rates per vCPU and per GiB. A sandbox with 2 vCPU and 4 GiB costs about $0.17 an hour on either.
Which is faster, E2B or Daytona?
E2B completed all seven phases in 75.9 s on a sandbox reporting 8 CPUs and about 16 GiB: clone 3.0 s, install 17.2 s, typecheck 40.8 s. Daytona completed 0 of 7 phases; the run hit an API error, so this says nothing about speed. The workload is OpenCode's provider benchmark: clone, bun install and typecheck. Results are from ComputeSDK's run of 30 October 2026, one run each.
Which has stronger isolation, E2B or Daytona?
E2B. It uses a microVM with its own kernel, while Daytona uses a shared-kernel container by default.
Can I self-host E2B or Daytona?
E2B: Yes. The infrastructure is open source under Apache-2.0, with Terraform for Google Cloud, AWS and Azure, and a single-host option. Daytona: Enterprise bring-your-own-cloud only. The open-source repository was archived on 3 October 2026.
Is there an alternative to E2B and Daytona that runs on my own hardware?
Yes. Hotcell is an open-source sandbox runtime (Apache-2.0) that runs Docker containers, Firecracker microVMs or Apple Virtualization microVMs on your own machines. Real API keys stay on the host, and each sandbox gets a short-lived, spend-capped token. Directionally Local sets it up together with the Autopilot coding agent harness with one command.