Compare / Sandboxes
E2B vs Modal
E2B is cheaper: about $0.17 an hour for 2 vCPU and 4 GiB, against $0.24 on Modal. E2B was faster on a real coding-agent build: 75.9 s against 105.5 s, though the two sandboxes had different CPU counts. E2B isolates more strongly by default, with a microVM with its own kernel. Modal uses gVisor, which intercepts system calls in user space.
At a glance
| E2B | Modal | |
|---|---|---|
| Isolation | Firecracker microVM | gVisor by default, with an optional VM runtime |
| Price | $0.000014 per vCPU-second and $0.0000045 per GiB-second. | Sandboxes are billed at 3x list price per physical core: about $0.142 per core-hour, and one core is two vCPUs (calc). |
| 2 vCPU, 4 GiB for an hour | $0.17 | $0.24 |
| Free tier | One-time $100 credit on the free Hobby plan. Pro is $150 a month plus usage. | $30 a month of credits on the free Starter plan. Team is $250 a month. |
| Longest session | 1 hour on Hobby, 24 hours on Pro. Pausing resets the clock. | Default 5 minutes, up to 24 hours. |
| Largest sandbox | 8 vCPU and 8 GiB (default 2 vCPU, 4 GiB) | Not published |
| 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. | Filesystem snapshots kept 30 days; memory snapshots are in alpha and kept 7 days. |
| Start time (published) | Not published in milliseconds; boots from a snapshot. | Not published. |
| 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. | No self-hosting or bring-your-own-cloud option found. |
| SDKs | Python, JavaScript/TypeScript | Python, JavaScript, Go |
| Real build benchmark | 7 of 7 phases, 75.9 s | 7 of 7 phases, 105.5 s |
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.
- Modal completed all seven phases in 105.5 s on a sandbox reporting 4 CPUs: clone 2.8 s, install 21.9 s, typecheck 64.4 s.
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
- price per hour matters most
- your agents run heavy builds and speed matters
- you want a separate kernel for each sandbox
- 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 Modal if
- you need GPUs inside the sandbox
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 Daytona
- E2B vs Vercel Sandbox
- E2B vs Blaxel
- E2B vs Northflank
- Modal vs Daytona
- Modal vs Vercel Sandbox
Sources
- E2B: E2B pricing
- E2B: E2B persistence docs
- E2B: e2b-dev/infra
- Modal: Modal pricing
- Modal: Modal sandboxes docs
- 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 Modal?
E2B is cheaper. A sandbox with 2 vCPU and 4 GiB running for an hour costs about $0.17 there, against $0.24 on Modal.
Which is faster, E2B or Modal?
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. Modal completed all seven phases in 105.5 s on a sandbox reporting 4 CPUs: clone 2.8 s, install 21.9 s, typecheck 64.4 s. 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 Modal?
E2B. It uses a microVM with its own kernel, while Modal uses gVisor, which intercepts system calls in user space by default.
Can I self-host E2B or Modal?
E2B: Yes. The infrastructure is open source under Apache-2.0, with Terraform for Google Cloud, AWS and Azure, and a single-host option. Modal: No self-hosting or bring-your-own-cloud option found.
Is there an alternative to E2B and Modal 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.