Compare / Sandboxes
Modal vs Blaxel
Blaxel is cheaper: about $0.17 an hour for 2 vCPU and 4 GiB, against $0.24 on Modal. Blaxel was faster on a real coding-agent build: 53.0 s against 105.5 s, though the two sandboxes had different CPU counts. Blaxel 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
| Modal | Blaxel | |
|---|---|---|
| Isolation | gVisor by default, with an optional VM runtime | MicroVM, no shared kernel |
| Price | Sandboxes are billed at 3x list price per physical core: about $0.142 per core-hour, and one core is two vCPUs (calc). | $0.0000115 per GB of memory per second, with CPU included and scaled to memory (calc). Standby is free; snapshots cost $0.20 per GB-month. |
| 2 vCPU, 4 GiB for an hour | $0.24 | $0.17 |
| Free tier | $30 a month of credits on the free Starter plan. Team is $250 a month. | Up to $200 of credits on pay-as-you-go. |
| Longest session | Default 5 minutes, up to 24 hours. | No default expiry. 7 days on Tier 0, 30 days on Tier 1, no limit on higher tiers. |
| Largest sandbox | Not published | Not published on standard plans (examples: 8 GB gets 4 cores, 16 GB gets 6 cores) |
| Pause and persistence | Filesystem snapshots kept 30 days; memory snapshots are in alpha and kept 7 days. | Standby keeps memory and files and resumes in about 25 ms; archive keeps files only. |
| Start time (published) | Not published. | Fresh microVM in under a second; resume in about 25 ms. |
| GPUs | Yes | Not stated |
| Self-hosting | No self-hosting or bring-your-own-cloud option found. | No full self-hosting. Bring-your-own-metal is available, but Blaxel always runs the control plane. |
| SDKs | Python, JavaScript, Go | TypeScript, Python, Go |
| Real build benchmark | 7 of 7 phases, 105.5 s | 7 of 7 phases, 53.0 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:
- 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.
- Blaxel completed all seven phases in 53.0 s on a sandbox reporting 8 CPUs and about 16 GiB: clone 6.1 s, install 12.4 s, typecheck 25.3 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 Modal if
- you need GPUs inside the sandbox
Choose Blaxel if
- price per hour matters most
- your agents run heavy builds and speed matters
- you want a separate kernel for each sandbox
- your agents run for longer than 24 hours
- you need pause and resume that keeps memory, not just files
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 Blaxel
- Modal vs Daytona
- Modal vs Vercel Sandbox
- Modal vs Northflank
- Daytona vs Blaxel
Sources
- Modal: Modal pricing
- Modal: Modal sandboxes docs
- Blaxel: Blaxel pricing
- Blaxel: Blaxel sandbox 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 Modal cheaper than Blaxel?
Blaxel 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, Modal or Blaxel?
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. Blaxel completed all seven phases in 53.0 s on a sandbox reporting 8 CPUs and about 16 GiB: clone 6.1 s, install 12.4 s, typecheck 25.3 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, Modal or Blaxel?
Blaxel. 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 Modal or Blaxel?
Modal: No self-hosting or bring-your-own-cloud option found. Blaxel: No full self-hosting. Bring-your-own-metal is available, but Blaxel always runs the control plane.
Is there an alternative to Modal and Blaxel 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.