Compare / Sandboxes
Modal vs Daytona
Daytona is cheaper: about $0.17 an hour for 2 vCPU and 4 GiB, against $0.24 on Modal. Modal finished the latest build benchmark; Daytona didn't. Modal isolates more strongly by default, with gVisor, which intercepts system calls in user space. Daytona uses a shared-kernel container.
At a glance
| Modal | Daytona | |
|---|---|---|
| Isolation | gVisor by default, with an optional VM runtime | Linux container by default, with optional VM, Windows, macOS and GPU runtimes |
| Price | Sandboxes are billed at 3x list price per physical core: about $0.142 per core-hour, and one core is two vCPUs (calc). | Disk is $0.000108 per GiB-hour after 5 GiB free. |
| 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. | $200 of free compute, no card needed. |
| Longest session | Default 5 minutes, up to 24 hours. | No time limit by default. Idle sandboxes auto-stop after 15 minutes and archive after 7 days. |
| Largest sandbox | Not published | 4 vCPU, 8 GB and 10 GB disk per organization by default |
| Pause and persistence | Filesystem snapshots kept 30 days; memory snapshots are in alpha and kept 7 days. | Stopping keeps files but clears memory; archived sandboxes move to object storage. |
| Start time (published) | Not published. | Under 90 ms advertised (container runtime). |
| GPUs | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosting | No self-hosting or bring-your-own-cloud option found. | Enterprise bring-your-own-cloud only. The open-source repository was archived on 3 October 2026. |
| SDKs | Python, JavaScript, Go | TypeScript, Python, Ruby, Go, Java |
| Real build benchmark | 7 of 7 phases, 105.5 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:
- 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.
- 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 Modal if
- you want a separate kernel for each sandbox
- you want a sandbox that completed the latest real build benchmark
Choose Daytona if
- price per hour matters most
- 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 Daytona
- Modal vs Vercel Sandbox
- Modal vs Blaxel
- Modal vs Northflank
- Daytona vs Vercel Sandbox
Sources
- Modal: Modal pricing
- Modal: Modal sandboxes docs
- 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 Modal cheaper than Daytona?
Daytona 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 Daytona?
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. 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, Modal or Daytona?
Modal. It uses gVisor, which intercepts system calls in user space, while Daytona uses a shared-kernel container by default.
Can I self-host Modal or Daytona?
Modal: No self-hosting or bring-your-own-cloud option found. Daytona: Enterprise bring-your-own-cloud only. The open-source repository was archived on 3 October 2026.
Is there an alternative to Modal 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.