Compare / Sandboxes
Modal vs Northflank
Northflank is cheaper: about $0.067 an hour for 2 vCPU and 4 GiB, against $0.24 on Modal. Modal finished the latest build benchmark; Northflank didn't. Northflank 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 | Northflank | |
|---|---|---|
| Isolation | gVisor by default, with an optional VM runtime | MicroVM for CPU sandboxes, gVisor for GPU sandboxes |
| Price | Sandboxes are billed at 3x list price per physical core: about $0.142 per core-hour, and one core is two vCPUs (calc). | $0.01667 per vCPU-hour and $0.00833 per GB-hour. In your own cloud (BYOC), $0.02083 per node vCPU-hour and memory isn't billed. |
| 2 vCPU, 4 GiB for an hour | $0.24 | $0.067 |
| Free tier | $30 a month of credits on the free Starter plan. Team is $250 a month. | A free Sandbox tier with up to $20 a month of resources, no card needed. |
| Longest session | Default 5 minutes, up to 24 hours. | No time limits; sandboxes run until deleted. |
| Largest sandbox | Not published | Plans listed up to 8 vCPU and 16 GB, with custom plans available |
| Pause and persistence | Filesystem snapshots kept 30 days; memory snapshots are in alpha and kept 7 days. | Ephemeral by default, with volumes up to 64 TB and pause and resume. |
| Start time (published) | Not published. | Under 1 s; 0.8 s with a cached image. |
| GPUs | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosting | No self-hosting or bring-your-own-cloud option found. | Bring your own cloud on AWS, Google Cloud, Azure, Oracle or bare metal; enterprise customers can self-host the control plane. |
| SDKs | Python, JavaScript, Go | JavaScript, Python, plus REST and CLI |
| 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.
- Northflank completed 0 of 7 phases; the benchmark's account was disabled, 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 sandbox that completed the latest real build benchmark
Choose Northflank if
- price per hour matters most
- you want a separate kernel for each sandbox
- your agents run for longer than 24 hours
- you may need to run it in your own cloud or data center
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 Northflank
- Modal vs Daytona
- Modal vs Vercel Sandbox
- Modal vs Blaxel
- Daytona vs Northflank
Sources
- Modal: Modal pricing
- Modal: Modal sandboxes docs
- Northflank: Northflank pricing
- Northflank: Northflank sandboxes
- 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 Northflank?
Northflank is cheaper. A sandbox with 2 vCPU and 4 GiB running for an hour costs about $0.067 there, against $0.24 on Modal.
Which is faster, Modal or Northflank?
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. Northflank completed 0 of 7 phases; the benchmark's account was disabled, 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 Northflank?
Northflank. 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 Northflank?
Modal: No self-hosting or bring-your-own-cloud option found. Northflank: Bring your own cloud on AWS, Google Cloud, Azure, Oracle or bare metal; enterprise customers can self-host the control plane.
Is there an alternative to Modal and Northflank 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.