Depot Sandboxes alternatives
The 6 alternatives below are grouped by kind of sandbox, and each says what it does differently from Depot Sandboxes. Start from whatever made you look: missing GPUs, session limits, self-hosting, pricing or isolation.
Why teams look beyond Depot Sandboxes
A sensible add-on for Depot CI customers, less compelling as a standalone sandbox given the file-only snapshots and limited SDK coverage.
- Snapshots save files only; no memory snapshots, pause or restart of stopped sandboxes
- TypeScript-only SDK, and it was private beta at announcement
- Hypervisor, regions and compliance not documented
- No free tier beyond a 7-day trial
Depot Sandboxes alternatives, by kind
Hosted sandbox platforms
SDK-driven sandboxes you create, run code in and destroy through an API.
Blaxel
Perpetual microVM sandboxes for AI agents that drop to standby when idle and resume with memory intact, plus volumes, batch jobs and MCP hosting.
- MicroVM
- BYOC
- Pause/resume
How it differs: Always-available agents that sit idle most of the time and need near-instant resume. A strong design for always-on, mostly-idle agents; watch how the Baseten acquisition shapes the roadmap.
Docker Cloud Sandboxes
The cloud counterpart to Docker's local agent sandboxes: the same `sbx` CLI and Kits running microVMs on Docker-managed compute, metered per second under the experimental Docker Agentic Platform.
- MicroVM, own kernel
- Pause/resume
How it differs: Developers already using Docker Sandboxes locally who want the same policies and Kits when a run must outlive the laptop. A natural step up for Docker Sandboxes users, but an experimental platform without public pricing for anyone choosing a sandbox from scratch.
E2B
Open-source cloud sandboxes for AI agents, each a Firecracker microVM, with pause/resume, snapshots and forking.
- Firecracker microVM
- Open source
- Self-hostable
- BYOC
- Pause/resume
How it differs: Code interpreters and short-to-medium-lived agent tasks that need microVM isolation, with an open-source self-host path. The safe default for most agent builders: mature, open source, microVM-isolated and widely supported.
Compute platforms with sandboxes
General serverless or app platforms that also offer sandboxes, often with GPUs.
Modal Sandboxes
Sandboxes on Modal’s serverless compute platform for running untrusted code at very high scale, with GPUs, snapshots and tunnels.
- gVisor or VM
- GPU
- Pause/resume
How it differs: High-concurrency and GPU-backed sandboxes — RL rollouts, evals and coding agents at scale. The best fit when scale or GPUs matter most, especially for teams already on Modal.
Namespace
Isolated Linux, macOS and Windows VM instances and persistent Devboxes on a developer-compute cloud, with an SDK, egress policy and SOC 2 Type II.
- KVM virtual machine
- Pause/resume
How it differs: Teams that want macOS, Windows and Linux VMs for agents and CI from one SDK, plus persistent Devboxes for coding agents. A CI-grade compute cloud whose VMs and Devboxes suit teams needing macOS or Windows and compliance more than minimal per-sandbox cost.
Railway Sandboxes
On-demand Linux VMs inside a Railway environment with forks, checkpoints, Docker, private networking to your services and per-second billing; generally available since September 2026.
- Linux VM
- Snapshots
How it differs: Coding agents and test runs that need to reach your Railway databases and services over the private network. The natural sandbox for teams already deploying on Railway, strongest when agents need private-network access to existing services.
Depot Sandboxes vs alternatives
| Sandbox | Isolation | Open source | Self-host / BYOC | Cold start (vendor) | Max session | Snapshots / pause | GPU | SDKs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Depot Sandboxes | MicroVM on bare metal | No | No / Yes | Not documented | 2 h default timeout | Yes / No | Not documented | JavaScript/TypeScript, CLI |
| Blaxel | MicroVM | No | No / Yes | <25 ms resume | Unlimited (standby) | Yes / Yes | Not documented | TypeScript, Python, Go |
| Docker Cloud Sandboxes | MicroVM, own kernel | No | No / No | ~100s of ms (claim) | 1 h default TTL | Yes / Yes | No | CLI, JavaScript/TypeScript, REST API |
| E2B | Firecracker microVM | Yes | Yes / Yes | Not documented | 1 h / 24 h (Pro) | Yes / Yes | No | Python, JavaScript/TypeScript |
| Modal Sandboxes | gVisor or VM | No | No / Not documented | <1 s | Up to 24 h | Yes / Yes | Yes | Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, Go |
| Namespace | KVM virtual machine | No | No / No | Not documented | Deadline-based; Devbox 3-24 h | Yes / Yes | Not documented | JavaScript/TypeScript, Go, CLI, MCP server, gRPC/Connect API |
| Railway Sandboxes | Linux VM | No | No / No | Not documented | No cap (idle 30 min default) | Yes / No | Not documented | JavaScript/TypeScript, CLI, GraphQL API |
Frequently asked questions
What are the main alternatives to Depot Sandboxes?
Is there an open-source alternative to Depot Sandboxes?
Cite this page
Agent Sandboxes. (2026). Depot Sandboxes alternatives. agentsandboxes.org. Last reviewed November 9, 2026. https://agentsandboxes.org/alternatives/depot-sandboxes/
Found an error or a missing sandbox? Submit a correction — every entry links to the sources it relies on.