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Alternatives

SPACE alternatives

Answer in brief

The 6 alternatives below are grouped by kind of sandbox, and each says what it does differently from SPACE. Start from whatever made you look: missing GPUs, session limits, self-hosting, pricing or isolation.

By the Agent Sandboxes editors · Updated

Why teams look beyond SPACE

A serious Firecracker control plane for operators comfortable with Kubernetes, with E2B compatibility as the on-ramp.

  • Linux x86_64 hosts with KVM only; the install does not run on macOS
  • No published boot time figures and no hosted version
  • Snapshots, checkpoint and rollback are incubating and hidden by default
  • Only a Python example and the E2B wrapper are documented as client paths; no first-party multi-language SDKs

SPACE alternatives, by kind

Hosted sandbox platforms

SDK-driven sandboxes you create, run code in and destroy through an API.

  • 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.

    Full profile →E2B alternativesWebsite ↗

Open-source runtimes to self-host

Open-source sandbox runtimes you run on your own servers or Kubernetes.

  • Arrakis

    Self-hosted microVM sandbox for agent code execution and computer use, with snapshot-and-restore and a VNC-accessible GUI in every VM.

    • Cloud Hypervisor microVM
    • Open source
    • Self-hostable
    • Snapshots

    How it differs: Self-hosting a GUI-capable microVM sandbox with snapshot/restore for computer-use and code-execution agents. A single-maintainer, AGPL microVM sandbox that stands out for bundling a GUI and snapshot/restore for self-hosters on Linux.

    Full profile →Arrakis alternativesWebsite ↗

  • CubeSandbox

    Tencent Cloud's open-source, E2B-compatible sandbox platform that runs each sandbox in a RustVMM/KVM microVM with copy-on-write snapshots.

    • RustVMM/KVM microVM
    • Open source
    • Self-hostable
    • Pause/resume

    How it differs: Self-hosted, E2B-compatible microVM sandboxes at high density on your own Linux hosts. A fast-moving, well-specified microVM platform for teams that want E2B semantics on their own Linux hosts.

    Full profile →CubeSandbox alternativesWebsite ↗

  • Microsandbox

    Open-source, local-first microVM runtime that gives each sandbox its own Linux kernel, with an optional managed cloud.

    • MicroVM (libkrun)
    • Open source
    • Self-hostable
    • BYOC
    • Snapshots

    How it differs: Self-hosted microVM isolation on developer machines or your own servers. The most approachable way to get microVM-grade isolation locally or self-hosted.

    Full profile →Website ↗

  • OpenSandbox

    Apache-2.0 sandbox runtime for agents that starts on Docker, scales on Kubernetes and offers a Firecracker "Fast Sandbox" with pause/resume.

    • Containers or Firecracker
    • Open source
    • Self-hostable
    • Pause/resume

    How it differs: Teams that want an open, multi-language sandbox API they can run from a laptop Docker daemon up to a Kubernetes cluster. The most broadly supported open sandbox API of this batch, with real microVM isolation available once you are on Kubernetes.

    Full profile →OpenSandbox alternativesWebsite ↗

Isolation primitives and runtimes

The hypervisors, user-space kernels, OS sandboxes and WebAssembly runtimes that sandbox platforms build on.

  • Firecracker

    The KVM-based microVM monitor from AWS that underpins Lambda and Fargate, and the sandboxes of E2B, Vercel, Fly.io, Koyeb and Northflank.

    • KVM microVM
    • Open source
    • Self-hostable
    • Pause/resume

    How it differs: Building your own microVM sandbox fleet on Linux hosts with KVM. The reference microVM primitive for sandbox platforms; choose it when you are building a platform rather than consuming one.

    Full profile →Firecracker alternativesWebsite ↗

SPACE vs alternatives

SandboxIsolationOpen sourceSelf-host / BYOCCold start (vendor)Max sessionSnapshots / pauseGPUSDKs
SPACEFirecracker microVMYesYes / NoNot documented6 h idle suspendYes / YesNot documentedPython, REST API, CLI
ArrakisCloud Hypervisor microVMYesYes / NoNot documentedNot documentedYes / Not documentedNot documentedPython, REST API, CLI, MCP server
CubeSandboxRustVMM/KVM microVMYesYes / No<60 ms (claimed)Not documentedYes / YesNoPython, JavaScript/TypeScript, Go, REST API, CLI
E2BFirecracker microVMYesYes / YesNot documented1 h / 24 h (Pro)Yes / YesNoPython, JavaScript/TypeScript
FirecrackerKVM microVMYesYes / No<125 ms (spec)Not documentedYes / YesNoREST API, CLI
MicrosandboxMicroVM (libkrun)YesYes / Yes<100 msNot documentedYes / Not documentedNoTypeScript, Python, Rust, Go, Ruby, CLI, MCP server
OpenSandboxContainers or FirecrackerYesYes / No64 ms P50 (claimed)Not documentedNot documented / YesNot documentedPython, JavaScript/TypeScript, Java, Kotlin, Go, C#, CLI, MCP server, REST API

Frequently asked questions

What are the main alternatives to SPACE?
Arrakis, CubeSandbox, E2B, Firecracker, Microsandbox, OpenSandbox. Which one fits depends on what you need that SPACE does not offer; each entry above explains how it differs.
Is there an open-source alternative to SPACE?

Cite this page

Agent Sandboxes. (2026). SPACE alternatives. agentsandboxes.org. Last reviewed November 9, 2026. https://agentsandboxes.org/alternatives/perplexity-space/

Found an error or a missing sandbox? Submit a correction — every entry links to the sources it relies on.