Best Runloop alternatives
The strongest Runloop alternatives are Freestyle, Modal Sandboxes, Daytona. Runloop is shutting down, so these are ranked by how closely they match its devbox model and how easy a migration is. Pick based on what you need that Runloop does not offer — see the reasons under each entry.
Why teams look beyond Runloop
Runloop is winding down its services. Per its documentation, transition support for existing customers continues through November 13, 2026, 11:59 PM PT, and its docs include migration guides to Tensorlake, Modal and Freestyle. Not recommended for new projects.
- Service is winding down; support ends November 13, 2026
- Not suitable for new projects
Runloop alternatives, ranked
Freestyle
Full Linux VMs for AI agents with live forking of running VMs, memory-preserving hibernation, VPCs and nested virtualization.
- VM
- Pause/resume
Why it’s here: Long-running coding agents that need full VMs — Docker, nested virtualization — with fork and hibernate. The most capable “real VM” for agents, with live forking; a strong pick for complex coding agents.
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
Why it’s here: 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.
Daytona
Stateful sandboxes for AI-generated code — Linux containers, Linux and Windows VMs, macOS and GPU sandboxes — with snapshots, volumes and preview URLs.
- Containers or VMs
- BYOC
- GPU
- Pause/resume
Why it’s here: Long-lived, stateful agent workspaces that need many SDK languages, GPUs, or Windows and macOS sandboxes. The strongest choice for stateful coding-agent workspaces and breadth of sandbox types; note the shift away from open source.
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
Why it’s here: 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.
Fly.io Sprites
Persistent, hardware-isolated Linux computers for AI agents with a durable 100 GB disk, checkpoints, and no compute charges while idle.
- MicroVM
- Pause/resume
Why it’s here: Long-running, stateful agent computers that should cost nothing while idle. The most natural “persistent computer per agent” model, with idle-free billing.
Morph Cloud
VM-based cloud computers for AI agents built on “Infinibranch” snapshot, branch and restore, plus persistent Devboxes.
- VM
- Pause/resume
Why it’s here: Workloads that branch a running environment many times — parallel search, RL and evaluation rollouts. Purpose-built for branching workloads; a specialist pick for search, RL and evals.
Runloop vs alternatives
| Sandbox | Isolation | Open source | Self-host / BYOC | Cold start (vendor) | Max session | Snapshots / pause | GPU | SDKs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runloop | MicroVM | No | No / Yes | 10 GB image in under 2 s (vendor claim) | 1 hour default, configurable | Yes / Yes | Yes | Python, TypeScript |
| Freestyle | VM | No | No / Not documented | 65 ms | Unlimited (paid) | Yes / Yes | Not documented | TypeScript |
| Modal Sandboxes | gVisor or VM | No | No / Not documented | <1 s | Up to 24 h | Yes / Yes | Yes | Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, Go |
| Daytona | Containers or VMs | No | Not documented / Yes | <90 ms | Unlimited | Yes / Yes | Yes | Python, TypeScript, Ruby, Go, Java |
| E2B | Firecracker microVM | Yes | Yes / Yes | Not documented | 1 h / 24 h (Pro) | Yes / Yes | No | Python, JavaScript/TypeScript |
| Fly.io Sprites | MicroVM | No | No / No | 0.1–2 s wake | Unlimited | Yes / Yes | No | JavaScript/TypeScript, Go, Python, Elixir |
| Morph Cloud | VM | No | No / Not documented | <250 ms (restore) | Configurable | Yes / Yes | Not documented | Python, TypeScript |
Frequently asked questions
What is the best alternative to Runloop?
Is there an open-source alternative to Runloop?
Cite this page
Agent Sandboxes. (2026). Best Runloop alternatives. agentsandboxes.org. Last reviewed November 8, 2026. https://agentsandboxes.org/alternatives/runloop/
Found an error or a missing sandbox? Submit a correction — every entry links to the sources it relies on.