Microsandbox vs E2B
Choose Microsandbox for self-hosted microVM isolation on developer machines or your own servers; choose E2B for code interpreters and short-to-medium-lived agent tasks that need microVM isolation, with an open-source self-host path. Microsandbox uses MicroVM (libkrun) isolation and is open source; E2B uses Firecracker microVM isolation and is open source.
Microsandbox vs E2B at a glance
| Attribute | Microsandbox | E2B |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Open-source, local-first microVM runtime that gives each sandbox its own Linux kernel, with an optional managed cloud. | Open-source cloud sandboxes for AI agents, each a Firecracker microVM, with pause/resume, snapshots and forking. |
| Isolation | Hardware-virtualized microVMs built on libkrun; requires KVM on Linux, Apple Silicon on macOS or Windows Hypervisor Platform | Firecracker microVM with its own kernel per sandbox |
| Open source | Yes (Apache-2.0) | Yes (Apache-2.0) |
| Self-host / BYOC | Yes / Yes | Yes / Yes |
| SDKs | TypeScript, Python, Rust, Go, Ruby, CLI, MCP server | Python, JavaScript/TypeScript |
| Cold start (vendor claim) | README: average boot under 100 ms (measured on an M1 machine) | Not documented |
| Max session | Not documented | Up to 1 hour continuous (Hobby), 24 hours (Pro) or custom (Enterprise); pausing resets the clock and paused sandboxes are kept until deleted |
| Persistence | Volumes, snapshots and forking; detached sandboxes | Pause/resume preserves filesystem and memory; snapshots of running sandboxes, forking from a snapshot, filesystem-only snapshots, auto-resume and volumes (beta) |
| GPU | No | No — sandboxes are CPU-only |
| Networking | Network policy with hostname allowlists, port rules and private-network/metadata blocking; secrets substituted via placeholders so keys never enter the VM | Internet on by default; can be disabled or restricted with allow/deny lists of IPs, CIDRs and domains; public sandbox URLs for exposed ports; custom domains and published egress IPs |
| Pricing | Free to self-host. Managed cloud (private beta): Free (5 compute-hours), Builder $49/mo (500 h), Teams $299/mo (2,000 h) | Per second: $0.000014 per vCPU-second (~$0.050/vCPU-hour) + $0.0000045 per GiB-second (~$0.016/GiB-hour). Pro plan $150/month plus usage; Enterprise from $3,000/month |
| Compliance | Not documented | SOC 2 Type II; HIPAA BAA and DPA available on request |
| Best for | Self-hosted microVM isolation on developer machines or your own servers | Code interpreters and short-to-medium-lived agent tasks that need microVM isolation, with an open-source self-host path |
Verified November 8, 2026 from each provider’s documentation. Cold-start figures are vendor claims, not our measurements.
Which should you choose?
Choose Microsandbox if…
- You want microVM isolation on your own laptop or servers
- You want secrets kept out of the VM via placeholder substitution
- You want SDKs beyond Python and TypeScript
Choose E2B if…
- You want the most widely integrated agent sandbox, with a large ecosystem of examples
- You need Firecracker microVM isolation for untrusted multi-tenant code
- You want an open-source codebase you can self-host or run via BYOC
- You want ready-made code-interpreter and desktop SDKs
Both are worth piloting with your own image and region. See the full Microsandbox profile and E2B profile, or the complete comparison.
Frequently asked questions
Is Microsandbox or E2B better for AI agents?
Which is open source, Microsandbox or E2B?
How do Microsandbox and E2B isolate code?
Sources
Cite this page
Agent Sandboxes. (2026). Microsandbox vs E2B. agentsandboxes.org. Last reviewed November 8, 2026. https://agentsandboxes.org/compare/microsandbox-vs-e2b/
Found an error or a missing sandbox? Submit a correction — every entry links to the sources it relies on.