Cloud sandboxes, measured

Oct 22 – Nov 9, 2026 · 10 providers (11 configs) · 2 caller locations: Florida, US & Frankfurt, DE · 100 runs per main test, 20 per location test

Caller locations:All locations (EU-Central vs US-East)EU-Central · Frankfurt, DE US-East · Florida, USUS-West · soon

Oct 22 – Nov 9, 2026 · 10 providers (11 configs) · 2 caller locations: Florida, US & Frankfurt, DE · 100 runs per main test, 20 per location test

Caller locations:All locations (EU-Central vs US-East)EU-Central · Frankfurt, DE US-East · Florida, USUS-West · soon

Fastest cold start0.30sboxd
Fastest agent work12sModal
Lowest verified fix-and-test cost, per 1,000$12.06Upstash Boxcompute verified (billed, settled); disk estimatedPilot · 5 runs · lower unverified costs exist
Fastest snapshot start0.46sboxd
Fastest resume0.13sboxd

Fastest cold start0.28sboxd
Fastest agent work11sModal
Lowest verified fix-and-test cost, per 1,000$5.94Upstash Boxcompute verified (billed, settled); disk estimatedPilot · 5 runs · lower unverified costs exist
Fastest snapshot start0.38sboxd
Fastest resume0.13sboxd

Upstash appears twice: Box can pause; Ephemeral Box starts in 0.68 s but can't pause.

By location

How network distance changes latency: the same tests run from EU-Central (Frankfurt) and US-East (Florida).

Cold start by caller location

Median time from each caller location · Colored bar marks the faster location · Lower is better

Oct 26 – Nov 9, 2026 · 5–20 runs per test

E2BSandbox in Oregon

EU-Central

0.67 s

US-East

0.48 s

×1.4 faster from US-East

DaytonaAPI in Virginia

EU-Central

1.5 s

US-East

0.99 s

×1.5 faster from US-East

Upstash BoxSandbox in Virginia

EU-Central

3.0 s

US-East

2.5 s

×1.2 faster from US-East

BoatSandbox in Northern France

EU-Central

0.78 s

US-East

1.1 s

×1.5 faster from EU-Central

boxdSandbox in New York

EU-Central

0.49 s

US-East

0.29 s

×1.7 faster from US-East

FreestyleSandbox in SF Bay Area

EU-Central

1.1 s

US-East

0.81 s

×1.3 faster from US-East

TenkiSandbox in Seattle

EU-Central

1.1 s

US-East

0.91 s

×1.2 faster from US-East

SuperserveSandbox in Virginia

EU-Central

0.71 s

US-East

0.49 s

×1.5 faster from US-East

Vercel SandboxSandbox in Virginia

EU-Central

0.90 s

US-East

0.52 s

×1.7 faster from US-East

ModalSandbox in US East

EU-Central

1.1 s

US-East

0.36 s

×3.0 faster from US-East

Run a command

fastest location

E2B: 0.12 sUS-East×1.5
Daytona: 0.10 sUS-East×1.6
Upstash Box: 0.22 sUS-East×2.5
Boat: 0.11 sEU-Central×2.9
boxd: 0.09 sUS-East×1.6
Freestyle: 0.16 sUS-East×1.6
Tenki: 0.17 sUS-East×1.4
Superserve: 0.15 sUS-East×1.6
Vercel Sandbox: 0.34 sUS-East×1.9
Modal: 0.07 sUS-East×2.9

Write + read 10 MB

fastest location

E2B: 1.3 sUS-East×2.1
Daytona: 1.8 sUS-East×1.1
Upstash Box: 2.1 sUS-East×1.9
Boat: 3.5 sEU-Central×2.0
boxd: 1.1 sUS-East×1.9
Freestyle: 2.1 sUS-East×2.3
Tenki: 2.0 sUS-East×1.5
Superserve: 0.61 sUS-East×3.6
Vercel Sandbox: 0.68 sUS-East×1.5
Modal: 0.97 sUS-East×2.5

Agent tool replay

fastest location

E2B: 14 sUS-East×1.6
Daytona: 17 sUS-East×1.3
Upstash Box: 21 sUS-East×1.8
Boat: 23 sEU-Central×1.8
boxd: 13 sUS-East×1.4
Freestyle: 19 sUS-East×1.7
Tenki: 15 sUS-East×1.6
Superserve: 11 sUS-East×2.0
Vercel Sandbox: 24 sUS-East×1.8
Modal: 11 sUS-East×2.7

Test	E2B	Daytona	Upstash Box	Boat	boxd	Freestyle	Tenki	Superserve	Vercel Sandbox	Modal
Cold start	0.48 sUS-East	0.99 sUS-East	2.5 sUS-East	0.78 sEU-Central	0.29 sUS-East	0.81 sUS-East	0.91 sUS-East	0.49 sUS-East	0.52 sUS-East	0.36 sUS-East
Run a command	0.12 sUS-East	0.10 sUS-East	0.22 sUS-East	0.11 sEU-Central	0.09 sUS-East	0.16 sUS-East	0.17 sUS-East	0.15 sUS-East	0.34 sUS-East	0.07 sUS-East
Write + read 1 KB	0.20 sUS-East	0.12 sUS-East	0.31 sUS-East	0.43 sEU-Central	0.17 sUS-East	0.19 sUS-East	0.19 sUS-East	0.08 sUS-East	0.27 sUS-East	0.17 sUS-East
Write + read 10 MB	1.3 sUS-East	1.8 sUS-East	2.1 sUS-East	3.5 sEU-Central	1.1 sUS-East	2.1 sUS-East	2.0 sUS-East	0.61 sUS-East	0.68 sUS-East	0.97 sUS-East
Reconnect	0.41 sUS-East	0.24 sUS-East	0.41 sUS-East	0.25 sEU-Central	0.30 sUS-East	0.47 sUS-East	0.65 sUS-East	0.28 sUS-East	0.79 sUS-East	0.18 sUS-East
Pause + resume	0.73 sUS-East	Not measured	1.2 sUS-East	Not measured	0.17 sUS-East	0.83 sUS-East	60 stie	0.87 sUS-East	3.1 sUS-East	Not measured
Destroy	0.11 sUS-East	0.79 sUS-East	0.59 sUS-East	0.07 sEU-Central	0.04 sUS-East	0.38 sUS-East	0.14 sUS-East	0.21 sUS-East	0.12 sUS-East	0.04 sUS-East
Dev server ready	2.1 sUS-East	3.0 sUS-East	3.1 sUS-East	1.6 sEU-Central	0.75 sUS-East	1.9 sUS-East	1.8 sUS-East	1.6 sUS-East	1.7 sUS-East	0.78 sUS-East
Preview URL first byte	0.22 sUS-East	0.20 sUS-East	0.22 sUS-East	0.13 sEU-Central	0.24 sUS-East	0.46 sUS-East	0.38 sUS-East	0.16 sUS-East	0.14 sUS-East	0.15 sUS-East
Edit, rebuild, reload	0.33 sUS-East	0.42 sUS-East	0.37 sUS-East	0.47 sEU-Central	0.32 sUS-East	0.26 sUS-East	0.51 sUS-East	0.47 sUS-East	0.31 sUS-East	0.20 sUS-East
Agent tool replay	14 sUS-East	17 sUS-East	21 sUS-East	23 sEU-Central	13 sUS-East	19 sUS-East	15 sUS-East	11 sUS-East	24 sUS-East	11 sUS-East

Boat (Northern France) runs its sandboxes in Europe; the remaining providers, boxd (New York) included, run in US-East. In-sandbox CPU, memory, disk, and package install speed do not change with caller location and are omitted here.

Cold start from EU-Central (Frankfurt am Main, DE)

Median cold start and HTTPS first byte from OVH SAS · Lower is better

boxdSandbox in New York

0.49 s

354 ms 1st byte

×1.7 faster from US-East

E2BSandbox in Oregon

0.67 s

226 ms 1st byte

×1.4 faster from US-East

SuperserveSandbox in Virginia

0.71 s

388 ms 1st byte

×1.5 faster from US-East

BoatSandbox in Northern France

0.78 s

78 ms 1st byte

×1.5 faster here

Vercel SandboxSandbox in Virginia

0.90 s

140 ms 1st byte

×1.7 faster from US-East

ModalSandbox in US East

1.1 s

325 ms 1st byte

×3.0 faster from US-East

FreestyleSandbox in SF Bay Area

1.1 s

652 ms 1st byte

×1.3 faster from US-East

TenkiSandbox in Seattle

1.1 s

213 ms 1st byte

×1.2 faster from US-East

DaytonaAPI in Virginia

1.5 s

164 ms 1st byte

×1.5 faster from US-East

Upstash BoxSandbox in Virginia

3.0 s

396 ms 1st byte

×1.2 faster from US-East

Test	E2B	Daytona	Upstash Box	Boat	boxd	Freestyle	Tenki	Superserve	Vercel Sandbox	Modal
Cold start	0.67 s	1.5 s	3.0 s	0.78 s	0.49 s	1.1 s	1.1 s	0.71 s	0.90 s	1.1 s
Run a command	0.18 s	0.17 s	0.54 s	0.11 s	0.14 s	0.24 s	0.24 s	0.24 s	0.66 s	0.21 s
Write + read 1 KB	0.33 s	0.24 s	0.45 s	0.43 s	0.27 s	0.37 s	0.33 s	0.22 s	0.49 s	0.51 s
Write + read 10 MB	2.7 s	2.0 s	4.0 s	3.5 s	2.2 s	4.9 s	3.0 s	2.2 s	1.0 s	2.4 s
Reconnect	0.66 s	0.57 s	0.93 s	0.25 s	0.50 s	0.80 s	0.97 s	0.50 s	1.5 s	0.52 s
Pause + resume	0.97 s	Not measured	1.9 s	Not measured	0.33 s	1.2 s	60 s	1.1 s	3.7 s	Not measured
Destroy	0.17 s	0.97 s	0.90 s	0.07 s	0.10 s	0.46 s	0.19 s	0.27 s	0.18 s	0.11 s
Dev server ready	2.9 s	4.7 s	5.1 s	1.6 s	1.1 s	3.2 s	2.9 s	2.4 s	2.5 s	1.7 s
Preview URL first byte	0.29 s	0.43 s	0.53 s	0.13 s	0.59 s	0.77 s	0.58 s	0.17 s	0.37 s	0.52 s
Edit, rebuild, reload	0.51 s	0.68 s	0.56 s	0.47 s	0.63 s	0.53 s	0.77 s	0.84 s	0.76 s	0.59 s
Agent tool replay	21 s	21 s	37 s	23 s	19 s	33 s	23 s	23 s	43 s	28 s

Cold start from US-East (Boca Raton, US)

Median cold start and HTTPS first byte from AT&T Enterprises, LLC · Lower is better

boxdSandbox in New York

0.29 s

116 ms 1st byte

×1.7 faster here

ModalSandbox in US East

0.36 s

96 ms 1st byte

×3.0 faster here

E2BSandbox in Oregon

0.48 s

155 ms 1st byte

×1.4 faster here

SuperserveSandbox in Virginia

0.49 s

103 ms 1st byte

×1.5 faster here

Vercel SandboxSandbox in Virginia

0.52 s

87 ms 1st byte

×1.7 faster here

FreestyleSandbox in SF Bay Area

0.81 s

312 ms 1st byte

×1.3 faster here

TenkiSandbox in Seattle

0.91 s

178 ms 1st byte

×1.2 faster here

DaytonaAPI in Virginia

0.99 s

79 ms 1st byte

×1.5 faster here

BoatSandbox in Northern France

1.1 s

410 ms 1st byte

×1.5 faster from EU-Central

Upstash BoxSandbox in Virginia

2.5 s

123 ms 1st byte

×1.2 faster here

Test	E2B	Daytona	Upstash Box	Boat	boxd	Freestyle	Tenki	Superserve	Vercel Sandbox	Modal
Cold start	0.48 s	0.99 s	2.5 s	1.1 s	0.29 s	0.81 s	0.91 s	0.49 s	0.52 s	0.36 s
Run a command	0.12 s	0.10 s	0.22 s	0.33 s	0.09 s	0.16 s	0.17 s	0.15 s	0.34 s	0.07 s
Write + read 1 KB	0.20 s	0.12 s	0.31 s	0.82 s	0.17 s	0.19 s	0.19 s	0.08 s	0.27 s	0.17 s
Write + read 10 MB	1.3 s	1.8 s	2.1 s	7.0 s	1.1 s	2.1 s	2.0 s	0.61 s	0.68 s	0.97 s
Reconnect	0.41 s	0.24 s	0.41 s	0.70 s	0.30 s	0.47 s	0.65 s	0.28 s	0.79 s	0.18 s
Pause + resume	0.73 s	Not measured	1.2 s	Not measured	0.17 s	0.83 s	63 s	0.87 s	3.1 s	Not measured
Destroy	0.11 s	0.79 s	0.59 s	0.18 s	0.04 s	0.38 s	0.14 s	0.21 s	0.12 s	0.04 s
Dev server ready	2.1 s	3.0 s	3.1 s	4.1 s	0.75 s	1.9 s	1.8 s	1.6 s	1.7 s	0.78 s
Preview URL first byte	0.22 s	0.20 s	0.22 s	0.99 s	0.24 s	0.46 s	0.38 s	0.16 s	0.14 s	0.15 s
Edit, rebuild, reload	0.33 s	0.42 s	0.37 s	1.2 s	0.32 s	0.26 s	0.51 s	0.47 s	0.31 s	0.20 s
Agent tool replay	14 s	17 s	21 s	43 s	13 s	19 s	15 s	11 s	24 s	11 s

Cold start

Median s · lower is better

1boxd: ran 4 vCPU, 16 GB, not 4 vCPU, 8 GB. boxd has no 8 GB size at 4 vCPU; this is its nearest.

Agent work, 100 tool calls

Median s · lower is better

1boxd: ran 4 vCPU, 16 GB, not 4 vCPU, 8 GB. boxd has no 8 GB size at 4 vCPU; this is its nearest.

Quick task cost, per 1,000

Create, 100 tool calls, delete · USD · lower is better

Verified: eligible for the pickUnreconciled, provisional, unsettled or estimate: shown, not eligible

1boxd: ran 4 vCPU, 16 GB, not 4 vCPU, 8 GB. boxd has no 8 GB size at 4 vCPU; this is its nearest.

Start from snapshot

Median s · lower is better

1boxd: ran 4 vCPU, 16 GB, not 4 vCPU, 8 GB. boxd has no 8 GB size at 4 vCPU; this is its nearest.

Where the time goes

Step by step, from median timings, in each provider's own time.

TraceCold start · every provider, median of each step

Fastest

304ms

boxd · provider time

Slowest

2.62s

Upstash Box · provider time

Spread

8.6×

slowest vs fastest

Failures

of 1,100 attempts

Provider

0s1s2s3s

create()First commandRanked by provider time · pick a provider for its full trace.

TraceCold start · every provider, median of each step

Fastest

283ms

boxd · provider time

Slowest

2.62s

Upstash Box · provider time

Spread

9.2×

slowest vs fastest

Failures

of 1,100 attempts

Provider

0s1s2s3s

create()First commandOurs: Sandbox SDKRanked by provider time · pick a provider for its full trace.

Start-up

Cold start is the wait before an agent can do anything: from create() until the first command runs, the provider's own time.

Cold start

create() to first command, without our SDK's setup · Median seconds · Lower is better

Cloud sandboxes, measured

By location

Cold start by caller location

Run a command

Write + read 10 MB

Agent tool replay

Cold start from EU-Central (Frankfurt am Main, DE)

Cold start from US-East (Boca Raton, US)

Cold start

Agent work, 100 tool calls

Quick task cost, per 1,000

Start from snapshot

Cold start

Agent work, 100 tool calls

Quick task cost, per 1,000

Start from snapshot

Where the time goes

Start-up

Cold start

Every cold start