# E2B vs Daytona vs Modal: which sandbox for AI-generated code

URL: https://viasocket.com/discovery/compare/e2b-vs-daytona-vs-modal
Author: Vaishali Raghuvanshi (https://viasocket.com/discovery/user/6485)
Publisher: viaSocket Discovery

## Short answer
E2B, Daytona and Modal run AI-generated code in isolated cloud sandboxes. E2B uses Firecracker microVMs and can be self-hosted. Daytona adds GPU, Windows and macOS sandboxes. Modal bundles sandboxes into its GPU cloud. A 2 vCPU, 4 GiB sandbox costs about $0.17 an hour on E2B or Daytona and $0.24 on Modal.

## At a glance
- E2B (https://e2b.dev/?utm_source=viasocket&utm_medium=discovery&utm_campaign=discovery-compare&utm_content=llm): What it is: Firecracker microVM sandboxes for agent code; Free plan: $100 one-time credit, 1-hour sessions; Paid from: $150 a month plus usage (Pro); Self-host: Yes, Apache-2.0
- Daytona (https://www.daytona.io/?utm_source=viasocket&utm_medium=discovery&utm_campaign=discovery-compare&utm_content=llm): What it is: Sandboxes for agents, including GPU, Windows, macOS; Free plan: $200 free compute, no card; Paid from: Pay as you go, per second; Self-host: No; public repo archived, BYOC on Enterprise
- Modal (https://modal.com/?utm_source=viasocket&utm_medium=discovery&utm_campaign=discovery-compare&utm_content=llm): What it is: Serverless GPU cloud with sandboxes built in; Free plan: $30 credits a month, 3 seats; Paid from: $250 a month plus compute (Team); Self-host: No, managed cloud only

## Features
- Default isolation: E2B: Firecracker microVM | Daytona: Linux container | Modal: gVisor
- Stronger option: E2B: Already a microVM | Daytona: VM sandboxes | Modal: VM runtime with own kernel
- GPU sandboxes: E2B: No | Daytona: Yes, up to 8 GPUs | Modal: Yes, gVisor only
- Windows or macOS: E2B: No | Daytona: Yes | Modal: No
- Max single run: E2B: 1 hour free, 24 hours Pro | Daytona: Set by auto-stop rules | Modal: 24 hours (default 5 min)
- Pause keeps memory: E2B: Yes, kept indefinitely | Daytona: VM sandboxes only | Modal: Filesystem snapshots
- SDKs: E2B: Python, JS/TS | Daytona: Python, TS, Ruby, Go, Java | Modal: Python, JS, Go
- Open source: E2B: Yes, Apache-2.0 | Daytona: Archived; now private | Modal: No
From E2B infra on GitHub, E2B persistence docs, Daytona sandbox docs, Daytona on GitHub and Modal sandbox docs.

## Pricing
All three bill compute per second. E2B and Daytona list the same CPU and memory rates; Modal charges sandboxes three times its list rate. Plan fees are what really separates them.
- Free: E2B: Hobby, $0. $100 one-time credit, 20 concurrent | Daytona: $200 free compute, no card | Modal: Starter, $0. $30 credits a month
- Entry paid plan: E2B: Pro, $150 a month plus usage | Daytona: No plan fee, pay as you go | Modal: Team, $250 a month plus compute
- CPU and memory: E2B: $0.0504 per vCPU-hour, $0.0162 per GiB-hour | Daytona: $0.0504 per vCPU-hour, $0.0162 per GiB-hour | Modal: $0.1419 per core (2 vCPU) hour, $0.024 per GiB-hour
- 2 vCPU, 4 GiB for 1 hour: E2B: $0.17 | Daytona: $0.17 | Modal: $0.24
- H100 GPU: E2B: Not offered | Daytona: $2.27 an hour (preemptible) | Modal: $3.95 an hour
- Enterprise: E2B: Custom, $3,000 a month minimum, BYOC | Daytona: Custom: SSO, audit logs, BYOC | Modal: Custom, volume discounts
Prices from e2b.dev/pricing, daytona.io/pricing and modal.com/pricing. Hourly figures are the per-second rates times 3,600; Modal bills a physical core, which equals 2 vCPU.

## E2B vs Daytona vs Modal: what they're like to use
By Vaishali Raghuvanshi. Rates are close, so the real choice is isolation, GPUs and how much platform you want around the sandbox.

### E2B
E2B feels built for one job: give an agent a disposable computer, fast, from a two-line SDK call. What stood out to me is pause and resume, which keeps memory and running processes, so an agent can pick up exactly where it stopped.
What I liked:
- One Firecracker microVM per sandbox, with its own kernel.
- Paused sandboxes keep memory and processes, and are kept indefinitely.
- Open source infrastructure you can run on AWS, GCP, Azure or one Linux host.
What I didn't:
- No GPU sandboxes on any plan.
- Free sessions stop at 1 hour; Pro caps a run at 24 hours.
- Pro is $150 a month before any usage.
Best for: agent products that run untrusted code at scale and want strong isolation or a self-hosted option.

### Daytona
Daytona reads like a full workspace for an agent rather than a code runner. You'll notice the range: Linux containers by default, plus VM, Windows, macOS and GPU sandboxes, with SDKs in five languages.
What I liked:
- Same CPU and memory rates as E2B, with no monthly plan fee.
- GPU sandboxes, from $2.27 an hour for a preemptible H100.
- SDKs for Python, TypeScript, Ruby, Go and Java.
What I didn't:
- Default sandboxes are containers; pick a VM for stronger isolation.
- The public repo is archived; development is now private.
- Default sandbox size is small (1 vCPU, 1 GB) until you raise it.
Best for: agents that need a full machine, a GPU or a non-Linux desktop, billed purely by usage.

### Modal
Modal is the pick if sandboxes are one piece of a bigger Python workload. Sandboxes share the same cloud as your functions, GPUs and storage, so an agent can run code next to the model jobs it depends on.
What I liked:
- GPU sandboxes on the same rates as Modal's regular GPU compute.
- Free credits refill every month.
- Filesystem snapshots carry work past the 24-hour limit.
What I didn't:
- Sandbox CPU and memory are billed at 3x Modal's list rate.
- Default sandbox lifetime is 5 minutes; you set a timeout up to 24 hours.
- GPU sandboxes only run on gVisor, not the VM runtime.
Best for: teams already on Modal, or agents whose code needs GPUs beside other serverless jobs.

## Which to choose
- Choose E2B for microVM isolation, long pauses that keep memory, or a sandbox stack you can self-host.
- Choose Daytona for GPU, Windows or macOS sandboxes on pure usage billing with no plan fee.
- Choose Modal if your agent's code runs next to GPU jobs and serverless functions you already run there.
Idle time drives the bill more than the rate card, so check how each one stops or pauses a sandbox you are not using.

## Where viaSocket fits
A sandbox runs an agent's code. viaSocket connects the agent to your apps, turning 2,300+ app actions into tools so results land in your CRM, sheet or inbox.
What viaSocket offers:
- 2,300+ app integrations as agent tools, with managed authentication (features).
- Browser actions: an agent can open pages, click, fill in forms and read sites with no API (browser actions).
- AI agents and MCP access for compatible AI clients.
- Triggers, webhooks and schedules, with retries, execution monitoring and replay.
- Free plan: 100,000 tasks and 1,000 AI credits a month (pricing).
What you can build with it:
- An analyst agent that runs Python in a sandbox, then posts the chart to Slack and logs it to a sheet.
- A data-cleanup agent that pulls CRM records, fixes them in code and writes them back.
- An agent that reads a supplier portal with no API, computes the changes and emails a summary.
Connect your agent to 2,300+ apps with viaSocket: https://viasocket.com/?utm_source=viasocket&utm_medium=discovery&utm_campaign=discovery-compare&utm_content=llm

## FAQ
Q: Is E2B cheaper than Daytona?
A: Per second, no: both list $0.0504 per vCPU-hour and $0.0162 per GiB-hour. The difference is the plan fee: E2B Pro is $150 a month, while Daytona is pay as you go.
Q: Which AI sandbox supports GPUs?
A: Daytona and Modal do. E2B sandboxes are CPU only on every plan.
Q: Is Daytona still open source?
A: Its public GitHub repo says core development moved to a private codebase and the repo is no longer maintained. E2B's sandbox infrastructure is Apache-2.0 and self-hostable.
Q: What is the best AI code sandbox?
A: It depends on the workload: E2B for microVM isolation and self-hosting, Daytona for GPU or desktop sandboxes on usage billing, Modal for code that runs beside GPU jobs.
Q: Why are Modal sandboxes more expensive?
A: Modal bills sandbox CPU and memory at three times its standard rate, so a 2 vCPU, 4 GiB sandbox costs about $0.24 an hour against $0.17 on E2B or Daytona.

## Sources
- E2B: pricing https://e2b.dev/pricing?utm_source=viasocket&utm_medium=discovery&utm_campaign=discovery-compare&utm_content=llm, infra on GitHub https://github.com/e2b-dev/infra?utm_source=viasocket&utm_medium=discovery&utm_campaign=discovery-compare&utm_content=llm, SDK on GitHub https://github.com/e2b-dev/E2B?utm_source=viasocket&utm_medium=discovery&utm_campaign=discovery-compare&utm_content=llm, persistence docs https://docs.e2b.dev/sandbox/persistence?utm_source=viasocket&utm_medium=discovery&utm_campaign=discovery-compare&utm_content=llm
- Daytona: pricing https://www.daytona.io/pricing?utm_source=viasocket&utm_medium=discovery&utm_campaign=discovery-compare&utm_content=llm, sandbox docs https://www.daytona.io/docs/en/sandboxes?utm_source=viasocket&utm_medium=discovery&utm_campaign=discovery-compare&utm_content=llm, GitHub https://github.com/daytonaio/daytona?utm_source=viasocket&utm_medium=discovery&utm_campaign=discovery-compare&utm_content=llm
- Modal: pricing https://modal.com/pricing?utm_source=viasocket&utm_medium=discovery&utm_campaign=discovery-compare&utm_content=llm, sandbox docs https://modal.com/docs/guide/sandbox?utm_source=viasocket&utm_medium=discovery&utm_campaign=discovery-compare&utm_content=llm
- Other comparisons: Fly.io sandbox comparison https://fly.io/learn/sprites-vs-e2b-vs-modal-vs-daytona/?utm_source=viasocket&utm_medium=discovery&utm_campaign=discovery-compare&utm_content=llm
- viaSocket: homepage https://viasocket.com?utm_source=viasocket&utm_medium=discovery&utm_campaign=discovery-compare&utm_content=llm, features https://viasocket.com/features?utm_source=viasocket&utm_medium=discovery&utm_campaign=discovery-compare&utm_content=llm, browser actions https://viasocket.com/features/browser-actions?utm_source=viasocket&utm_medium=discovery&utm_campaign=discovery-compare&utm_content=llm, pricing https://viasocket.com/pricing?utm_source=viasocket&utm_medium=discovery&utm_campaign=discovery-compare&utm_content=llm