bochka vs Scaleway

A Scaleway Instance is a plain VM in a European cloud that you install, secure and keep running yourself. bochka also gives each agent a full VM in the EU, but with coding agents, a desktop, snapshots every minute, free stops and fleets of hundreds already built in.

Where bochka stands out

Coding agents and a desktop built in

Every bochka sandbox has Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode and other agents ready, and you drive them from outside with a prompt, steer and events API. It also streams a 60fps desktop with Chromium for computer use. The credentials proxy keeps real AI keys out of the machine and can switch to another account when one runs out of credits.

Stops that keep the disk, and fork while running

bochka saves a sandbox's disk every minute and when it stops, and a stopped sandbox costs nothing. You can fork a running sandbox in one call. On Scaleway, standby bills like a running Instance, a powered-off one still bills its volumes and IP, and backups and copies are images you make yourself.

Hundreds of sandboxes without a ticket

bochka plans run 100 to 2,000 sandboxes at once, and each comes with HTTPS URLs on up to 50 ports. Scaleway sets quotas per Instance shape: 10 DEV1-L or 15 DEV1-M after you verify your identity, and 50 IPs, with more only through support.

The companies and products

bochka

bochka.xyz runs sandboxes for AI agents: each one is a full Linux VM with its own kernel.

You start a machine with one command or one API call, then SSH in, run Docker, open a desktop, or let a built-in agent (Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode and others) work in it. The disk stays between sessions, and a stopped sandbox costs nothing.

Isolation: Full VM per sandbox, own kernel
Hardware: Dedicated AMD Ryzen 9 9950X (Zen 5) hosts
Regions: EU: Germany, Finland, France
Plans: From $20 a month, all of it usage credit, 7-day trial

Scaleway

Scaleway is a European cloud and AI provider, part of the iliad Group, that rents virtual machines, GPUs, storage and managed services.

Scaleway Instances are KVM virtual machines you pick from fixed shapes, from small shared-vCPU Development Instances to dedicated-vCPU and Arm64 types, running Linux or Windows Server. You get root, SSH, a public IP and security groups, and you install and run your own software next to Scaleway products like managed databases, Kubernetes, object storage and GPU Instances. It is general cloud infrastructure, not an agent sandbox, so this page compares the two where they overlap: giving an agent its own Linux machine.

Company: Describes itself as Europe's sovereign cloud and AI provider, a subsidiary of the iliad Group
Isolation: Each Instance is a virtual machine on a QEMU/KVM hypervisor
Locations: Paris, Amsterdam, Warsaw and Milan
Billing: CPU Instances are billed per hour of uptime, including startup and standby time; IPs and volumes bill even when powered off
GPUs: GPU Instances with Nvidia B300, H100, L4 and L40S, billed per minute
Certifications: Lists ISO/IEC 27001 and HDS; SecNumCloud qualification in progress

Which use cases each one fits

For each use case, Battleships prices every sandbox provider on the same workload and sorts them from the cheapest monthly bill up. “3rd cheapest of 367” means 2 of the other 366 providers run that workload, with every feature it needs, for less. “With limits” means the provider runs it but misses something, so it is listed after every full match. Open a use case for its whole ranking and what each provider misses.

Use case and its workload	bochka: price rank	Scaleway: price rank
Software factory 100 at once · 4 vCPU / 8 GB · 2,200 sessions of 8 h a month Both give a full Linux VM with root and Docker, but a Scaleway Instance starts as an empty OS image, while bochka comes with agents, snapshots every minute and stops that cost nothing.	3rd cheapest of 367 $634 a month	49th of 367, with limits $322 a month
Always-on AI employees 50 machines 24/7 · 2 vCPU / 4 GB A Scaleway Instance can run an assistant around the clock, but you build the agent setup, the HTTPS endpoint and the backups yourself; bochka has them built in.	5th cheapest of 366 $657 a month	90th of 366, with limits $208 a month
Code interpreter bursts 100 at once · 1 vCPU / 2 GB · 200,000 sessions of 1 min a month Both are a compromise for one-minute runs: Scaleway bills each CPU Instance for at least an hour, and bochka's start limits queue big bursts.	186th of 345, with limits $2,000 a month	166th of 345, with limits $893 a month
Sandboxes for your users 300 at once · 2 vCPU / 4 GB · 30,000 sessions of 23 min a month 300 user sandboxes on Scaleway need far more Instances than the default per-shape quotas allow (15 DEV1-M after identity checks), so you would ask support first; bochka allows 100 to 2,000 sandboxes by plan.	Cheapest of 361 $209 a month	84th of 361, with limits $738 a month
RL rollouts 1,000 at once · 2 vCPU / 4 GB · 1,000,000 sessions of 3 min a month	34th of 360, with limits $2,000 a month	176th of 360, with limits $18,254 a month
Agent evals 250 at once · 4 vCPU / 8 GB · 15,000 sessions of 20 min a month	10th cheapest of 364 $200 a month	42nd cheapest of 364 $776 a month
CI runners 40 at once · 8 vCPU / 16 GB · 6,000 sessions of 12 min a month Both run Docker builds on a full VM; on Scaleway each job pays at least a full hour of uptime, and you run the runner software and the clean-up yourself.	4th cheapest of 377 $86 a month	82nd cheapest of 377 $777 a month
24/7 dev boxes 1 machine 24/7 · 4 vCPU / 8 GB Both fit a 24/7 dev box: a Scaleway Instance is a classic always-on server, and a bochka machine keeps its disk with snapshots every minute.	18th cheapest of 368 $26 a month	30th cheapest of 368 $41 a month
Computer-use agents 50 at once · 4 vCPU / 8 GB · 20,000 sessions of 15 min a month bochka streams a 60fps desktop with Chromium and computer use; on a Scaleway Instance you install the desktop, the browser and the control loop yourself.	6th cheapest of 369 $200 a month	94th of 369, with limits $168 a month
Browser-use agents 50 at once · 2 vCPU / 4 GB · 30,000 sessions of 10 min a month	7th cheapest of 367 $200 a month	173rd of 367, with limits $126 a month
Scraping & bots (startup scale) 50 at once · 1 vCPU / 2 GB · 100,000 sessions of 3 min a month	6th cheapest of 346 $90 a month	149th of 346, with limits $13 a month
Mass scraping & bots (undetectable) 1,000 at once · 1 vCPU / 2 GB · 3,000,000 sessions of 2 min a month	71st of 338, with limits $1,800 a month	34th of 338, with limits $253 a month
Parallel red teaming 200 at once · 2 vCPU / 4 GB · 5,000 sessions of 30 min a month	2nd cheapest of 360 $200 a month	103rd of 360, with limits $29 a month
GPU eval jobs 10 at once · 8 vCPU / 32 GB · 500 sessions of 30 min a month Only Scaleway fits: it rents GPU Instances by the minute, and bochka has no GPUs.	Can't run it	Can't run it
macOS agents 5 at once · 4 vCPU / 8 GB · 1,000 sessions of 20 min a month	Can't run it	Can't run it

Key features

Feature	bochka	Scaleway
What you get	A sandbox API for agents, on full VMs	A general cloud VM you set up and run yourself
Isolation	Every sandbox is a full VM with its own kernel	Every Instance is a full KVM VM with its own kernel
CPU	Dedicated AMD Ryzen 9 9950X (Zen 5) hosts; 26.69 runs/s at 4 vCPU / 8 GB	Shared vCPU on Development and Play types, dedicated vCPU on others; no comparable measurement
Docker and nested virtualization	Docker, root, systemd and /dev/kvm on every machine, documented	Root and Docker on Linux images; nested virtualization is not documented
Stopping	A stopped sandbox costs nothing and keeps its disk	Standby bills as a running Instance, and a shutdown from inside the machine puts it in standby; a console or API power-off stops compute, but volumes and IPs keep billing
Snapshots	Automatic snapshots every minute and on stop	Images and volume snapshots you create yourself; none automatic
Fork	Fork a running sandbox in one call (disk, no memory)	Create an image from the Instance, then boot new Instances from it (disk, no memory)
Reaching the machine	HTTPS URLs for up to 50 ports, token-protected; raw TCP; own IP	Public IPv4 and IPv6 on any port; HTTPS needs your own proxy, certificates and DNS
Desktop and computer use	60fps desktop and Chromium, computer use and browser control, embeddable stream	None built in; you install a desktop and browser yourself
Coding agents	Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode and more preinstalled, with a prompt, steer and events API	None; you install and drive agents yourself, for example over SSH
Keeping keys out of the machine	AI credentials proxy for model providers and any HTTPS API you register; switch a credential to another account when credits run out	Secret Manager stores secrets that the machine fetches, so they end up on it
How many at once	100 to 2,000 sandboxes by plan, raised self-serve	Quotas per shape, for example 10 DEV1-L after identity checks; more through support
Outbound rules	Open internet on every plan; no provider-side allowlist	Security groups with inbound and outbound rules by protocol, port and IP range; SMTP blocked by default
GPUs, Windows and Arm	No GPUs; no Windows guests (Wine for Windows apps); x86 only	GPU Instances, Windows Server Instances and Arm64 Instances
Compliance and transparency	SOC 2 is in progress. We're open about where we stand: live status and data retention policy.	No SOC 2 report published

Every feature Battleships tracks (43)

Feature	bochka	Scaleway
Full VM (own kernel)	Yes	Yes
Docker inside	Yes	Yes
Nested virtualization	Yes	Not published
Root	Yes	Yes
Systemd	Yes	Yes
Desktop GUI	Yes	No
Browser	Yes	No
Computer-use API	Yes	No
SSH	Yes	Yes
Persistent disk	Yes	Yes
Pause/resume	Yes	No
Automatic snapshots	Yes	No
Fork/clone	Yes	Yes
Live fork (no pause)	Yes	Yes
Memory fork	No	No
Custom image (Docker or snapshot)	Yes	Yes
≥24 h sessions	Yes	Yes
Idle auto-stop	No	No
Wake on request	No	No
HTTPS preview URLs	Yes	No
Raw TCP inbound	Yes	Yes
Public IPv4	No	Yes
Egress allowlist	No	Yes
Secret proxy	Yes	No
Secret proxy for any API	Yes	No
Preinstalled agents	Yes	No
Agent harness API	Yes	No
MCP server	No	No
GPU	No	Yes
Windows	No	Yes
Arm64	No	Yes
Self-hosting	No	No
BYOC	No	No
Open source	No	No
Scoped API keys	Yes	Not published
Spend limits	Yes	No
Usage per sandbox (API)	Yes	No
Audit logs	No	Yes
SSO	No	Yes
SOC 2	No	No
HIPAA	No	No
EU data residency	Yes	Yes
Zero data retention	Yes	Not published

Performance

bochka26.69 runs/s

ScalewayNot measured

There is no comparable measurement for Scaleway: its Instances were not part of the public StarSling benchmark run where bochka did 26.69 Node.js build-and-test runs per second at 4 vCPU / 8 GB. Scaleway sells both shared-vCPU and dedicated-vCPU types, so results would depend on the shape you pick.

Node.js build-and-test loop at 4 vCPU / 8 GB, higher is better. Measured with the open hpc-sandbox-benchmarks suite. Scaleway has no published run in this suite yet, so there is no like-for-like number to compare.

Pricing in five scenarios

Each bill is priced from the providers' public price lists by the open Battleships engine, with the cheapest plan that runs the scenario.

Scenario	bochka, a month	Scaleway, a month
One coding agent, workdays 4 vCPU / 8 GB, 50 GB disk, 8 hours a day, 22 days a month, files kept between days	$20 · $20/mo	$14 · Usage account
One agent that never stops 4 vCPU / 8 GB, 50 GB disk, running 24/7 all month	$26 · $20/mo	$41 · Usage account
50 agents in parallel 50 machines of 4 vCPU / 8 GB at once, 8-hour sessions, 1,100 sessions a month, Docker inside	$317 · $20/mo × 3 seats	$537 · Usage account
Sandboxes for your users 2 vCPU / 4 GB, 30,000 sessions of 10 minutes a month, up to 300 at once	$200 · $100/mo × 2 seats	$734 · Usage account
1,000 short jobs at once 2 vCPU / 4 GB, 1,000 at once, 3 minutes each, 200,000 jobs a month	$2,000 · $2000/mo · with limits	$4,892 · Usage account

bochka: You pick a monthly plan from $20, and all of it becomes usage credit spent per second on running sandboxes. A stopped sandbox costs nothing and keeps its disk.

Scaleway: Each Instance shape has an hourly price, billed per hour of uptime including startup and standby, so a short job still pays a full hour. The prices in the table leave out disks and public IPv4, which bill on top and keep billing while an Instance is powered off.

Limits in those scenarios

Scaleway does not cap a fleet with one number: it sets quotas per Instance shape, such as 5 DEV1-L, 8 DEV1-M and 20 public IPs with a validated payment method, rising to 10, 15 and 50 after identity checks. The table prices Scaleway as if those quotas were already raised, so 50 agents, 300 user sandboxes and 1,000 short jobs all need a support request first. Hourly billing also bites the burst, since each one-minute job pays a full hour. On bochka the limit is a sandbox count (100 to 2,000 by plan) plus starts per minute, so the 1,000-job burst gets queued and needs more starts per day than the $2,000 plan allows.

Scenario	bochka	Scaleway
One coding agent, workdays	None that bite	None that bite
One agent that never stops	None that bite	None that bite
50 agents in parallel	None that bite	None that bite
Sandboxes for your users	None that bite	None that bite
1,000 short jobs at once	max 2,400 starts/day (needs ~6,667) max 600 starts/hour (needs ~1,000) bursts above 90 starts/min are queued (a burst of 333 takes ~4 min to start)	None that bite

Which one should you use?

Use Scaleway when

you need GPUs, Windows Server or Arm64 machines, or a long-lived server that sits next to managed databases, Kubernetes and firewall rules in one European cloud.

GPUs by the minute. Useful if your agents train or serve models: Scaleway rents Nvidia B300, H100, L4 and L40S GPU Instances by the minute.
Windows and Arm64 machines. Useful if an agent must test on Windows Server or on Arm64: Scaleway sells both as ordinary Instances.
A whole cloud around the machine. Useful if the machine must sit next to managed databases, Kubernetes, private networks and firewall rules in one European account.

Use bochka when

you want each agent on its own full VM that is ready to work: coding agents, a desktop, HTTPS ports and minute-by-minute snapshots built in, fork while running, stops that cost nothing, and hundreds of sandboxes without a quota ticket.

Coding agents and a desktop built in. A Scaleway Instance starts as an empty OS image, so you install, update and supervise each agent, desktop and key yourself, and the agent can read any key you put on it.
Stops that keep the disk, and fork while running. Agents sit idle between tasks. On Scaleway you pay for the idle disk and IP or delete the Instance and lose its work, and nothing saves the disk for you if an agent breaks it.
Hundreds of sandboxes without a ticket. A fleet of 50 agents or 300 user sandboxes is far above Scaleway's default quotas, so you wait on support before launch, then set up TLS and DNS for each machine yourself.

Questions people ask

Is bochka cheaper than Scaleway?

Not for one part-time server: one coding agent on workdays comes to $14 a month on Scaleway against $20 on bochka, before Scaleway's disk and IPv4. One agent that never stops comes to $26 on bochka against $41 on Scaleway, 50 agents in parallel to $317 against $537, and 300 user sandboxes to $200 against $734. For 1,000 short jobs at once, Scaleway comes to $4,892 a month and bochka's $2,000 plan does not fit the starts needed.

Do I pay for a Scaleway Instance that is stopped?

In standby, yes: Scaleway bills it as a running Instance, and running poweroff inside the machine only puts it in standby. Powered off from the console or API, compute stops billing, but its volumes and public IPs keep billing until you delete them. On bochka, a stopped sandbox costs nothing and keeps its disk.

Can I run Docker and nested VMs on Scaleway?

Docker works, since an Instance is a full VM with root. Scaleway's docs do not cover nested virtualization, so you would need to test it on the shape you pick. On bochka, Docker, systemd and /dev/kvm are documented on every machine.

Does Scaleway have an agent sandbox product?

Not in Instances. Scaleway sells general VMs, GPUs, storage and managed services, with an API, CLI and Terraform provider, and you install agents yourself and drive them over SSH. bochka is built for agents, with coding agents, a desktop and a credentials proxy in every sandbox.

Where does my data run?

Both stay in the EU. bochka runs in Germany, Finland and France, with EU data residency and a zero data retention option. Scaleway runs in Paris, Amsterdam, Warsaw and Milan.

Is bochka SOC 2 compliant?

SOC 2 is in progress. We're open about where we stand: live status at status.bochka.xyz and our data retention policy at docs.bochka.xyz/data-retention.

Start a sandbox

Install the CLI, then run bochka new.

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