E2B vs Beam
E2B is an agent sandbox API where each sandbox is a Firecracker microVM that can pause with its memory and wake on the next request. Beam is a serverless GPU platform whose sandboxes are gVisor containers, with GPUs, no session cap and a separate line of CPU VMs.
The companies and products
E2B
E2B calls itself the AI agent cloud: an API that gives each agent session its own isolated Linux machine.
Every E2B sandbox is a Firecracker microVM that boots from a snapshot, so it starts fast and can be paused and resumed with its memory. You build custom sandboxes from templates based on a Docker image, and drive them from Python or JavaScript SDKs. It is built for teams that run many short code, data or agent jobs, and its runtime is open source.
- Isolation
- Firecracker microVM per sandbox
- Bring your own cloud
- Enterprise data plane in your AWS, GCP or Azure account
- Compliance
- SOC 2 Type II; HIPAA BAA on request
- Machine size
- 1 to 8 vCPU and 1 to 8 GiB RAM, CPU only
Beam
Beam is a serverless cloud for GPU inference, sandboxes and background jobs, built on its open-source runtime Beta9.
Beam runs functions, REST endpoints, task queues, pods, sandboxes and VMs on CPUs and GPUs, all from a Python or TypeScript SDK. A sandbox is a container isolated with gVisor that starts in a second or two, lives until you terminate it or its time to live runs out, and can be saved as a filesystem image or a memory snapshot. Beam VMs are a separate CPU product: a microVM with its own kernel, systemd and a root disk that stays when it stops. Much of Beam is a GPU serverless platform for AI teams.
- Bring your own cloud
- Management fee per vCPU and GB of RAM, on top of your own cloud bill
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. “16th cheapest of 367” means 15 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 | E2B: price rank | Beam: price rank | bochka: price rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Software factory 100 at once · 4 vCPU / 8 GB · 2,200 sessions of 8 h a month E2B gives a microVM with systemd but stops at 24 hours on Pro, Beam sandboxes are containers with no systemd; bochka adds /dev/kvm, no session cap and about twice E2B's CPU speed. | 16th cheapest of 367 $4,143 a month | 69th of 367, with limits $551 a month | 3rd cheapest of 367 $634 a month |
| Always-on AI employees 50 machines 24/7 · 2 vCPU / 4 GB An assistant that lives on its machine all month hits E2B's 24-hour cap, while a Beam sandbox can run until you end it; bochka runs as long as you like and keeps its disk when stopped. | 51st of 366, with limits $5,348 a month | 115th of 366, with limits $651 a month | 5th cheapest of 366 $657 a month |
| Code interpreter bursts 100 at once · 1 vCPU / 2 GB · 200,000 sessions of 1 min a month Both fit short code runs: Beam sandboxes start in a second or two and end on their own timer, and E2B can pause a sandbox with its memory and wake it on the next request. | 37th cheapest of 345 $421 a month | 8th cheapest of 345 $117 a month | 186th of 345, with limits $2,000 a month |
| Sandboxes for your users 300 at once · 2 vCPU / 4 GB · 30,000 sessions of 23 min a month | 23rd cheapest of 361 $2,354 a month | 3rd cheapest of 361 $290 a month | Cheapest of 361 $209 a month |
| RL rollouts 1,000 at once · 2 vCPU / 4 GB · 1,000,000 sessions of 3 min a month E2B's memory forks and high start rate suit many short rollouts that branch from the same state. | 2nd cheapest of 360 $9,384 a month | 341st of 360, with limits $939 a month | 34th of 360, with limits $2,000 a month |
| Agent evals 250 at once · 4 vCPU / 8 GB · 15,000 sessions of 20 min a month | 78th cheapest of 364 $1,975 a month | 13th cheapest of 364 $251 a month | 10th cheapest of 364 $200 a month |
| CI runners 40 at once · 8 vCPU / 16 GB · 6,000 sessions of 12 min a month Beam sandboxes run Docker and bill per second, which suits CI; jobs that build Android apps or VM images need /dev/kvm, which only bochka has of the three. | 337th of 377, with limits $1,429 a month | 12th cheapest of 377 $171 a month | 4th cheapest of 377 $86 a month |
| 24/7 dev boxes 1 machine 24/7 · 4 vCPU / 8 GB A dev box that runs all month does not fit E2B's 24-hour cap; a Beam VM keeps its root disk while stopped, and bochka saves the disk every minute and on stop. | 192nd of 368, with limits $358 a month | 13th cheapest of 368 $21 a month | 18th cheapest of 368 $26 a month |
| Computer-use agents 50 at once · 4 vCPU / 8 GB · 20,000 sessions of 15 min a month E2B has a Linux desktop for computer use and Beam has no desktop or browser product; bochka streams its desktop at 60fps with Chromium. | 32nd cheapest of 369 $1,342 a month | 111th of 369, with limits $237 a month | 6th cheapest of 369 $200 a month |
| Browser-use agents 50 at once · 2 vCPU / 4 GB · 30,000 sessions of 10 min a month | 100th of 367, with limits $746 a month | 195th of 367, with limits $176 a month | 7th cheapest of 367 $200 a month |
| Scraping & bots (startup scale) 50 at once · 1 vCPU / 2 GB · 100,000 sessions of 3 min a month | 57th cheapest of 346 $554 a month | 200th of 346, with limits $131 a month | 6th cheapest of 346 $90 a month |
| Mass scraping & bots (undetectable) 1,000 at once · 1 vCPU / 2 GB · 3,000,000 sessions of 2 min a month | 227th of 338, with limits $9,223 a month | 42nd of 338, with limits $923 a month | 71st of 338, with limits $1,800 a month |
| Parallel red teaming 200 at once · 2 vCPU / 4 GB · 5,000 sessions of 30 min a month | 11th cheapest of 360 $1,043 a month | 175th of 360, with limits $155 a month | 2nd cheapest of 360 $200 a month |
| GPU eval jobs 10 at once · 8 vCPU / 32 GB · 500 sessions of 30 min a month Beam has GPUs from RTX 4090 up to H100 and B200; E2B and bochka are CPU only. | Can't run it | Cheapest of 98 $458 a month | 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 | Can't run it |
Key features
| Feature | E2B | Beam | bochka |
|---|---|---|---|
| Isolation | Firecracker microVM with its own kernel | gVisor container by default for sandboxes; separate Beam VMs are CPU microVMs with their own kernel | Full VM with its own kernel on dedicated AMD Ryzen 9 9950X hosts |
| CPU benchmark (4 vCPU / 8 GB) | 12.61 runs/s | No result on this test | 26.69 runs/s |
| Session length | Up to 1 hour on Hobby, 24 hours on Pro; pausing resets the clock | Default 10 minutes; set -1 to run until you terminate it | No cap on paid plans; you set the time to live |
| Pause and resume | Saves memory and disk; resume takes about 1 second with processes still running | Memory snapshot of a running sandbox, restored into new sandboxes; a Beam VM keeps its root disk while stopped | Disk is saved every minute and on stop, and a stopped sandbox keeps it for free |
| Wake on request | Yes; a paused sandbox can resume on the next HTTP request or SDK call | No | No; a stopped sandbox is started by API |
| Fork | Fork a running sandbox with its memory, up to 20 copies per call | Restore a memory snapshot with its processes into new sandboxes | Fork a running sandbox with its disk |
| Docker, systemd and nested virtualization | Docker and systemd; nested virtualization not supported | Docker with docker_enabled; no systemd in sandboxes; /dev/kvm not documented | Docker, systemd, root and /dev/kvm for Android emulators and VMs |
| GPUs | No, CPU only | GPU sandboxes and serverless GPUs up to H100, H200 and B200 | No, CPU only |
| Desktop and computer use | Linux desktop for computer use | No desktop or browser product | Linux desktop streamed at 60fps with Chromium and computer use |
| Inbound access | HTTPS URL per port, public by default unless you turn on a token; no raw TCP or dedicated IP | HTTPS URL per exposed port with no built-in auth; no raw TCP or dedicated IP | HTTPS URLs for up to 50 ports, token-protected by default; raw TCP; dedicated IPv4 or IPv6 |
| Outbound rules | Allow and deny lists by IP, CIDR or domain | Block all outbound traffic, or allow up to 10 CIDR ranges, changeable while running | Open internet, no provider-side allowlist |
| Coding agents | Templates and guides for many agents, run through the command API | None preinstalled; you install and run them through process exec | Seven agents preinstalled, with a prompt, steer and events API |
| Keeping API keys out of the sandbox | Secrets injected into outbound HTTPS headers (private beta) | Secrets are exposed as environment variables inside the sandbox | Credentials proxy for model providers and any HTTPS API; switch a credential to another account when credits run out |
| Regions and self-hosting | US by default, EU and APAC on Pro and above; Apache-2.0 runtime and bring your own cloud on Enterprise | US only; Beta9 runtime is AGPL-3.0 and free to self-host, bring your own cloud for a fee | EU only (Germany, Finland, France); no self-hosting |
Every feature Battleships tracks (43)
| Feature | E2B | Beam | bochka |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full VM (own kernel) | Yes | No | Yes |
| Docker inside | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Nested virtualization | No | No | Yes |
| Root | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Systemd | Yes | No | Yes |
| Desktop GUI | Yes | No | Yes |
| Browser | Yes | No | Yes |
| Computer-use API | Yes | No | Yes |
| SSH | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Persistent disk | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Pause/resume | Yes | No | Yes |
| Automatic snapshots | Yes | No | Yes |
| Fork/clone | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Live fork (no pause) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Memory fork | Yes | Yes | No |
| Custom image (Docker or snapshot) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| ≥24 h sessions | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Idle auto-stop | Yes | No | No |
| Wake on request | Yes | No | No |
| HTTPS preview URLs | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Raw TCP inbound | No | No | Yes |
| Public IPv4 | No | No | No |
| Egress allowlist | Yes | Yes | No |
| Secret proxy | Yes | No | Yes |
| Secret proxy for any API | Yes | No | Yes |
| Preinstalled agents | Yes | No | Yes |
| Agent harness API | No | No | Yes |
| MCP server | Yes | Yes | No |
| GPU | No | Yes | No |
| Windows | No | No | No |
| Arm64 | No | No | No |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes | No |
| BYOC | Yes | Yes | No |
| Open source | Yes | Yes | No |
| Scoped API keys | Not published | Not published | Yes |
| Spend limits | Yes | Not published | Yes |
| Usage per sandbox (API) | No | No | Yes |
| Audit logs | Not published | Not published | No |
| SSO | No | No | No |
| SOC 2 | Yes | Yes | No |
| HIPAA | Yes | Yes | No |
| EU data residency | Yes | Not published | Yes |
| Zero data retention | Not published | Not published | Yes |
Performance
On the StarSling hpc-sandbox-benchmarks Node.js build-and-test loop at 4 vCPU / 8 GB, bochka did 26.69 runs per second and E2B did 12.61, so bochka finished about twice as much CPU work in the same time. Beam has no result on that test, so we cannot say how fast it is at CPU work. Beam's own guide says its sandboxes cold-boot in 1 to 3 seconds.
Node.js build-and-test loop at 4 vCPU / 8 GB, higher is better. Measured with the open hpc-sandbox-benchmarks suite. Beam 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 | E2B, a month | Beam, a month | bochka, 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 | $202 · Pro | $5 · Developer | $20 · $20/mo |
| One agent that never stops 4 vCPU / 8 GB, 50 GB disk, running 24/7 all month | $368 · Pro · with limits | $22 · Developer | $26 · $20/mo |
| 50 agents in parallel 50 machines of 4 vCPU / 8 GB at once, 8-hour sessions, 1,100 sessions a month, Docker inside | $2,773 · Pro | $410 · Team | $317 · $20/mo × 3 seats |
| Sandboxes for your users 2 vCPU / 4 GB, 30,000 sessions of 10 minutes a month, up to 300 at once | $1,395 · Pro+ (600 concurrent) | $191 · Team | $200 · $100/mo × 2 seats |
| 1,000 short jobs at once 2 vCPU / 4 GB, 1,000 at once, 3 minutes each, 200,000 jobs a month | $2,797 · Pro++ (1,100 concurrent) | $259 · Team | $2,000 · $2000/mo · with limits |
E2B: E2B bills per second for the vCPU and RAM you set, idle time included, until you pause or kill the sandbox. Pro costs $150 a month for higher limits, with no usage credit, and more concurrency costs $500 a month per 500 slots.
Beam: Beam sandboxes bill per second for each CPU core (two vCPU) and GiB of RAM you request, until you terminate them or their time to live ends, so an idle tail is billed too. Developer has no fee; Team costs $89 a month plus usage, and there are no egress fees.
Beam: Plans start at $20 a month, and the whole fee is usage credit. You pay per second while a sandbox runs, and a stopped sandbox costs nothing and keeps its disk.
Limits in those scenarios
E2B caps a session at 24 hours on Pro, so it does not fit the agent that never stops, and Pro includes 20 GiB of disk with no published price for more. Beam's Developer plan allows 30 CPU containers at once, so 50 parallel agents need the Team plan, and Beam publishes no price for disk, so the scenarios count none. For 1,000 short jobs at once, E2B Pro++ queues bursts above 300 starts a minute and Beam's Team plan fits the burst, while bochka's start limits make it a poor fit.
| Scenario | E2B | Beam | bochka |
|---|---|---|---|
| One coding agent, workdays |
|
| None that bite |
| One agent that never stops |
|
| None that bite |
| 50 agents in parallel |
|
| None that bite |
| Sandboxes for your users |
|
| None that bite |
| 1,000 short jobs at once |
|
|
|
Which one should you use?
Use E2B when
you run many short jobs that pause between requests and wake with their memory, need a desktop for computer use, or must run in the EU or APAC.
- Memory pause and wake on request. For jobs that sleep between requests, a paused E2B sandbox comes back in about a second with its processes still running.
- A microVM with systemd and a desktop. Each E2B sandbox has its own kernel, systemd and a Linux desktop for computer use, which Beam sandboxes do not have.
- More regions and finer outbound rules. E2B runs in the US, EU and APAC and can allow or block outbound traffic by domain, not only by IP range.
Use Beam when
your agents need GPUs, when you want sandboxes and serverless GPU endpoints in one platform, or when low per-second CPU rates in the US matter most.
- GPUs in the same platform. For work that needs a GPU, Beam offers GPU sandboxes and serverless GPUs from RTX 4090 up to H100, H200 and B200.
- No session cap. A Beam sandbox set to -1 runs until you terminate it, and Beam VMs keep their root disk while stopped.
- Low per-second rates. Teams running many CPU sandboxes pay far less on Beam than on E2B in every scenario on this page.
Where bochka fits
If your agents do long, real work like installs, builds, Docker, emulators and a browser, look at bochka. Every bochka sandbox is a full VM with /dev/kvm, systemd and a 60fps desktop, with no session cap and a disk that stays when it stops. Pick E2B or Beam instead for memory pause and wake on request, GPUs, or US hosting.
A full VM with /dev/kvm
E2B does not support nested virtualization, and a Beam sandbox is a gVisor container with no systemd. Android emulators, nested VMs and tools that expect a real kernel fail there; on bochka they run.
Work that runs for hours and keeps its disk
E2B stops a sandbox at 24 hours on Pro, so your code must pause and resume it. A Beam sandbox ends with its timer unless you save an image or attach a volume. bochka has no cap and saves the disk every minute.
Agents, keys and hosting built in
On Beam secrets sit as environment variables an agent can read, and E2B's header injection is a private beta. bochka keeps keys in a proxy, ships seven agents, and serves 50 token-protected ports plus raw TCP, which neither offers.
Use bochka when your agents do real work for hours or days: installs, builds, Docker, emulators and a browser on a full VM whose disk is still there the next time it starts. Compare it one to one: bochka vs E2B and bochka vs Beam.
Questions people ask
Is E2B cheaper than Beam?
No. Beam costs less in all five scenarios on this page, for example $22 against $368 a month for one agent that never stops, and $410 against $2,773 a month for 50 agents in parallel. E2B's 24-hour cap also means it does not fit the always-on scenario.
Which is faster, E2B or Beam?
We cannot compare them on CPU work: E2B did 12.61 runs per second on the hpc-sandbox-benchmarks test at 4 vCPU / 8 GB, and Beam has no result there. bochka did 26.69 on the same test.
Is a Beam sandbox a VM like E2B?
Not by default. Beam sandboxes are containers using gVisor, while every E2B sandbox is a Firecracker microVM with its own kernel. Beam also sells separate CPU VMs with their own kernel and systemd.
Can E2B and Beam run Docker?
Yes, both run Docker inside a sandbox; Beam needs docker_enabled. Neither offers nested virtualization for Android emulators or VMs, which bochka has through /dev/kvm.
Does E2B have GPUs like Beam?
No. E2B is CPU only, as is bochka. Beam offers GPU sandboxes and serverless GPUs from RTX 4090 up to H100, H200 and B200.
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.
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