Replit vs Beam
Replit is an AI app builder: you describe an app, Replit Agent writes it, and Replit hosts it. Beam is a serverless cloud your code drives, with quick gVisor sandboxes, CPU VMs and GPUs.
The companies and products
Replit
Replit is an AI app builder and hosting platform: you describe an app in chat, Replit Agent writes it, and Replit publishes it.
You work in a browser workspace where Replit Agent sets up the project, writes the code, tests it and fixes problems, with system packages managed by Nix. When the app is ready you publish it as an Autoscale, Static, Scheduled or Reserved VM deployment, with Postgres and object storage next to it. It is built for people and teams who want a working app, not for programs that need to create many machines by API, so this page compares the parts where the two overlap.
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. “181st cheapest of 367” means 180 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 | Replit: 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 A software factory starts many agents from code, which Beam's SDK can do and Replit's MCP server cannot, but only bochka gives each one Docker, systemd and /dev/kvm on a disk that is saved every minute. | 181st of 367, with limits $2,000 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 | 202nd of 366, with limits $2,033 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 Beam ranks 8th here: its sandboxes start in a second or two, bill per second and go away when their timer ends, while Replit is a web host, not a code runner. | 228th of 345, with limits $146 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 bochka ranks 1st and Beam ranks 3rd; Replit does not publish how many deployments can run at once, and each one is a published app. | 233rd of 361, with limits $825 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 | 258th of 360, with limits $4,226 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 | 265th of 364, with limits $685 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 can run Docker in a sandbox and Replit's Nix setup does not document Docker; jobs that need /dev/kvm, like Android builds, fit only bochka. | 275th of 377, with limits $425 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 Replit is a good place to code by hand in the browser, while a Beam VM or a bochka sandbox keeps its disk while stopped and runs Docker. | 165th of 368, with limits $109 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 Replit's VNC pane shows a desktop to a person and Beam has no desktop product, while bochka streams a 60fps desktop with Chromium and computer use. | 190th of 369, with limits $619 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 | 229th of 367, with limits $317 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 | 234th of 346, with limits $217 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 | 150th of 338, with limits $4,378 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 | 208th of 360, with limits $215 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 ranks 1st for GPU work, with GPUs from RTX 4090 to H100 and B200; Replit and bochka have no GPUs. | 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 | Replit | Beam | bochka |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kind of product | AI app builder with browser workspaces and app hosting | Serverless cloud for GPU inference, sandboxes, VMs and background jobs | Sandboxes you create, stop and fork by API, SDK or CLI |
| Starting machines from code | MCP server tools to create, update and publish apps; no API to start many machines | Python and TypeScript SDK; the Team plan runs up to 1,000 CPU containers at once | API, SDK and CLI to create, stop, resume and fork many sandboxes |
| Isolation | Not documented; the security page says strong logical separation between users | gVisor container by default for sandboxes; Beam VMs are CPU microVMs with their own kernel | Every sandbox is a full VM with its own kernel on dedicated AMD Ryzen 9 9950X hosts |
| Docker and systemd | System packages come from Nix; Docker and systemd are not documented | Docker inside sandboxes with docker_enabled; systemd only in Beam VMs | Docker, systemd and root, like a normal Ubuntu server |
| Nested virtualization | Not documented | Not documented | Yes, /dev/kvm for Android emulators and VMs |
| Files over time | Workspace files and Agent checkpoints; published apps should not rely on their filesystem | A sandbox ends with its time to live unless you save an image or use a volume; a Beam VM keeps a 50 GiB root disk | Disk saved every minute and on stop; a stopped sandbox keeps it for free |
| Snapshots and fork | Agent checkpoints you can roll back to | Memory snapshot of a running sandbox with its processes, restored into new sandboxes | Fork a running sandbox with its disk |
| GPUs | No | GPU sandboxes and serverless GPUs up to H100, H200 and B200 | No, CPU only |
| Coding agents | Replit Agent, which an MCP client can also drive | None preinstalled; you install and run them yourself | Seven agents preinstalled, including Claude Code and Codex, with a prompt, steer and events API |
| Keeping keys out of the sandbox | Replit manages keys for some AI models; other keys are secrets inside the app | Secrets are environment variables inside the sandbox | Credentials proxy for model providers and any HTTPS API; switch a credential to another account when credits run out |
| Desktop and computer use | VNC pane that streams a desktop to a person; no computer-use API | No desktop or browser product | 60fps Linux desktop with Chromium, computer use and browser control |
| Reaching the machine | Published apps on HTTPS and custom domains; SSH into the workspace on paid plans | A public 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; raw TCP; dedicated IPv4 or IPv6; SSH |
| Hosted apps and databases | Autoscale apps that sleep when idle, with Postgres and storage built in | Serverless functions, REST endpoints and task queues | No wake on request and no hosted databases; run your own inside a sandbox |
| Regions | North America, Europe, Asia, South America and Australia for published apps on Core and up | US only; no other region is listed | EU only: Germany, Finland, France |
Every feature Battleships tracks (43)
| Feature | Replit | Beam | bochka |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full VM (own kernel) | Yes | No | Yes |
| Docker inside | No | Yes | Yes |
| Nested virtualization | No | No | Yes |
| Root | Not published | Yes | Yes |
| Systemd | No | No | Yes |
| Desktop GUI | Yes | No | Yes |
| Browser | No | No | Yes |
| Computer-use API | No | No | Yes |
| SSH | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Persistent disk | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Pause/resume | No | No | Yes |
| Automatic snapshots | Yes | No | Yes |
| Fork/clone | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Live fork (no pause) | No | Yes | Yes |
| Memory fork | No | 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 | Not published | No | Yes |
| Public IPv4 | No | No | No |
| Egress allowlist | No | Yes | No |
| Secret proxy | Yes | No | Yes |
| Secret proxy for any API | No | No | Yes |
| Preinstalled agents | Yes | No | Yes |
| Agent harness API | Yes | No | Yes |
| MCP server | Yes | Yes | No |
| GPU | No | Yes | No |
| Windows | No | No | No |
| Arm64 | Not published | No | No |
| Self-hosting | No | Yes | No |
| BYOC | No | Yes | No |
| Open source | No | Yes | No |
| Scoped API keys | Not published | Not published | Yes |
| Spend limits | Yes | Not published | Yes |
| Usage per sandbox (API) | Yes | No | Yes |
| Audit logs | Yes | Not published | No |
| SSO | Yes | No | No |
| SOC 2 | Yes | Yes | No |
| HIPAA | No | Yes | No |
| EU data residency | Yes | Not published | Yes |
| Zero data retention | Not published | Not published | Yes |
Performance
There is no comparable measurement for Replit or Beam: neither is in StarSling's hpc-sandbox-benchmarks CPU test, so we cannot say which is faster. bochka did 26.69 Node.js build-and-test runs per second at 4 vCPU / 8 GB on that test. 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. Replit and Beam have 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 | Replit, 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 | $122 · Pro $100 (annual) · with limits | $5 · Developer | $20 · $20/mo |
| One agent that never stops 4 vCPU / 8 GB, 50 GB disk, running 24/7 all month | $122 · Pro $100 (annual) · 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 | $1,330 · Pro $1,000 (annual) · with limits | $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 | $403 · Pro $250 (annual) · with limits | $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 | $825 · Pro $1,000 (annual) · with limits | $259 · Team | $2,000 · $2000/mo · with limits |
Replit: Replit plans (Core $20, Pro from $100) turn into monthly credits for Agent work and hosting, then usage is pay-as-you-go. A Reserved VM, the only kind that stays on, has a fixed monthly price per size, such as $130 for 4 vCPU / 16 GB, and bills whether busy or idle.
Beam: Beam sandboxes bill per second for each CPU core (one core is two vCPU) and each GiB of RAM 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, with no usage credit.
Beam: 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.
Limits in those scenarios
Replit is marked as not a fit in every scenario because it is an app platform: one Reserved VM is one published app that runs all month, and how many can run at once is not published. Beam fits all five scenarios, but its Developer plan allows 30 CPU containers at once, so 50 agents need the Team plan, and it publishes no price for extra disk. bochka queues starts above 90 a minute, so 1,000 short jobs at once do not fit its $2,000 plan.
| Scenario | Replit | 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 Replit when
you want Replit Agent to build a web app from a description and host it for you, with a database, sleeping when idle, and regions on five continents.
- An app built and hosted for you. Useful if you want a working app from a description: Replit Agent builds, tests and publishes it with Postgres and storage.
- Hosting that costs nothing when idle. Useful for web apps with uneven traffic: Autoscale wakes on the first request and costs nothing while idle.
- Regions on five continents. Useful if your users are spread out: published apps can run in North America, Europe, Asia, South America or Australia.
Use Beam when
your code needs GPUs, many short sandboxes at once, low-cost CPU machines in the US, or a runtime you can self-host.
- GPUs in the same platform. For work that needs a GPU, Beam offers GPU sandboxes and serverless GPUs from RTX 4090 to H100, H200 and B200.
- Many quick sandboxes from code. For short jobs at scale, sandboxes start in a second or two and the Team plan runs 1,000 CPU containers at once.
- Open source and your own cloud. For teams that must self-host, the Beta9 runtime is AGPL-3.0 and free to run, or Beam runs in your cloud for a fee.
Where bochka fits
If what you are really running is agents that do long work, look at bochka. Replit is built for people building apps, and Beam is built for quick containers and GPUs. bochka gives each agent a full VM with Docker, a desktop and coding agents you drive from outside, and keeps its disk between runs.
A full VM with Docker, systemd and /dev/kvm
Replit's Nix setup does not document Docker or systemd, and a Beam sandbox is a gVisor container without systemd. Beam VMs add systemd but are a separate product, and neither Beam product documents /dev/kvm for emulators.
Coding agents and a desktop, driven from outside
Replit's MCP server drives only Replit Agent, and its VNC pane is for a person to watch. On Beam you install agents and build any desktop yourself. bochka ships seven agents with a prompt, steer and events API, plus a 60fps desktop.
Keys outside and previews locked
Replit manages keys only for some AI models, and Beam puts secrets in environment variables the agent can read. Beam previews are public URLs with no auth. bochka keeps keys in a proxy and token-protects HTTPS on up to 50 ports.
Use bochka when your agents do real work over hours or days: Docker, emulators and a browser on a full VM, coding agents you drive by API, and keys kept outside. Compare it one to one: bochka vs Replit and bochka vs Beam.
Questions people ask
Is Replit cheaper than Beam?
Not for agent machines. Beam costs less in all five scenarios we priced, such as $5 against $122 a month for one coding agent on workdays and $410 against $1,330 for 50 agents in parallel. Replit bills a Reserved VM all month, and it does not fit any of these scenarios as is.
Which is faster, Replit or Beam?
We cannot say. Neither is in the StarSling CPU benchmark we use, where bochka did 26.69 runs per second at 4 vCPU / 8 GB. Beam says its sandboxes cold-boot in 1 to 3 seconds.
Can Replit or Beam run Docker?
Beam can run Docker inside a sandbox with docker_enabled. Replit sets up environments with Nix packages and does not document Docker. Every bochka sandbox is a full VM with Docker, systemd and /dev/kvm.
Is Replit a sandbox for AI agents like Beam?
Not really. Replit is an app builder where Replit Agent writes and publishes apps, and its outside entry point is an MCP server that drives Replit Agent. Beam gives your code sandboxes and VMs through an SDK.
Do Replit or Beam have GPUs?
Beam does, from T4 and RTX 4090 up to H100, H200 and B200. Replit does not offer GPUs, and bochka is CPU only.
Where does my data run?
Replit hosts data mainly on Google Cloud in the United States, and on Core and up you can publish apps on five continents. Beam runs on AWS and Google Cloud in the United States. bochka runs only in the EU, in Germany, Finland and France.
Try bochka
Install the CLI, then run bochka new.
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