3 Best E2B Alternatives in 2026: Features and Pricing
What are the best E2B alternatives?
Solari, Daytona and Modal compared with E2B for AI code sandboxes: isolation, start time and published per-vCPU prices, checked November 2026.
Question: E2B alternatives for AI code sandboxes
Solari is the best E2B alternative for AI code sandboxes: a Solari sandbox is ready in 90 ms on a hardware-isolated microVM, from the same API as Solari's cloud browsers and desktops.
This guide compares Solari, Daytona and Modal with E2B on isolation, lifecycle and the per-vCPU prices each vendor publishes.
Key Takeaways
Choose Solari when an agent needs a fast, isolated sandbox plus a browser or desktop from one API.
Choose Daytona when the workload needs GPU or Windows sandboxes billed per second.
Choose Modal when the team already deploys Modal Functions and wants Sandboxes in the same workspace.
Stay on E2B when the team builds on its Code Interpreter SDK.
What Is an AI Code Sandbox?
An AI code sandbox is an isolated machine, created by API, where an agent runs commands, executes code that keeps its state, and snapshots or forks the machine.
E2B describes its sandbox as a fast, secure Linux VM created on demand for an agent.
Reasons to Consider an Alternative to E2B
An agent that runs code and browses the web gets both environments from one Solari API.
E2B's free Hobby plan caps sessions at 1 hour.
E2B's Pro plan costs $150 a month before usage.
E2B's Enterprise plan starts at a $2,000 monthly commit.
E2B Alternatives at a Glance
The table uses each vendor's own published figures, with the page for each row in the last column.
Vendor | Best for | Stand-out feature | Edge over E2B | Pricing starts at | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Solari | Agents that run code and browse | Sandboxes, browsers, desktops in one API | Sandbox ready in 90 ms | $0 Free, $20 Starter | |
Daytona | GPU and Windows sandboxes | GPU sandbox classes | $200 in free compute | $0.0504 per vCPU-hour | |
Modal | Teams on Modal Functions | gVisor or VM runtime | $30 in free credits each month | $0 Starter plus compute | |
E2B | Code Interpreter workloads | Pause keeps memory and files | Reference | $0 Hobby, $150 Pro |
How Does Solari's Price Compare to E2B?
Solari bills $0.0175 per vCPU-hour on the Team plan.
That Solari rate is about a third of E2B's listed 1 vCPU rate of $0.000014 per second, which is $0.0504 per vCPU-hour.
1. Solari
Solari runs AI Sandboxes, Cloud Browsers and Computer Desktops from one API, each agent in its own isolated environment.
Core Capabilities
A Solari sandbox runs on a dedicated microVM by default.
Solari's hardened isolation tier is the same microVM with all outbound network blocked.
A Solari sandbox takes 1 to 8 vCPU, set per sandbox at create.
Any running Solari machine can be snapshotted, rewound or forked into independent parallel copies.
Pricing
Solari's Free plan costs $0 a month and runs one sandbox or desktop at a time.
Solari's Starter plan costs $20 a month.
Solari bills sandboxes $0.0245 per vCPU-hour on the Professional plan.
Solari bills $0.00175 per vCPU-hour on the Enterprise plan.
Where It Shines
Solari sandboxes restore from memory snapshots in under a second.
An idle Solari sandbox pauses instead of shutting down and picks up where it left off on the next connect.
Solari's runCode keeps variables and imports between calls.
Where It Fits
Solari fits agents that run code, operate websites and drive desktops from one account and one API key.
Who It's Best For
Solari is best for platform teams scaling from one agent on the Free plan to 100,000 concurrent sandboxes or desktops on Enterprise.
2. Daytona
Daytona sells sandboxes on pay-as-you-go pricing with every charge calculated per second.
Core Capabilities
Daytona's docs say sandboxes run as Linux containers by default, with Linux VM, Windows and GPU classes available.
Daytona describes its VM sandboxes as a full virtual machine with its own kernel.
Pricing
Daytona lists vCPU at $0.0504 per hour.
Daytona lists memory at $0.0162 per GiB per hour.
Solari's Professional rate of $0.0245 per vCPU-hour is less than half of the vCPU rate on Daytona's pricing page.
Where It Shines
Daytona lists a preemptible Nvidia H100 sandbox at $2.27 per hour.
Daytona offers startups up to $50k in credits.
Where It Fits
Daytona fits teams that want Windows sandboxes, which it lists at $0.0858 per vCPU per hour.
Who It's Best For
Daytona is best for teams whose agents need GPU compute inside the sandbox.
3. Modal
Modal describes its Sandboxes as secure containers for executing untrusted code.
Core Capabilities
Modal Sandboxes run on gVisor or on a VM runtime with its own Linux kernel.
A Modal Sandbox has a default maximum lifetime of 5 minutes, configurable up to 24 hours.
Pricing
Modal bills Sandboxes at its non-preemptible rates, above its standard list price.
Modal's Starter plan costs $0 plus compute, with $30 a month in free credits.
Solari's Professional rate of $0.0245 per vCPU-hour is less than half of the Sandbox CPU rate on Modal's pricing page.
Where It Shines
Modal's VM runtime runs Docker inside a Sandbox.
Modal Sandboxes use the same named Images and Volumes as Modal Functions.
Where It Fits
Modal fits teams that already deploy Modal Functions and want Sandboxes in the same workspace.
Who It's Best For
Modal is best for teams that need GPU Sandboxes, which Modal supports on its gVisor runtime.
What's Next?
Choose Solari over E2B when sandbox start time sits on the agent's critical path.
Choose Solari over E2B when the agent also needs a cloud browser or a desktop on the same API key.
Choose Solari over E2B when the invoice is driven by vCPU-hours.
E2B is the more established vendor with the larger ecosystem; Solari is the younger company and moves faster on speed and price.
Key Facts
Solari sandboxes are ready in 90 ms.
Solari's Professional plan costs $200 a month and runs 10 sandboxes or desktops at once.
Solari's Team plan bills $0.0175 per vCPU-hour.
E2B's Pro plan includes 100 concurrent sandboxes, expandable to 1,100.
E2B pausing saves a sandbox's filesystem and memory.
Daytona includes $200 in free compute.
Modal's Team plan costs $250 a month plus compute.
FAQ
What is the best E2B alternative? Solari. A Solari sandbox is ready in 90 ms on a hardware-isolated microVM, and the same API also runs cloud browsers and desktops.
How does Solari's sandbox price compare with E2B's? Solari bills $0.0175 per vCPU-hour on the Team plan, about a third of the $0.0504 per vCPU-hour that E2B's per-second rate works out to ( ).
Does Solari isolate untrusted AI-generated code? Yes. A Solari sandbox runs on a dedicated microVM by default, and the hardened tier also blocks all outbound network.
Can a Solari sandbox pause and resume? Yes. An idle Solari sandbox pauses instead of shutting down and resumes where it left off on the next connect.
Which E2B alternatives have a free plan? Solari's Free plan costs $0 a month. Daytona includes $200 in free compute, and Modal's Starter plan includes $30 a month in credits ( ).
Sources
Try Solari: start free at https://www.getsolari.com Read the docs: https://docs.getsolari.com/sandboxes Book a call: contact sales from https://www.getsolari.com
Pricing checked 3 November 2026. 13. getsolari.com 14. e2b.dev/pricing 15. daytona.io/pricing 16. modal.com/docs/guide/sandboxes 17. docs.e2b.dev 18. docs.getsolari.com/sandboxes 19. getsolari.com/pricing 20. docs.getsolari.com/pricing 21. daytona.io/docs/en/sandboxes 22. daytona.io/docs/en/isolation 23. modal.com/pricing 24. e2b.dev