Runtime

Northflank vs AWS Lambda MicroVMs: allocated pricing compared

Both bill the vCPUs a sandbox holds, at very different rates: $1.11 on Northflank and $4.20 on Lambda for the 2 vCPU benchmark.

For an agent that waits on a model, Runtime is 42% cheaper than Northflank and 85% cheaper than Lambda MicroVMs. 1,000 one-minute runs of a 2 vCPU, 4 GiB sandbox with 20 CPU-seconds of work each cost $1.11 on Northflank, $4.20 on AWS Lambda MicroVMs and $0.64 on Runtime.

Estimated compute cost

42% less than Northflank85% less than AWS Lambda MicroVMs

2 vCPUs · 4 GiB · 60 s a run · 20 CPU-seconds busy

1,000

Compute only, at list rates checked 23 September 2026 and 25 September 2026 (Northflank pricing, AWS Lambda pricing). Plan fees, network, taxes and free credits are left out. The worked example below shows the arithmetic.

At a glance

Northflank AWS Lambda MicroVMs Runtime
Isolation A microVM per workload, Kata Containers or gVisor Firecracker microVM Firecracker microVM, own kernel
CPU $0.01667 per allocated vCPU-hour $0.0997 per baseline vCPU-hour $0.025 per vCPU-hour of measured CPU, with a small floor
Memory $0.00833 per GB-hour $0.0132 per GB-hour $0.0075 per reserved GiB-hour
Lifetime Runs until you stop it State kept up to 8 hours Leases extended as needed, or persistent
Where Its regions, or your own AWS, GCP or Azure account AWS regions Dedicated servers Runtime operates, one US region
GPUs L4, A100 and H100 by the hour No No

Six times the CPU rate

The two meters work the same way, a price per vCPU for every second the sandbox exists, so the gap is purely the rate: Lambda's $0.0997 per vCPU-hour is about six times Northflank's $0.01667. Both can run inside AWS, since Northflank deploys into your own account too; Lambda additionally speaks IAM and your VPC natively.

Cost for the same job

2 vCPU and 4 GiB (4 GB on both rivals), 60 seconds a run, 20 CPU-seconds of work, 1,000 runs:

TextNorthflank  CPU    1,000 × 60 s / 3,600 × 2 × $0.01667           = $0.556            Memory 1,000 × 60 s / 3,600 × 4 × $0.00833           = $0.555            Total                                                  $1.11Lambda      CPU    1,000 × 60 s × 2 × $0.0000276944              = $3.32            Memory 1,000 × 60 s × 4 × $0.0000036667              = $0.88            Total                                                  $4.20Runtime     CPU    1,000 × 20 s / 3,600 × $0.025                = $0.14            Memory 1,000 × 60 s / 3,600 × 4 × $0.0075           = $0.50            Total                                                  $0.64

When both CPUs stay busy for the whole minute, the job costs $1.33 on Runtime, $4.20 on Lambda and $1.11 on Northflank. That is the one case where Northflank's low allocated rate beats measured billing.

Which one to pick

  • Northflank for CPU-bound work that keeps every core busy, or GPUs.
  • Lambda MicroVMs for short bursts inside an AWS VPC.
  • Runtime for agents that mostly wait: the lowest bill of the three, and a sandbox created in one call.

See Runtime vs Northflank and Runtime vs AWS Lambda MicroVMs.

Sources

Northflank rates checked 23 September 2026; Lambda MicroVMs rates checked 25 September 2026.

Facts on this page were checked on 25 September 2026.

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