Which is better, Runloop or AWS Lambda MicroVMs?
It depends on what you want a higher price to buy. For evals and agents that mostly wait on a model, Runtime runs the benchmark for $0.64. That compares with $5.33 on Runloop and $4.20 on Lambda. Runtime also stays cheaper when both CPUs are busy. Pick Runloop if you want evaluation tooling and stated compliance readiness. Pick Lambda MicroVMs if the sandboxes belong inside AWS.
At a glance
| Runloop | AWS Lambda MicroVMs | Runtime | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Isolation | microVM, with a container inside | Firecracker microVM | Firecracker microVM, own kernel |
| CPU | $0.108 per CPU-hour while the devbox runs | $0.0997 per baseline vCPU-hour | $0.025 per vCPU-hour of measured CPU, with a small floor |
| Memory | $0.0252 per GB-hour | $0.0132 per GB-hour | $0.0075 per reserved GiB-hour |
| Suspend | Keeps the disk; processes restart | Keeps memory and disk, up to 8 hours | Keeps memory and processes while you have credit |
| Extras | Evaluation and RL rollout tools | IAM, VPC access, AWS regions | Harbor and Inspect eval integrations |
| Plan | Basic free; Pro $250 a month plus usage | None | None; prepaid credit from $10 |
What the premium buys
Their CPU rates are close, about ten cents a vCPU-hour, and both bill it for every second. Runloop adds evaluation tooling and deploys into your cloud. Lambda adds AWS's identity and networking. For an agent that mostly waits, both premiums are paid on idle cores.
Cost for the same job
The benchmark, 60 seconds a run (a MEDIUM devbox with 8 GB of disk on
Runloop, a 4 GB baseline on Lambda):
- CPU
- 1,000 × 60 s / 3,600 × 2 × $0.108
- $3.60
- Memory
- 1,000 × 60 s / 3,600 × 4 × $0.0252
- $1.68
- Disk
- 1,000 × 60 s / 3,600 × 8 × $0.00034236
- $0.05
- CPU
- 1,000 × 60 s × 2 × $0.0000276944
- $3.32
- Memory
- 1,000 × 60 s × 4 × $0.0000036667
- $0.88
- CPU
- 1,000 × 20 s / 3,600 × $0.025
- $0.14
- Memory
- 1,000 × 60 s / 3,600 × 4 × $0.0075
- $0.50
With both CPUs busy for the whole minute, the job costs $5.33 on Runloop, $4.20 on Lambda and $1.33 on Runtime.
Which one to pick
- Runloop for evaluation tooling and stated compliance readiness.
- Lambda MicroVMs for sandboxes that belong inside AWS.
- Runtime for evals and agents at a fraction of either: agent evals and SWE-bench.
See Runtime vs Runloop and Runtime vs AWS Lambda MicroVMs.
Runtime Cloud
Runtime runs the benchmark for 88% less than Runloop and 85% less than Lambda
MicroVMs. A 2 vCPU, 4 GiB sandbox, 60 seconds a run, 20 CPU-seconds of work,
1,000 times: $5.33 on Runloop (a MEDIUM devbox), $4.20 on AWS Lambda
MicroVMs, $0.64 on Runtime.
Start on the free usage with npx withruntime login. Existing Runloop or Lambda
code follows the migration guide.
Sources
Runloop rates checked 25 October 2026; Lambda MicroVMs rates checked 25 October 2026.
Facts on this page were checked on 26 October 2026.