# Runloop vs AWS Lambda MicroVMs: the two dearest sandboxes compared

Runloop and Lambda MicroVMs are the two most expensive rows in the benchmark: $5.33 and $4.20 for 1,000 one-minute runs of a 2 vCPU sandbox.

**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.

## 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, 1 to 365 days                |
| Extras    | SWE-Bench and custom benchmarks built in  | 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 benchmark 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):

```
Runloop  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
         Total                                                  $5.33

Lambda   CPU    1,000 × 60 s × 2 × $0.0000276944              = $3.32
         Memory 1,000 × 60 s × 4 × $0.0000036667              = $0.88
         Total                                                  $4.20

Runtime  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
```

Both rivals charge the same with both CPUs busy for the whole minute, $5.33 on Runloop and $4.20 on Lambda, against $1.33 on Runtime.

## Which one to pick

- **Runloop** for ready-made agent benchmarks 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](/use-cases/agent-evals-and-swe-bench).

See [Runtime vs Runloop](/docs/runloop-alternative) and
[Runtime vs AWS Lambda MicroVMs](/docs/aws-lambda-microvms-alternative).

## Sources

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

- [Runloop pricing](https://www.runloop.ai/pricing), [Devbox sizes](https://docs.runloop.ai/docs/devboxes/configuration/sizes)
- [AWS Lambda pricing](https://aws.amazon.com/lambda/pricing/), [Lambda MicroVMs](https://aws.amazon.com/lambda/lambda-microvms/)
- Runtime [pricing](/docs/pricing)

Facts on this page were checked on 25 September 2026.