# Runloop vs Freestyle: devboxes and VMs, priced

Runloop's devboxes cost more than twice Freestyle's VMs for the same shape: $5.33 against $2.25 for the 2 vCPU, 4 GB benchmark.

**Runtime runs it for 88% less than Runloop and 72% less than Freestyle.** The
benchmark, 1,000 one-minute runs of a 2 vCPU, 4 GiB sandbox with 20
CPU-seconds of work each, is $5.33 on a Runloop `MEDIUM` devbox, $2.25 on
Freestyle and $0.64 on Runtime.

## At a glance

|           | Runloop                           | Freestyle                        | Runtime                                                  |
| --------- | --------------------------------- | -------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------- |
| Isolation | microVM, with a container inside  | Full Linux virtual machines      | Firecracker microVM, own kernel                          |
| CPU       | $0.108 per CPU-hour while running | $0.04032 per allocated vCPU-hour | $0.025 per vCPU-hour of measured CPU, with a small floor |
| Memory    | $0.0252 per GB-hour               | $0.0129 per GiB-hour             | $0.0075 per reserved GiB-hour                            |
| Suspend   | Keeps the disk; processes restart | Hibernates with memory           | Keeps memory and processes, 1 to 365 days                |
| Extras    | SWE-Bench and custom benchmarks   | Live forks, custom domains       | Harbor and Inspect integrations                          |

## Suspend that keeps memory

A suspended Runloop devbox keeps its disk and restarts its processes. A
hibernated Freestyle VM comes back with memory in place, as does a paused
Runtime sandbox. For an agent that holds a running server or a loaded model,
that is the difference between resuming and rebuilding.

## Cost for the same job

2 vCPU and 4 GB, 60 seconds a run, 20 CPU-seconds, 1,000 runs (a `MEDIUM`
devbox with 8 GB of disk; Freestyle with 32 GiB):

```
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

Freestyle  CPU    1,000 × 60 s / 3,600 × 2 × $0.04032           = $1.34
           Memory 1,000 × 60 s / 3,600 × 4 × $0.0129            = $0.86
           Disk   1,000 × 60 s / 3,600 × 32 × $0.000086         = $0.05
           Total                                                  $2.25

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 bill the same busy or idle, so with both CPUs busy for the whole minute it is $5.33 on Runloop and $2.25 on Freestyle, and $1.33 on Runtime.

## Which one to pick

- **Runloop** for benchmarking platforms with suites ready to run.
- **Freestyle** for long-lived VMs that fork live.
- **Runtime** for evals and agents at the lowest price per run.

See [Runtime vs Runloop](/docs/runloop-alternative) and
[Runtime vs Freestyle](/docs/freestyle-alternative).

## Sources

Runloop rates checked 23 September 2026; Freestyle rates checked 25 September 2026.

- [Runloop pricing](https://www.runloop.ai/pricing), [Devbox sizes](https://docs.runloop.ai/docs/devboxes/configuration/sizes)
- [Freestyle pricing](https://www.freestyle.sh/pricing), [Freestyle VM pricing and limits](https://www.freestyle.sh/docs/vms/pricing-and-limits)
- Runtime [pricing](/docs/pricing)

Facts on this page were checked on 25 September 2026.