Runtime

How to compare your sandbox costs with E2B, Daytona, Modal and others

Run runtime compare --from e2b (or another provider); it prices your last 30 days of sandboxes at that rival's published rates.

Runtime bills the CPU your code uses, so the comparison usually shows a saving of 42% to 88% for an agent that mostly waits on a model. Those are the figures for the standard example at each provider's published rates, checked 23 September 2026 (pricing). runtime compare replaces the example with your own sandboxes: the same vCPUs, memory and running time, priced both ways.

Estimated compute cost

77% less than E2B

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

1,000

Compute only, at list rates checked 23 September 2026 (E2B pricing). Plan fees, network, taxes and free credits are left out. The worked example below shows the arithmetic.

Run the comparison

Terminalruntime compare --from e2b

Without the CLI installed, write npx withruntime compare --from e2b. It takes your settled sandboxes from the last 30 days, prices them at the rates you were quoted on Runtime, prices the same shape and time at the rival's published rates, and prints what you save and about how much that is a month, with the date the rival's rates were checked.

Change the window, or ask about another provider:

Terminalruntime compare --from daytona --days 90runtime compare --from modalruntime compare --from fly-machines

The same figures, in microdollars, come from the API and from MCP:

Terminalcurl -sS "https://api.withruntime.com/v1/usage/compare?provider=vercel&days=30" \  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${RUNTIME_API_KEY}"

An agent calls the runtime_usage_compare tool.

Options

Option Values
--from e2b, daytona, vercel, modal, cloudflare, fly (Sprites), fly-machines and the others in the rate table
--days The window, up to 90; 30 by default
--json One JSON value, every figure in integer microdollars
API GET /v1/usage/compare?provider=<p>&days=<n>
MCP runtime_usage_compare

What the example looks like

With no sandboxes yet, the command prices an example and says so. The standard one is 1,000 runs of a 2 vCPU, 4 GiB sandbox, 60 seconds each, with 20 CPU-seconds of work per run:

TextRuntime  CPU    1,000 × 20 s / 3,600 × $0.025      = $0.14         Memory 1,000 × 60 s / 3,600 × 4 × $0.0075 = $0.50         Total                                        $0.64E2B      CPU    1,000 × 60 s / 3,600 × 2 × $0.0504 = $1.68         Memory 1,000 × 60 s / 3,600 × 4 × $0.0162 = $1.08         Total                                        $2.76

E2B bills every allocated vCPU for the whole run; Runtime bills the 20 CPU-seconds the code used. With both CPUs busy for the whole minute, the job costs $1.33 on Runtime and $2.76 on E2B, so Runtime stays cheaper however busy the sandbox is. E2B's rates are from its pricing page, checked 23 September 2026.

Work it out by hand

runtime usage --json lists each sandbox with its measured activeCpuSeconds, billedCpuSeconds and memoryGiBSeconds. Runtime's cost is then:

textcost = billedCpuSeconds × $0.025 / 3,600 + memoryGiBSeconds × $0.0075 / 3,600

For the other side, use the old provider's own bill where you can see it, or its published rates from the comparison pages. Divide each total by successful jobs, failed attempts and retries included, then multiply the difference by your jobs a month.

Mistakes and how Runtime handles them

  • Counting free trial time as a saving. The comparison prices trial sandboxes at Runtime's standard rates, what the same work costs on paid credit, and says how many there were.
  • A short history. When your first sandbox is more recent than the window, the month is projected from the days since, and the output says so.
  • Comparing everything. It compares compute only. Storage, network, plan fees and free allowances are left out on both sides.
  • Comparing unlike CPUs. Runtime's default CPU is shared with a guaranteed floor. If your old provider gave whole cores, compare against cpu: "reserved" (how to reserve CPU).
  • Topping up before recording the switch. Run runtime switch --from e2b before your first top-up, and that top-up is matched with credit, up to $100. Afterwards it is too late.

Sources

Facts on this page were checked on 25 September 2026.

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