E2B

Overview

E2B provides isolated Linux environments for AI agents, with managed cloud hosting or deployment in a customer’s cloud. It suits teams building agents that need to run code or interact with a desktop; its appeal is the breadth of those capabilities, while session duration, usage costs, and plan limits shape the fit.

Key features

Each agent session runs in its own Firecracker microVM and kernel, without sharing a filesystem or memory with another customer’s sandboxes. The API covers execution, networking, storage, secrets, observability, and lifecycle management, with persistent storage and network controls. This makes E2B relevant to teams that need more than a disposable code runner, though the listed plans still cap session duration and concurrency.

The Code Interpreter SDK runs Python or JavaScript and can return charts, tables, and images. Desktop adds a screen, mouse, keyboard, and live stream for computer-use agents. Together, these options cover both code-oriented and screen-oriented agent workflows rather than limiting E2B to one interaction model.

Supported integrations include CrewAI, Agno, Mastra, Claude Managed Agents SDK, OpenAI Agents SDK, Google ADK, LangChain Deep Agents, and Vercel AI SDK. E2B Cloud regions span the US, EU, and APAC. Enterprise customers can use BYOC to run sandboxes inside their AWS, Google Cloud, or Azure account.

E2B maintains a SOC 2 Type II report and signs HIPAA Business Associate Agreements on Enterprise plans. Managed sandbox storage uses Google Cloud’s default encryption at rest, and sandbox traffic is encrypted with TLS. The runtime is Apache-2.0 licensed and self-hostable, giving teams a route to operate it themselves as well as use E2B’s managed cloud.

Pricing

E2B is freemium, with paid plans from $150/mo plus usage costs. The free Hobby plan costs nothing, billed FREE + Usage Costs. It includes a $100 one-time usage credit, sessions up to 1 hour, 20 concurrent sandboxes, and default sandbox CPU and RAM. That is a useful way to start, but short sessions and fixed resources make it a limited fit for sustained or resource-specific workloads.

Pro costs $150 a month, billed $150 /month + Usage Costs. It raises sessions to 24 hours and concurrency to 100, expandable to 1,100, and allows custom sandbox CPU and RAM. It suits teams running regular workloads that have outgrown Hobby’s hour-long sessions, but the usage charges remain additional to the subscription.

Enterprise has custom pricing, billed CUSTOM + Usage Costs. It adds committed usage and custom billing, multi-day and persistent sessions, tens of thousands of concurrent sandboxes, custom sizes, and BYOC deployment. It is the plan for organizations that need scale, longer-lived environments, or cloud-account deployment; HIPAA Business Associate Agreements are also available on Enterprise plans.

Platforms

E2B supports API, Linux, self-hosted, and web use. Its managed cloud spans US, EU, and APAC regions; BYOC is available on Enterprise plans for AWS, Google Cloud, and Azure accounts.

Who it's for

E2B is best suited to developers and organizations building AI agents that need isolated environments for code execution, desktop interaction, or both. The free tier works for evaluation and small-scale use; Pro is a clearer fit for regular sessions up to a day, while Enterprise is aimed at high concurrency, persistent workloads, and customer-cloud deployment. It is less compelling for users who only need a narrowly scoped local sandbox or who need predictable total costs without usage-based charges.

Pros and cons

• Pros: Separate Firecracker microVMs and kernels isolate customer sandboxes, without shared filesystem or memory.
• Pros: Code Interpreter and Desktop support both programmatic execution and computer-use agents.
• Pros: The runtime is Apache-2.0 licensed and self-hostable, and Enterprise BYOC supports deployment in major cloud accounts.
• Cons: Every plan adds usage costs, so the subscription price alone does not describe total spend.
• Cons: Hobby sessions stop at one hour, and Pro sessions at 24 hours; longer multi-day or persistent sessions require Enterprise.
• Cons: Pro’s 100 concurrent sandboxes and custom CPU and RAM may still be insufficient for larger workloads without expansion or Enterprise.

Alternatives

Sandbox Software is the broader category for comparing sandbox tools. Choose microsandbox if its free plan’s stated caps—5 vCPU-hours, 20 memory GiB-hours, 20 disk GiB-hours, and up to three sandboxes—better match a small workload.

Daytona is another freemium option with a free trial; consider it when its platform support, including macOS and Windows, matters to your environment. ANY.RUN offers a free Community plan and broad platform support, including Android and iOS, making it an alternative to consider when those platforms are central.

Sandlock has a free Apache-2.0 plan described as having no caps, telemetry, or registration; it may suit readers prioritizing those terms. Firejail is a free Linux desktop-focused community project, so consider it for that narrower focus. Anthropic Sandbox Runtime and nono are free alternatives for readers comparing sandbox tools across their supported platforms.

CodeSandbox is a freemium web and iOS option with member-based plans and monthly VM credits; it is worth comparing if that combination better fits a team’s development workflow.

Verdict

Choose E2B if you are building AI agents that need isolated Linux sandboxes plus code-interpreter or desktop capabilities, and you can accommodate usage-based costs. Look elsewhere if you need long-lived sessions without an Enterprise plan, or if the Hobby and Pro concurrency and duration limits do not fit your workload.