Browser platforms / Airtop alternative

An Airtop alternative for the durable Linux execution layer of your agent

Airtop combines browser automation with an Agent Builder and business-workflow products. Its API creates browser sessions, and saved profiles carry cookies and local storage into later sessions. A complete durable Linux runtime is a different layer from that managed browser and agent product.

Start buildingCompare capabilities ↓

Reviewed 2026-10-18 · Published by the Sandbox0 team

When Airtop fits

Airtop fits users needing managed browser workflows, authenticated profiles, live interaction, integrations and deployed business agents. Evaluate the Agent Builder and included Mark features as product functions rather than treating every plan as a generic VM rental.

When to consider Sandbox0

Consider Sandbox0 when you own the agent application and need installed software, system configuration and growing data in one persistent Linux environment. Supply or retain browser automation, agent building, integrations and human handoff as required.

Capabilities

Airtop and Sandbox0: what persists?

Feature comparison with documentation and verification status
Environment and runtime lifetimeAirtopThe documented default is a ten-minute inactivity timeout, not a verified unlimited active lifetime.View evidence ↗Sandbox0ttl and hard_ttl default to 0 (disabled). Configure idle pause and deletion policies for the same persistent sandbox identity; an idle running sandbox still accrues compute charges.Read documentation →
Persistent filesAirtopBrowser profile data can be saved at termination and restored into later sessions.View evidence ↗Sandbox0The writable RootFS survives successful checkpoints, including software, system configuration, dependencies, and user data.Read documentation →
Whole RootFSAirtopSaved browsing artifacts do not establish complete mutable Linux RootFS persistence.View evidence ↗Sandbox0Persistence extends beyond /workspace to paths such as /usr/local, /etc, and /home. Runtime tmpfs and virtual filesystems are excluded.Read documentation →
Release compute, keep stateAirtopTerminated browser sessions and separately restored profiles do not establish a complete-machine compute-release pause.View evidence ↗Sandbox0Pause compute between tasks; resume on available capacity. Default resume starts fresh processes from the saved filesystem.Read documentation →
Memory and process stateAirtopThe profile guide does not establish arbitrary RAM/process checkpoints.View evidence ↗Sandbox0Experimental memory checkpoints can preserve compatible process state. Use memory: true on both pause and resume on a compatible deployment. A filesystem checkpoint alone does not preserve running processes.Read documentation →

Online RootFS growth

On growth-enabled images, Sandbox0 automatically expands the writable RootFS as free space runs low, within a configured sparse logical ceiling up to 64 TiB. Agent processes keep running. Growth is enabled in the qualified Cloud region; confirm activation for other regions. Existing images and snapshots retain their captured storage geometry. The ceiling is logical capacity, not preallocated host disk.

Airtop profiles preserve browser cookies and local storage. They do not establish automatic online growth of an entire persistent Linux filesystem containing installed tools, configuration and accumulating agent outputs.

Files while compute is paused

Sandbox0's Files API reads persistent files without resuming compute. Filesystem-only pauses also permit edits; retained-memory pauses are read-only and reject mutations with 409. SSH, SFTP, file watching, and runtime-only mounts require running compute.

See paused file operations →

Profiles save browser state when the session terminates

Airtop profiles archive browsing artifacts, especially cookies and local storage. Programmatic changes require requesting save-on-termination and terminating the session to publish the profile. Restoring that profile creates another browser session; it does not establish arbitrary Linux system-file or process-memory continuity.

Source 1 ↗

Session inactivity is separate from saved-profile lifetime

The session API defaults to ten minutes of inactivity before termination. Incoming HTTP/AI requests or a new WebSocket connection reset the timer; the driver’s request pattern matters. A session can also await capacity. Do not infer zero wake latency, unlimited runtime or durable process suspension from the existence of a stored profile.

Source 1 ↗Source 2 ↗

Current plans combine credits with deployed-agent allowances

The website lists monthly prices and multiple selectable credit tiers, while the billing guide says monthly credits reset without rollover and one-off credit purchases are unavailable. The two sources disagree on the one-time free signup grant: the price page shows 10,000 and the guide 30,000. Verify the current account allowance and metering before projecting workload cost.

Source 1 ↗Source 2 ↗

Pricing

Compare billing models, then price your workload

CPU allocation, memory, billing minimums, disk, plan fees, and supported workload differ. These meters are not equal-performance machine quotes. Confirm region, resource units, and included allowances before estimating a total.

Airtop

Pricing reviewed 2026-10-18

Free
$0/month; 1,000 monthly credits
Three simultaneous sessions and one deployed agent; one-time bonus differs between public sources.
Rate source ↗
Starter advertised entry tier
$29/month
Credit-tier selection applies; ten deployed agents and three simultaneous sessions shown.
Rate source ↗
Professional advertised entry tier
$189/month
Thirty deployed agents and thirty simultaneous sessions shown; credit-tier selection applies.
Rate source ↗
Enterprise advertised entry tier
$558/month
One hundred simultaneous sessions and unlimited deployed agents shown; selected credits affect terms.
Rate source ↗
Annual billing
Advertised 10% discount with credits upfront
An annual commitment differs from a month-to-month fee.
Rate source ↗
Custom
Contact vendor
Rate source ↗

These are the currently advertised product-plan entry prices, not universal per-browser-hour or per-action API quotes. The rendered page lists multiple credit choices under paid plans without establishing one numeric action-to-credit conversion. Confirm selected allowance, API meters, proxy/model scope and effective signup grant before estimating cost; no free machine infrastructure or savings percentage is inferred.

Check current Airtop pricing ↗

Sandbox0

$0.015/GiB-hour compute (billed by the second at approximately $0.000004167/GiB-second), plus $0.02/GiB-month of retained incremental RootFS and memory checkpoint data. Shared base images and platform recovery retention are excluded; paused sandboxes accrue storage charges only.

Compute / GiB-hour
$0.015
Retained data / GiB-month
$0.02
Paused compute
$0.00

A 4 GiB agent, 100 running hours

$6.00 compute

4 GiB × 100 hours, billed by the second. Keeping 20 GiB of billable incremental data for a full billing month adds $0.40. CPU is derived from memory by the platform; choose a tier that fits your workload.

Understand storage billing →

Before migrating from Airtop

  1. Export required browser-profile and workflow data, and inventory Agent Builder, Mark, integrations, credit selections and API lifecycle settings.
  2. Move compatible Linux agent code to Sandbox0 and retain or rebuild the browser service, business automation UI and integrations that users rely on.
  3. Test authentication writeback and idle behavior separately from system persistence, online RootFS growth, paused file operations and account-effective credit usage.

Common questions

Is Sandbox0 a drop-in Airtop replacement?

Evaluate API compatibility and product scope. These products serve different core workflows, so a change may require a different architecture.

Does keeping files also keep a running agent?

Filesystem state and volatile process state are separate. Sandbox0 requires explicit compatible memory checkpoints to preserve running processes; its default filesystem resume starts fresh processes.

Sources and review scope

The Boat team's Battleships directory is the discovery source. References below describe the product and plan discussed on this page. Check current availability, regional terms and billing units before migrating. Where the cited material does not establish a capability or price, the comparison identifies that uncertainty.

Battleships research record ↗docs.airtop.ai/guides/how-to/saving-a-profile ↗docs.airtop.ai/guides/how-to/creating-a-session.md ↗docs.airtop.ai/api-reference/airtop-api/sessions/create.md ↗www.airtop.ai/pricing ↗www.airtop.ai/help/billing/billing ↗Sandbox0 RootFS capacity →

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