Application platforms / Aptible alternative

Aptible alternative

Aptible deploys production applications and managed databases with security and operational controls. Its App Services now support persistent disks that survive deploys and container recycling. That is real durable storage, with mount, scaling and restart constraints that matter for a returning agent environment.

Start buildingCompare capabilities ↓

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

When Aptible fits

Aptible fits teams wanting an application platform, managed databases, dedicated network stacks and associated security/operational support. Keep those application, database and organizational controls when they are the primary requirement.

When to consider Sandbox0

Consider Sandbox0 for the agent runtime itself: retained system tools, configuration and growing whole RootFS, plus supported paused-file operations. You still need the application deployment, managed database, compliance program and other platform services that Aptible supplies.

Capabilities

Aptible and Sandbox0: what persists?

Feature comparison with documentation and verification status
Environment and runtime lifetimeAptibleApp Services have deployment and restart lifecycles. Durable mounted data survives those events, while running processes and writes outside the disk have different guarantees.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 filesAptibleApp Persistent Disks survive deployment/restart/recycling; outside writes remain ephemeral.View evidence ↗Sandbox0The writable RootFS survives successful checkpoints, including software, system configuration, dependencies, and user data.Read documentation →
Whole RootFSAptibleOne mounted persistent disk is explicit; a general complete writable RootFS checkpoint is not established.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 stateAptibleDisk-backed stop/start retains mounted data but does not establish arbitrary process-memory resume.View evidence ↗Sandbox0Pause compute between tasks; resume on available capacity. Default resume starts fresh processes from the saved filesystem.Read documentation →
Memory and process stateAptiblePersistent disk attachment is not a process-RAM checkpoint contract.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.

Aptible supports increasing a Persistent Disk in place, while requiring a Service restart to use the resized volume. This preserves mounted data but differs from online whole-RootFS growth while an agent process continues. Aptible’s current disk capability is acknowledged rather than described as ephemeral-only.

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.

A detached Persistent Disk keeps its data and bills until destroyed. That retention alone does not establish a complete paused-RootFS read/write API, and operations outside the disk still follow the App container lifecycle.

See paused file operations →

Persistent disks are a current application feature

The August 2026 launch and current docs describe disks retained across deploys, restarts and container recycling. By default, writes outside the attached disk remain ephemeral. A disk mounts at one selected path, one per Service; it is a durable volume feature rather than a documented checkpoint of every system path and process.

Source 1 ↗Source 2 ↗

The disk changes scaling, availability and deploy behavior

A disk-backed Service is pinned to one Availability Zone and one container. Deploys and attaching/detaching/resizing use stop-then-start with a brief interruption; the usual zero-downtime deploy behavior does not apply. Growth preserves data but requires a Service restart. Aptible does not automatically back up these App Persistent Disks, unlike its Managed Databases.

Source 1 ↗

Base fees, container profiles and storage are separate

Development has a $0 base fee plus usage. Production’s $499 base includes one Dedicated Stack, with resource usage still charged. General-purpose, CPU-optimized and RAM-optimized profiles have different RAM-hour rates and CPU characteristics; compare the chosen profile rather than treating every GB as equal compute.

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.

Aptible

Pricing reviewed 2026-10-18

Development base fee
$0/month plus usage
Containers, databases, endpoints and storage are still metered.
Rate source ↗
Production base fee
$499/month plus usage
Includes one Dedicated Stack; do not bill the included Stack twice.
Rate source ↗
General-purpose containers
$0.08 per GB RAM-hour
CPU-optimized is $0.10 and RAM-optimized $0.05 per GB RAM-hour; selected profiles differ.
Rate source ↗
App Persistent Disk
$0.20 per provisioned GB-month
Bills while the disk exists, including detached; provisioned size rather than actual file bytes.
Rate source ↗
Endpoints
$0.06 per endpoint-hour
Separate from container and disk usage.
Rate source ↗

Persistent Disks have a 3,000-IOPS baseline; the docs describe additional charges if higher IOPS are provisioned, while performance knobs are not user-configurable. Confirm region, profile, plan and any startup credits. Promotional LLM Gateway amounts vary across page sections and do not change these infrastructure rows; model/gateway usage is separate. Public security/compliance features are not a claim that replacing the application platform preserves every organizational requirement.

Check current Aptible 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 Aptible

  1. Inventory app profiles, Shared/Dedicated Stacks, databases, mount paths, backups and requirements for single-AZ/single-container operation.
  2. Export required mounted data and system setup, then port compatible agent execution to Sandbox0 while retaining or rebuilding application/platform controls.
  3. Verify package/configuration retention, growth without restart, paused files, recovery and the full base/container/disk/endpoint/model budget.

Common questions

Is Sandbox0 a drop-in Aptible 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 ↗www.aptible.com/docs/core-concepts/apps/persistent-disks ↗www.aptible.com/blog/persistent-disks-for-app-services ↗www.aptible.com/pricing ↗www.aptible.com/docs/core-concepts/architecture/stacks.md ↗Sandbox0 RootFS capacity →

Related comparisons

Azure Container Apps vs Sandbox0 →Clever Cloud vs Sandbox0 →Dockup vs Sandbox0 →Fly.io Machines vs Sandbox0 →Google Cloud Run vs Sandbox0 →Heroic Labs vs Sandbox0 →