Cloud infrastructure / Amazon Bedrock AgentCore alternative

Amazon Bedrock AgentCore alternative

Amazon Bedrock AgentCore combines agent hosting with tools such as Browser and Code Interpreter. Runtime now offers consumption-based microVMs and EC2-backed Instances, with several persistent filesystem options. For a returning agent computer, compare exactly which paths survive and which compute/storage product you select.

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Reviewed 2026-10-19 · Published by the Sandbox0 team

When Amazon Bedrock AgentCore fits

Choose AgentCore for its managed agent platform, AWS integrations, identity and separate tool services. Instances can fit specialized or persistent workloads in your AWS account; retain those platform controls when they are central to your architecture.

When to consider Sandbox0

Consider Sandbox0 for the isolated Linux runtime and a whole writable RootFS that retains tools and expands online. Agent hosting, model calls, browser services, identity integration and workflow memory remain separate capabilities to integrate.

Capabilities

Amazon Bedrock AgentCore and Sandbox0: what persists?

Feature comparison with documentation and verification status
Environment and runtime lifetimeAmazon Bedrock AgentCoreThe price page describes Instances sessions up to fourteen days. MicroVM generations and their lifecycle limits are separate contracts; confirm the selected compute type.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 filesAmazon Bedrock AgentCoreConfigured session mounts and EBS/EFS/S3 Files options persist selected paths under their own policies.View evidence ↗Sandbox0The writable RootFS survives successful checkpoints, including software, system configuration, dependencies, and user data.Read documentation →
Whole RootFSAmazon Bedrock AgentCoreThe documented persistent mount interfaces do not establish universal retention of the complete writable RootFS.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 stateAmazon Bedrock AgentCoreSame-ID session files can restore onto new compute; this is not arbitrary execution-state continuation.View evidence ↗Sandbox0Pause compute between tasks; resume on available capacity. Default resume starts fresh processes from the saved filesystem.Read documentation →
Memory and process stateAmazon Bedrock AgentCoreAgentCore Memory is application memory; arbitrary runtime RAM checkpoint recovery is not established here.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.

AgentCore already provides durable mounted filesystems. Those mounts, a 1 GB preview session-store quota and EC2-backed volumes have different scope from automatic online expansion of the complete writable RootFS as an agent installs system tools and accumulates files.

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.

External EFS or S3 data may be accessible independently through its own service. The session-storage guide restores the mount during agent invocation; it does not establish full-RootFS read/write operations while guest compute stays stopped.

See paused file operations →

Managed session storage retains a mounted directory

MicroVM session storage is a preview feature mounted under /mnt with one subdirectory level. It restores files when the same session ID gets new compute. Data resets after 14 days without invocation or a runtime-version update. The quota page lists 1 GB per session; this is not a checkpoint of every writable system path.

Source 1 ↗Source 2 ↗

Instances and bring-your-own filesystems are different paths

Instances use named EBS capacity-provider volumes. S3 Files and EFS can provide shared mounted data. These options have separate ownership, billing and concurrency semantics; neither a durable mount nor logical conversation memory proves whole-RootFS or arbitrary process-memory recovery.

Source 1 ↗Source 2 ↗

Runtime generation changes both rates and consumption rules

The current table publishes distinct v1 and v2 consumption rates. Runtime v2 reclaims idle memory after 120 seconds, while CPU scales down during I/O wait; billing still includes overhead and a 128 MB minimum memory floor. Instances instead charge underlying EC2 plus a management fee, with retained EBS billed separately.

Source 1 ↗

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.

Amazon Bedrock AgentCore

Pricing reviewed 2026-10-19

Runtime microVM v1 CPU
$0.0895 per vCPU-hour
Consumption metering, not a universal allocated-machine rate.
Rate source ↗
Runtime microVM v1 memory
$0.00945 per GB-hour
Rate source ↗
Runtime microVM v2 CPU
$0.1276 per vCPU-hour
Consumption rate; separately advertised committed baseline has its own launch/account terms.
Rate source ↗
Runtime microVM v2 memory
$0.0169 per GB-hour
Idle reclamation and minimum-memory rules apply.
Rate source ↗
Managed session storage preview
No usage charge during public preview
A preview condition, not a permanent free-storage guarantee.
Rate source ↗

Browser and Code Interpreter have their own resource meters; model, network, storage, gateway and other platform usage can add charges. Instances management fees use the public EC2 On-Demand basis even when your compute is discounted. MicroVM lifecycle defaults and Instances sessions are different contracts; the price page describes Instances sessions up to 14 days.

Check current Amazon Bedrock AgentCore 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 Amazon Bedrock AgentCore

  1. Identify Runtime generation/compute type, session mount, runtime version, retention, shared filesystems and separate tool services.
  2. Export needed system and workspace state; integrate compatible Linux tools with Sandbox0 and retain required AWS platform services.
  3. Test all required system paths, growth, paused files, process expectations and combined compute, tools, models, storage and network costs.

Common questions

Is Sandbox0 a drop-in Amazon Bedrock AgentCore 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.aws.amazon.com/bedrock-agentcore/latest/devguide/runtime-filesystem-configurations.html ↗docs.aws.amazon.com/bedrock-agentcore/latest/devguide/bedrock-agentcore-limits.html ↗aws.amazon.com/bedrock/agentcore/pricing/ ↗Sandbox0 RootFS capacity →

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