Application platforms / InstaCloud alternative

An InstaCloud alternative for a returning agent’s complete system

InstaCloud currently combines app containers in hosted microVMs with Postgres and S3-compatible storage. Agent tasks can use separate application branches. For durable runtime files, compute services attach a /data volume; volume-backed services stop and cold-wake rather than using the ordinary suspend path.

Start buildingCompare capabilities ↓

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

When InstaCloud fits

InstaCloud fits agents building and deploying applications with databases, buckets, service URLs and disposable task branches. Its application primitives and agent integrations address a wider deployment workflow than standalone command execution.

When to consider Sandbox0

Consider Sandbox0 when the agent needs the same durable entire writable RootFS, including installed tools and system configuration, with automatic online growth and supported paused files. Database and application deployment services remain separate integration choices.

Capabilities

InstaCloud and Sandbox0: what persists?

Feature comparison with documentation and verification status
Environment and runtime lifetimeInstaCloudNot established in this reviewSandbox0ttl 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 filesInstaCloudA /data volume survives service restarts; attached volumes switch lifecycle to stop and cold wake.View evidence ↗Sandbox0The writable RootFS survives successful checkpoints, including software, system configuration, dependencies, and user data.Read documentation →
Whole RootFSInstaCloudDocumented durable runtime storage is the selected /data volume, not the entire mutable image filesystem.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 stateInstaCloudScale-to-zero/suspend and cold-wake paths exist; persistent-volume services stop instead of suspending.View evidence ↗Sandbox0Pause compute between tasks; resume on available capacity. Default resume starts fresh processes from the saved filesystem.Read documentation →
Memory and process stateInstaCloudThe suspend operation name alone does not establish a durable full-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.

InstaCloud volume size changes are explicit and plan-capped. Database and bucket branching and app replicas do not establish automatic online expansion of a private complete agent RootFS.

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.

InstaCloud database and object storage APIs remain separate managed services. Their access does not by itself establish whole-RootFS file operations against a sleeping app service; Sandbox0 provides supported paused RootFS access, with retained-memory mutations rejected.

See paused file operations →

Persistent application volumes have a selected path

InstaCloud documents /data volumes for disk state that must survive restarts. Volume-backed services use cold wake for consistency. New services can scale to zero, while port-zero workers stay always on; inbound and outbound activity affect idling. Set lifecycle policy explicitly, since the overview’s introductory default wording differs from its detailed new-service behavior.

Source 1 ↗

Task branches clone application primitives

A task branch has its own copy-on-write database, forked bucket and app machines from the parent image. This does not establish a fork of every live process and mutable OS file. Agents can still address other branches when explicitly instructed, and promotion requires code deployment and database migrations; branch data does not merge into main automatically.

Source 1 ↗

Usage credit and a platform fee have different accounting

Pro is a $20 monthly minimum with $20 usage credit, followed by extra usage. Team is a separate $499 monthly platform fee with usage on top. Free credit exhaustion pauses projects until the next cycle. Volume limits and the number of services depend on the selected plan.

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.

InstaCloud

Pricing reviewed 2026-10-19

Compute CPU
$0.00000772 per vCPU-second
Rate source ↗
Compute memory
$0.00000386 per GB-second
Rate source ↗
Volume storage
$0.000000057833 per GB-second
Rate source ↗
Pro minimum usage
$20/month with $20 usage credit
Avoid adding the minimum again on top of the credit it includes.
Rate source ↗
Team platform fee
$499/month plus usage
Rate source ↗

Object storage and egress have separate meters. Preserve the public pricing page’s GB labels; compute documentation describes the default volume as 1 Gi, so confirm effective byte units and plan quotas. These are current InstaCloud terms, rather than a borrowed tariff for the separate InsForge backend product.

Check current InstaCloud 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 InstaCloud

  1. Separate the current InstaCloud app, database, bucket and /data volume state from any older InsForge project or agreement.
  2. Export files and schema changes, port compatible Linux agent execution and retain or rebuild required database and deployment integrations.
  3. Test branch permissions, cold wake, system-path retention, growing outputs, supported paused files and the actual credit-plus-usage invoice.

Common questions

Is Sandbox0 a drop-in InstaCloud 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.instacloud.com/compute/overview ↗docs.instacloud.com/agents/branch-per-task ↗www.instacloud.com/pricing ↗docs.instacloud.com/introduction ↗Sandbox0 RootFS capacity →

Related comparisons

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