Development environments / Manus Cloud Computer alternative

A Manus Cloud Computer alternative

Manus Cloud Computer is a persistent Ubuntu server that can run services outside an active Manus task. It retains working files, installed tools and databases and has its own monthly subscription. Compare that managed application-linked computer with the persistent execution layer you would build around Sandbox0.

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

When Manus Cloud Computer fits

Manus Cloud Computer fits users wanting a server connected to Manus workflows, dedicated public IP, web terminal and SSH, including continuously hosted services. The fixed monthly offer may fit steady usage; it is not a per-task model-credit price.

When to consider Sandbox0

Consider Sandbox0 when you are building a compatible agent application with a growing whole writable RootFS, deliberate compute pauses and supported no-wake file operations. Manus’s agent UI, model orchestration and application-specific workflows are separate functions to retain or replace.

Capabilities

Manus Cloud Computer and Sandbox0: what persists?

Feature comparison with documentation and verification status
Environment and runtime lifetimeManus Cloud ComputerThe server can keep services running outside active Manus sessions, subject to an active subscription.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 filesManus Cloud ComputerCloud Computer retains working files, installed tools and databases while its subscription remains active.View evidence ↗Sandbox0The writable RootFS survives successful checkpoints, including software, system configuration, dependencies, and user data.Read documentation →
Whole RootFSManus Cloud ComputerThe product is a persistent Ubuntu server, including installed tools and service/database state, rather than only chat artifacts.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 stateManus Cloud ComputerThe reviewed monthly-server guide does not establish a compute-free retained-machine pause contract.View evidence ↗Sandbox0Pause compute between tasks; resume on available capacity. Default resume starts fresh processes from the saved filesystem.Read documentation →
Memory and process stateManus Cloud ComputerSSH/server access does not establish arbitrary live-memory snapshot or restore.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.

Manus publishes fixed Standard/Advanced storage bundles and a restart-on-upgrade workflow. That is different from growth-enabled Sandbox0 templates expanding XFS online as an agent fills its RootFS. Setup-time storage selection does not establish automatic online expansion.

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.

The reviewed Manus access guide provides web-terminal and SSH paths, without a verified suspended-server file-editing API. Sandbox0 supports paused persistent files through the Files API while compute stays stopped, with read-only access during memory pauses.

See paused file operations →

A persistent server is more than a session workspace

The help center describes Ubuntu Server 24.04 LTS, persistent services and a dedicated public IP, independent of active Manus sessions. The setup guide provides web-terminal and SSH access without a graphical desktop. Installed system tools and server data can persist independently of outputs delivered into chat.

Source 1 ↗Source 2 ↗

Plan upgrades restart the VM

The published upgrade path changes the resource bundle and requires a VM restart. Active websites, bots or scripts experience an interruption. Preserving disk through a restart is different from automatically expanding the mounted RootFS while the same agent process continues.

Source 1 ↗

Subscription cancellation is a data-lifecycle decision

The guide says a lapsed/canceled subscription shuts down the VM and deletes its working files, installed tools and databases. Outputs previously delivered into chat remain in chat history, but that is not a backup of the server. Export important state before canceling.

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.

Manus Cloud Computer

Pricing reviewed 2026-10-18

Standard Cloud Computer
$30/month
2 vCPUs, 4 GB RAM and 70 GB storage; separate monthly server subscription.
Rate source ↗
Advanced Cloud Computer
$50/month
2 vCPUs, 8 GB RAM and 120 GB storage.
Rate source ↗
Plan upgrade
Higher plan with a VM restart
No per-second retained-compute pause discount is established by this guide.
Rate source ↗

These are resource-bundle subscriptions in USD, using the help center’s GB labels. They do not establish that all Manus model/agent usage is included. Cancellation or lapse deletes the server’s working state; previously delivered chat outputs are a different retained artifact. No equal-performance or universal savings claim is made.

Check current Manus Cloud Computer 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 Manus Cloud Computer

  1. Export installed-system configuration, databases and working files before canceling or allowing the server subscription to lapse; distinguish server data from delivered chat outputs.
  2. Recreate compatible services and agent tooling on Sandbox0, with credentials, model calls, UI/workflows and public-IP assumptions handled explicitly.
  3. Test repeated task returns, system-level retention, RootFS growth, process versus disk resume, paused files and fixed-monthly versus actual compute/storage cost.

Common questions

Is Sandbox0 a drop-in Manus Cloud Computer 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 ↗help.manus.im/en/articles/15392078-understanding-cloud-computer-plans-and-billing ↗help.manus.im/en/articles/15392128-how-to-set-up-and-access-your-cloud-computer ↗Sandbox0 RootFS capacity →

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