Paperspace Windows-based templates are unavailable to new users joining on or after July 1, 2024. Existing eligible accounts have different Windows access; Linux Machines and DigitalOcean GPU Droplets are separate offers. Read the source ↗

GPU clouds / Paperspace alternative

A Paperspace alternative for the agent around GPU work

Paperspace Machines provide persistent Linux VMs and GPU configurations. Powered-off Machines stop compute billing while storage and add-ons continue; DigitalOcean GPU Droplets follow a different policy. Whole-disk custom templates already preserve installed software, so compare growth, access and execution-state requirements rather than assuming only workspace files survive.

Start buildingCompare capabilities ↓

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

When Paperspace fits

Paperspace fits GPU research, development and selected desktop workloads needing a full VM, prepared ML images, snapshots and private-network shared drives. Gradient Notebooks and related subscriptions are separate product paths.

When to consider Sandbox0

Consider Sandbox0 for compatible Linux agents that should retain their complete writable RootFS, grow online automatically, and access supported files while compute stays paused. Keep GPU or native desktop tasks on appropriate infrastructure.

Capabilities

Paperspace and Sandbox0: what persists?

Feature comparison with documentation and verification status
Environment and runtime lifetimePaperspaceNot 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 filesPaperspaceMachines have persistent storage; powered-off compute and retained storage are billed separately.View evidence ↗Sandbox0The writable RootFS survives successful checkpoints, including software, system configuration, dependencies, and user data.Read documentation →
Whole RootFSPaperspaceCustom templates capture full machine disks, including installed system software and configuration.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 statePaperspacePower off/on retains machine storage while ending compute charges; that does not establish continuing process memory.View evidence ↗Sandbox0Pause compute between tasks; resume on available capacity. Default resume starts fresh processes from the saved filesystem.Read documentation →
Memory and process statePaperspaceFull disk images and snapshots do not establish persistent RAM or GPU execution-state 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.

Paperspace supports explicit irreversible disk enlargement; its documented API/CLI workflow requires a powered-off machine and supported family changes. Sandbox0 instead grows an enabled durable writable RootFS automatically while the running agent continues.

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.

Persistent storage and whole-disk images retain files between Machine runs. The reviewed resize and snapshot interfaces do not establish arbitrary whole-RootFS file access against a powered-off guest without another runtime. Sandbox0 offers supported offline RootFS operations under its pause-mode rules.

See paused file operations →

Whole-disk templates already retain the installed system

Paperspace custom templates are full disk images of existing machines, scoped to the source datacenter. Block storage supports the machine filesystem; shared drives are a separate service with their own limits. Windows-based templates are unavailable to users who joined on or after July 1, 2024, so old Windows examples are not a new-user entitlement.

Source 1 ↗Source 2 ↗

Power off stops compute, but retained resources still bill

The current price guide explicitly stops Machine compute charges when powered off, while storage, public IP and other add-ons remain billed. Non-GPU resources have monthly charge caps. Auto-shutdown can misclassify SSH or RDP activity as inactivity; configure it deliberately for long-running agent tasks.

Source 1 ↗Source 2 ↗

Resize is explicit and constrained by machine family

The documented API and CLI resize workflows power the machine off before changing its type or disk size, then start it afterward. Storage enlargement is irreversible, and machine types can change only within the supported family. This is a different lifecycle from automatic expansion of a running agent’s mounted RootFS.

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.

Paperspace

Pricing reviewed 2026-10-19

H100 single-GPU Machine reference
$5.95 per machine-hour
Rate source ↗
H100 ×8 Machine reference
$47.60 per machine-hour
Complete eight-GPU machine price, not per GPU.
Rate source ↗
100 GB block storage
$0.0104/hour; $7 maximum per month
Continues while the disk remains allocated, including power off.
Rate source ↗
Public IP address
$0.0045/hour; $3 maximum per month
Rate source ↗

Machine compute is hourly while powered on; retained resources have their own billing. Gradient subscription fees, included notebook machine eligibility and extra Gradient storage are separate. Confirm exact hardware, datacenter, snapshot costs, plan requirements and effective account rates.

Check current Paperspace 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 Paperspace

  1. Identify Machines versus Gradient products, original signup eligibility, GPU family, snapshots, block disks, shared drives and auto-shutdown settings.
  2. Export required files and system configuration and port compatible Linux agent tasks while retaining needed GPU or desktop stages.
  3. Test long SSH-driven tasks, whole-system retention, growth and supported paused files, then compare running Machine hours and retained add-on charges.

Common questions

Is Sandbox0 a drop-in Paperspace 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.digitalocean.com/products/paperspace/machines/details/features/index.html.md ↗docs.digitalocean.com/products/paperspace/machines/details/limits/ ↗docs.digitalocean.com/products/paperspace/pricing/index.html.md ↗docs.digitalocean.com/products/paperspace/machines/how-to/resize/index.html.md ↗Sandbox0 RootFS capacity →

Related comparisons

Azure GPU VMs (NC_A100_v4 reference) vs Sandbox0 →Cerebrium Serverless Compute vs Sandbox0 →Crusoe vs Sandbox0 →DigitalOcean GPU Droplets vs Sandbox0 →Fluidstack vs Sandbox0 →Google Compute Engine GPU VMs vs Sandbox0 →