Browser platforms / Surfsky alternative

Surfsky alternative

Surfsky runs managed browsers with one-time or persistent profiles. Paid monthly fees become usage credit that can be spent on browser time and premium proxy traffic. Its profile save settings and inactivity policy matter separately from the advertised absence of a fixed session-time limit.

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

When Surfsky fits

Surfsky fits browser workflows that want managed sessions, proxy choices and persistent browser identities with explicit storage controls. It can remain a browser layer for an agent whose broader execution environment lives elsewhere.

When to consider Sandbox0

Consider Sandbox0 when the agent must retain system packages, configuration, code and growing files across tasks. Keep required managed browser/proxy features explicitly or supply a compatible browser stack; raw compute alone does not replace the browser service.

Capabilities

Surfsky and Sandbox0: what persists?

Feature comparison with documentation and verification status
Environment and runtime lifetimeSurfskyNo fixed session-time limit is advertised, with separately enforced inactivity closure and plan/concurrency balances.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 filesSurfskyPersistent browser profiles save selected storage; a general-purpose durable Linux disk is not established.View evidence ↗Sandbox0The writable RootFS survives successful checkpoints, including software, system configuration, dependencies, and user data.Read documentation →
Whole RootFSSurfskySelected browser data is not a whole writable Linux RootFS contract.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 stateSurfskyStopping and reopening a browser profile is not arbitrary-machine process restoration.View evidence ↗Sandbox0Pause compute between tasks; resume on available capacity. Default resume starts fresh processes from the saved filesystem.Read documentation →
Memory and process stateSurfskyArbitrary process-memory checkpoint/restore is not established.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.

Surfsky profiles retain the browser data selected in storage_options. Its credit balance, profile count and long-session offer do not establish automatic expansion of a complete Linux RootFS. Sandbox0 retains system tools and growing agent files around that browser layer.

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.

Surfsky allows editing a stopped profile’s configuration, but that is not documented read/write access to an entire paused Linux RootFS. Preserve required artifacts separately and wait for a normal browser stop to save profile state.

See paused file operations →

Choose which profile state actually survives

Persistent profiles default to saving cookies, passwords and bookmarks. localStorage, extensions, history and service-worker state default off. Enable the state the application needs and stop normally to save it. Each persistent profile runs one browser at a time; a second start returns the existing running session and ignores new settings.

Source 1 ↗

No fixed session cap still leaves an inactivity deadline

The pricing page advertises no session-time limit, but the session guide defaults inactive_kill_timeout to 30 seconds without CDP commands, ChromeDriver requests or scrapes. An open idle connection does not count as activity. Extend the timeout for pauses and wait for normal stop completion; premature termination can lose recent unsaved state.

Source 1 ↗Source 2 ↗

Monthly credit and traffic allowances are different meters

The monthly fee becomes shared credit for browser hours and premium proxy traffic. Browser time rounds up by the minute. Paid plans also include a shared-traffic amount, while premium residential/mobile GB use the same credit at their own rates. CAPTCHA solving is available but the FAQ says solves are metered as usage, not universally free.

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.

Surfsky

Pricing reviewed 2026-10-18

Pay as you go
$0 monthly fee; $0.35 per browser-hour
Ten concurrent browsers; one-time profiles and $10/GB premium traffic.
Rate source ↗
Starter prepaid usage
$29/month; $0.30 per browser-hour
15 concurrent browsers, ten persistent profiles and 5 GB shared traffic; premium traffic $9/GB.
Rate source ↗
Base prepaid usage
$99/month; $0.25 per browser-hour
50 concurrent browsers, 100 persistent profiles and 15 GB shared traffic; premium traffic $8/GB.
Rate source ↗
Reserved capacity
From $0.03 per browser-hour
Dedicated-fleet quote; do not substitute this starting rate for ordinary pay-as-you-go sessions.
Rate source ↗

The full monthly amount is described as usage credit, not an extra fee to add again to the same prepaid consumption. Advertised “up to” browser-hour amounts assume credit is spent on time; premium proxy usage reduces what remains. Shared included traffic and premium residential/mobile traffic are distinct. Minute rounding, metered solves and actual reserved-fleet terms affect the total.

Check current Surfsky 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 Surfsky

  1. Inventory storage_options, one-time/persistent profiles, idle pauses, concurrent profile users and shared versus premium traffic.
  2. Run compatible agent code and durable Linux files on Sandbox0 while retaining Surfsky or configuring a tested browser/proxy replacement.
  3. Test login-state saves, inactive-session recovery, whole-RootFS retention/growth, paused files and the combined browser/proxy/solve/runtime budget.

Common questions

Is Sandbox0 a drop-in Surfsky 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.surfsky.io/sessions.md ↗surfsky.io/pricing ↗Sandbox0 RootFS capacity →

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