Cloud infrastructure / Vultr Cloud Compute alternative

Vultr Cloud Compute alternative for persistent agents

Vultr Cloud Compute supplies full virtual machines whose installed system and files remain allocated when stopped. That retention is useful for agents, but stopping a VM does not end its reservation bill. Compare compute family, storage growth and the lifecycle used between tasks.

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

When Vultr Cloud Compute fits

Choose Vultr for full VM administration, its regions and associated cloud services. Cloud Compute, Optimized Cloud Compute, VX1, GPU and bare-metal offerings have different hardware and billing scope; a single entry price cannot represent them all.

When to consider Sandbox0

Consider Sandbox0 for a compatible Linux agent environment with a durable growing whole RootFS, compute-free pause and supported paused-file operations. Retain specialized VM/kernel features or Vultr network integrations where required.

Capabilities

Vultr Cloud Compute and Sandbox0: what persists?

Feature comparison with documentation and verification status
Environment and runtime lifetimeVultr Cloud ComputeNot 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 filesVultr Cloud ComputeStopped instances retain allocated SSD data; destruction permanently deletes it.View evidence ↗Sandbox0The writable RootFS survives successful checkpoints, including software, system configuration, dependencies, and user data.Read documentation →
Whole RootFSVultr Cloud ComputeThe VM filesystem and installed environment remain through an upgrade.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 stateVultr Cloud ComputeStopping remains billable and is not evidence of arbitrary memory-preserving compute release.View evidence ↗Sandbox0Pause compute between tasks; resume on available capacity. Default resume starts fresh processes from the saved filesystem.Read documentation →
Memory and process stateVultr Cloud ComputeThe reviewed disk/resize contract does not establish arbitrary running-memory checkpoint recovery.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.

Vultr already retains a whole VM filesystem and supports explicit upgrades that enlarge its resources. The reviewed upgrade contract does not establish automatic online growth triggered by low RootFS free space.

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.

Snapshots can retain disk state for a later deployment after destruction. They do not by themselves provide file reads and mutations throughout the original stopped whole RootFS through a native Files API.

See paused file operations →

Stopping preserves an allocation and its charges

A stopped instance continues reserving CPU, RAM, SSD storage and IP resources, so billing continues. Destroying releases resources and deletes its data. A snapshot before destruction can retain a disk copy, but snapshot/recreate is a different lifecycle from pausing an existing agent computer.

Source 1 ↗

Hourly caps vary by product

Vultr bills servers in one-hour minimum units. Cloud Compute and other non-GPU server types are capped at 672 billed hours per month; GPU instances use 730 hours. These caps do not mean every cloud resource or software add-on is included.

Source 1 ↗

An explicit upgrade retains the filesystem

The current Cloud Compute resize guide activates a larger plan with more CPU, RAM and storage and preserves instance data/filesystem. Downgrading is not supported by that workflow. It does not establish low-free-space-triggered online expansion of an independently durable agent RootFS.

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.

Vultr Cloud Compute

Pricing reviewed 2026-10-19

Cloud Compute plan amount
Confirm current plan and regional quote
A current numeric tariff was not verifiable; no archived or third-party figure is promoted as a current rate.
Rate source ↗
Non-GPU server billing
1-hour minimum; 672-hour monthly cap
Applies to the documented server classes; retained stopped instances still bill.
Rate source ↗
GPU server billing
1-hour minimum; 730-hour monthly cap
Separate product family, not the Cloud Compute cap.
Rate source ↗

Get the effective quote for CPU family, RAM, local disk and region, then add snapshot, backup, network, license and other resource charges. Current numeric plan rates remain unknown here; there is no calculated savings percentage or equal-performance claim.

Check current Vultr Cloud Compute 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 Vultr Cloud Compute

  1. Identify exact Vultr family, region, plan quote, retained disks and powered-off reservations.
  2. Export consistent system/user state before destructive actions and configure compatible tools on Sandbox0, retaining needed cloud integrations.
  3. Test tool retention, online growth, paused files and complete runtime, snapshot, backup, network and software costs.

Common questions

Is Sandbox0 a drop-in Vultr Cloud Compute 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.vultr.com/support/platform/billing/are-stopped-instances-still-billed-on-vultr ↗docs.vultr.com/support/platform/billing/how-am-i-billed-for-my-servers ↗docs.vultr.com/products/compute/instances/cloud-compute/management/resize-instance ↗www.vultr.com/pricing/ ↗Sandbox0 RootFS capacity →

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