CapabilitiesBilling models
Paused costs only storage
A paused or stopped machine bills for its kept files only, not CPU or memory.
Short answer: 14 of 16 providers offer it fully: Agent 37, Blaxel, Boat, Cloudflare Sandbox, Daytona, E2B, InstaBox, Lizard, Morph, Runtime, Sandboxer, Sprites, Tensorlake and Vercel Sandbox. With a catch: boxd. Checked 29 October 2026.
Who offers it
Part of Billing models, which explains why it matters.
Fully: Agent 37, Blaxel, Boat, Cloudflare Sandbox, Daytona, E2B, InstaBox, Lizard, Morph, Runtime, Sandboxer, Sprites, Tensorlake and Vercel Sandbox. With a catch: boxd. Not at all: Modal.
docs-confirmed “The disk rate alone: $0.09 per reserved GB per month.” Source
docs-confirmed “You are not charged for memory while a sandbox is in standby mode.” Source
After 14 days the disk is deleted unless you saved a snapshot.
docs-confirmed “A stopped sandbox keeps its disk for free for 14 days.” Source
The disk does not survive a stop, so there is nothing to pay for.
pricing-page “After the instance stops, it is not billed.” Source
docs-confirmed “Billed for reserved disk only. The preserved memory state is not billed.” Source
Separately kept volumes and snapshots are billed on their own.
docs-confirmed “Paused and killed sandboxes are not billed.” Source
pricing-page “Pause it, and you just pay for its disk” Source
Paused storage on a separate volume is billed on its own.
pricing-page “A successful pause stops compute charges” Source
docs-confirmed “You only get charged for the snapshot taken” Source
docs-confirmed “A paused sandbox keeps its files and memory for $0.08 per decimal GB per 30-day month.” Source
docs-confirmed “Time while stopped is never counted.” Source
Storage for the files you keep is still charged while it sleeps.
docs-confirmed “Sprites have three states: running (billed), warm (not billed), and cold (not billed).” Source
docs-confirmed “Consumes no compute; state is preserved for resume under the same sandbox ID.” Source
A saved copy of the disk bills as snapshot storage after it stops.
docs-confirmed “Stop a sandbox when work is done to end CPU and memory charges.” Source
The catch: Pausing keeps the memory in place and you keep paying for it; only hibernating or stopping brings the bill down to disk alone.
pricing-page “a machine in standby pays for RAM and disk” Source
Note: There is no pause: a sandbox bills until it is shut down, and its saved copy is stored separately.
docs-confirmed “Modal Sandboxes are billed by the second based on whichever is higher: your resource request or your actual usage.” Source
Related
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