# Blaxel

> MicroVM sandboxes billed by allocated RAM, now part of Baseten.

Website: https://blaxel.ai  
Guide page: https://botperch.com/providers/blaxel/  
Checked: 2026-10-28

**Short answer:** One always-on personal agent (2 vCPU / 4 GiB / 20 GiB) costs about $123.29 a month here, the 11th cheapest of the 12 providers that run it as described. The AI model adds about $14.70 a month on top (GLM 5.3, 30 requests a day at 40k tokens each, median zero-retention price; from $6.84 at the cheapest host). Fits well: A sandbox that must resume in milliseconds: standby preserves process state and resume is claimed under 25 ms.

Blaxel runs sandboxes as microVMs for agent workloads, alongside agent hosting, MCP servers, batch jobs and a model gateway.
Baseten acquired Blaxel on 10 September 2026. The announcement says the product continues and features keep shipping, and Baseten sign-in now connects to a Blaxel workspace.

**Who it is for:** Teams building agent platforms that want instant sandboxes, a built-in MCP surface and optional agent hosting.

**Isolation:** MicroVM boundary per sandbox, root by default with an optional unprivileged user. The default kernel refuses module loading and kernel tracing to every process, including root; iptables requires enabling at creation.

**Sizes and regions:** Memory drives CPU: 8 GB gets 4 cores and 16 GB gets 6. Custom deployments advertise up to 256 GB of RAM. Regions: Oregon, North Virginia, London and Frankfurt.

## How it charges

- model: Pay-as-you-go against a wallet, with quota tiers set by top-up.
- meter: $0.0000115 per GB of allocated RAM per second while active; CPU is included in that rate. Snapshot storage $0.20 per GB-month and volumes $0.12 per GB-month.
- stopped: Standby stops memory charges but keeps billing snapshot and volume storage.
- planFee: No subscription: tiers are wallet top-ups ($0, $20, $50) that raise quotas.
- minimum: No published minimum billed duration. Up to $200 in promotional credits is advertised; the actual grant is not published.

Per second on allocated memory while active, CPU included; standby bills storage only.
- Standby keeps a snapshot, billed at $0.20 per GB-month; its size is not published, so it is not added.
- Up to $200 of promotional credit is advertised; the actual grant is not published.

## Monthly cost for each preset workload

- A personal agent that stays on (Hermes, OpenClaw): $123.29
- A coding agent for one developer: $57.79
- A code interpreter inside your product: $55.20
- A browser agent for a small team: $828.00
- Self-hosted n8n for a small team: $123.29
- A Discord or Slack bot for one server: $61.64
- Claude Code for a team of five: $288.96
- A scraper that runs four times a day: $1.66
- Your own remote MCP server: $31.42
- A: 1,000 short tasks: $27.60
- B: one always-on box: $247.78
- C: three hours a day: $17.30

## Fits well

- A sandbox that must resume in milliseconds: standby preserves process state and resume is claimed under 25 ms.
- Secrets that should never sit in the machine: the proxy injects headers, body fields and secrets server-side.
- A team that wants SDKs in three languages, a console and a per-sandbox MCP server.

## Fits badly

- A buyer who needs the contracting entity settled now: the terms still name Blaxel, not Baseten.
- A workload that needs kernel modules or iptables without opting in at creation.
- Production dependence on snapshots, which are in private preview.

## Features

- **Isolation** (partly): microVM; no modules. A microVM boundary, root by default, but the default kernel refuses module loading and kernel tracing, and iptables needs enabling at creation. [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Sandboxes/Non-root-user.md) [docs](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Sandboxes/Non-root-user.md)
- **Sizes and regions** (partly): 16 GB → 6 cores; 256 GB custom. Memory drives CPU: 8 GB gets 4 cores and 16 GB gets 6. Custom deployments go to 256 GB. Four regions, no published GPU. [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Sandboxes/Overview.md) [docs](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Infrastructure/Regions.md)
- **Lifecycle** (yes): Standby: RAM, no sockets. Standby preserves process and filesystem state and stops memory charges, but external network connections do not survive. Archive exports filesystem changes only and restarts processes with new IDs. [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Sandboxes/Overview.md) [docs](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Sandboxes/Overview.md)
- **Snapshots and forks** (partly): RAM + disk; preview. A snapshot captures filesystem, running processes and memory, and outlives the sandbox, but it is in private preview and not recommended for production. Fork runs from the snapshot. [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Sandboxes/Fork.md) [docs](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Sandboxes/Fork.md)
- **Storage** (yes): 1 volume; survives delete. A volume survives sandbox deletion, but only one volume attaches to a sandbox and a volume attaches to one sandbox at a time. Agent Drive is the shared filesystem, priced separately. [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Sandboxes/Volumes.md) [docs](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Sandboxes/Volumes.md)
- **Idle and waking** (partly): 15 min idle (docs); 5 s (pricing). Standby after 15 minutes of idle WebSocket or TCP activity according to the docs, or about 5 seconds according to the pricing page. Resume from standby is claimed under 25 ms. [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Sandboxes/Overview.md) [docs](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Sandboxes/Standby-control.md)
- **Reaching it** (partly): Optional auth. Specific ports can be exposed, and preview URLs back a running sandbox with optional auth and custom domains. Default ingress authentication is not published. [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/llms.txt) [docs](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Sandboxes/Preview-url.md)
- **Custom domains** (yes): Native, optional auth. Preview URLs back a running sandbox with optional auth and custom domains. [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/llms.txt) [docs](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Infrastructure/Custom-domains.md)
- **Outbound network** (partly): Included in plan. A proxy can filter domains, but tools that ignore proxy environment variables are not filtered unless domain filter enforcement is enabled. Egress is included in the plan. [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Sandboxes/Proxy-domains.md) [docs](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Sandboxes/Proxy-domains.md)
- **Keys and secrets** (yes): No, proxy (preview). The proxy intercepts outbound HTTPS and injects headers, body fields and secrets server-side, but the feature is in public preview and tools that ignore proxy variables can bypass filtering. [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Sandboxes/Proxy-secrets-injection.md) [docs](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Sandboxes/Proxy-secrets-injection.md)
- **Ways to drive it** (yes): Yes, console. Python, TypeScript and Go SDKs, an HTTP API, a per-sandbox MCP server, a console terminal and a CLI. [source](https://blaxel.ai/pricing) [docs](https://docs.blaxel.ai/cli-reference/introduction.md)
- **Built-in agents** (partly): MCP server; runtime soon. Every sandbox exposes an MCP server that agents use to operate it, and agent hosting is a separate product line, but Agent Runtime is labelled coming soon. [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/llms.txt) [docs](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Agents/Overview.md)
- **Teams and accounts** (partly): No hard cap. Workspace roles are admin, member and viewer; service accounts have scoped tokens; SAML and directory sync require a feature flag. No hard spend cap or full audit coverage is published. [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Security/Workspace-access-control.md) [docs](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Security/Workspace-access-control.md)
- **Billing models** (partly): $0.0000115/GB-second. Active compute is billed on allocated RAM per second at $0.0000115 per GB-second, with CPU included. Snapshots and volumes bill separately; tiers are wallet top-ups, not subscriptions. [source](https://blaxel.ai/pricing) [docs](https://blaxel.ai/pricing)
- **Trials and free tiers** (partly): Up to $200 credits. Up to $200 in promotional credits advertised on pay-as-you-go. The actual grant, expiry and card requirement are not published. Quota tiers are wallet top-ups, not fees. [source](https://blaxel.ai/pricing) [docs](https://blaxel.ai/pricing)
- **The company** (partly): Blaxel, Inc.; acquired. Blaxel, Inc. (formerly Beamlit), Delaware, acquired by Baseten on 10 September 2026; the linked terms still name Blaxel and predate the deal. Six founders including CEO Paul Sinaï and CTO Christophe Ploujoux; founded 2024; $7.3M seed. Status reports Sandboxes 99.33% and Platform 99.30% for Jul–Oct 2026, provider-reported. No standard numeric SLA; Custom lists custom SLAs. Claims SOC 2, HIPAA and ISO 27001; HIPAA add-on $250/month. On termination it may delete data at its discretion, with a 90-day maximum retention. [source](https://www.baseten.co/blog/blaxel-is-joining-baseten-to-build-the-future-of-agentic-cloud/)

## Capabilities

- Its own virtual machine: yes (microVM) [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Sandboxes/Non-root-user.md)
- Root access: yes (root by default) [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Sandboxes/Non-root-user.md)
- Docker inside: yes (docker-in-sandbox image) [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Tutorials/Docker.md)
- Nested virtualisation: not-published [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Sandboxes/Overview.md)
- Your own image: yes (Dockerfile images) [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Sandboxes/Templates.md)
- Any size you like: partly (memory only, cores follow). You set the memory and the number of cores is decided for you, so you cannot pick a memory-heavy or core-heavy machine. [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Sandboxes/Overview.md)
- Large machines: partly (up to 256 GB by arrangement). The standard sizes stop at 16 GB of memory; anything larger is a custom deployment you have to arrange. [source](https://blaxel.ai/pricing)
- Resize while running: partly (memory change resets it). You can change the memory, but the sandbox resets, so anything running is lost. [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/api-reference/compute/update-sandbox.md)
- GPUs: not-published [source](https://blaxel.ai/pricing)
- Choose the region: partly (4 regions, not all open). Four regions are listed, but not all of them are available to self-service accounts without asking. [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Infrastructure/Regions.md)
- Runs in the EU: yes (London and Frankfurt) [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Infrastructure/Regions.md)
- Pause keeps memory: yes (Standby: 25 ms). Network connections do not survive; only files and processes do. [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Sandboxes/Overview.md)
- Pre-started pools: no [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Sandboxes/Overview.md)
- Starts in under a second: yes (Under 25 ms) [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Sandboxes/Overview.md)
- Snapshots of files: partly. Snapshots work but are in private preview, so the provider does not recommend them for production. [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Sandboxes/Fork.md)
- Snapshots with memory: partly. A snapshot keeps memory and running programs, but the whole feature is in private preview. [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Sandboxes/Fork.md)
- Copy a running machine: partly. You can copy a running machine, but the feature is in private preview. [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Sandboxes/Fork.md)
- Pick an older snapshot: yes [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Sandboxes/Fork.md)
- Reusable templates: yes [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Sandboxes/Overview.md)
- Automatic backups: no [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Sandboxes/Expiration.md)
- Files survive a stop: yes [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Sandboxes/Overview.md)
- Separate volumes: yes. Only one volume attaches to a sandbox, and it attaches to one sandbox at a time. [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Sandboxes/Volumes.md)
- One volume, several machines: partly. Shared storage is a separate product called Agent Drive; a volume itself serves one machine at a time. [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Sandboxes/Volumes.md)
- Mount outside storage: no [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Volumes/Overview.md)
- Large disk: not-published [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Volumes/Overview.md)
- Can stay on indefinitely: partly (7 or 30 days on low tiers). On the two lowest tiers a sandbox is deleted after 7 or 30 days; only higher tiers allow it to wait indefinitely. [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Sandboxes/Expiration.md)
- Choose the idle timeout: no [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Sandboxes/Standby-control.md)
- Wakes on a request: yes [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Sandboxes/Overview.md)
- Scheduled runs: yes (100 per sandbox) [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Sandboxes/Schedules.md)
- Public link to a port: yes (Public or private) [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Sandboxes/Preview-url.md)
- Private link: yes (Token per preview) [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Sandboxes/Preview-url.md)
- Real SSH: no. There is no SSH address or SSH server; the only shell is the provider's own terminal. [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Sandboxes/Overview.md)
- Terminal in the browser: yes (Console tab) [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Sandboxes/Overview.md)
- Tunnel to your computer: not-published [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Sandboxes/Overview.md)
- Non-web ports: not-published [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Sandboxes/Preview-url.md)
- Your own domain: yes (Wildcard subdomains) [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Infrastructure/Custom-domains.md)
- Automatic HTTPS: yes (Issued per domain) [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Infrastructure/Custom-domains.md)
- Outbound data included: yes (Included in plan) [source](https://blaxel.ai/pricing)
- Allow only some sites: partly (Proxy filter). The filter only sees programs that use its settings; anything else gets out unless stricter enforcement is switched on. [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Sandboxes/Proxy-domains.md)
- Turn the internet off: not-published [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Sandboxes/Proxy-domains.md)
- Fixed outgoing IP: partly (Private preview). Dedicated addresses are in a private preview you must ask to join, and can only be attached when a machine is created. [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Infrastructure/Dedicated-egress-gateways.md)
- Stored secrets: yes (Variables and secrets) [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Sandboxes/Variables-and-secrets.md)
- Secrets the agent cannot read: partly (Public preview). The feature is a public preview, and programs that ignore its settings can bypass it. [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Sandboxes/Proxy-secrets-injection.md)
- Limited API keys: partly (Workspace only). A service-account key is limited to one workspace but has no narrower permissions. [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Security/Access-tokens.md)
- Create from the website: yes [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Sandboxes/Overview.md)
- Command-line tool: yes [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/cli-reference/introduction.md)
- Python SDK: yes [source](https://blaxel.ai/pricing)
- TypeScript SDK: yes [source](https://blaxel.ai/pricing)
- Documented HTTP API: yes [source](https://blaxel.ai/pricing)
- MCP server: yes [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/llms.txt)
- Interactive terminal over the API: yes [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Sandboxes/Overview.md)
- Files over the API: yes [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Sandboxes/Filesystem.md)
- Coding agents preinstalled: no. The default image is a bare sandbox; agents are code you deploy or an MCP server you connect. [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Sandboxes/Overview.md)
- Send it a prompt: no. There is no prompt endpoint; Agent Runtime, the product that would run the loop, is marked Soon. [source](https://blaxel.ai/company/security)
- One-click Hermes: no. No Hermes template or guide is published; you would install it yourself. [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/llms.txt)
- One-click OpenClaw: no. A tutorial walks through OpenClaw in a sandbox, but it is terminal work, not one click. [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Tutorials/OpenClaw.md)
- Browser built in: no. No browser is installed or offered; you would add Chrome to your own image. [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Sandboxes/Overview.md)
- Desktop for computer use: no. No graphical desktop is documented; the browser surfaces are a terminal and preview URLs. [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Sandboxes/Overview.md)
- Runs other platforms' agents: yes [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Tutorials/Claude-Managed-Agents.md)
- Team workspace: yes [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Security/Workspace-access-control.md)
- Roles and permissions: yes [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Security/Workspace-access-control.md)
- Single sign-on: partly. Single sign-on works only after Blaxel switches on a setting for your account. [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Security/SSO-Directory-sync.md)
- Hard spending cap: not-published [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Security/Quotas.md)
- Usage alerts: yes (90% of quota) [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Security/Quotas.md)
- Audit log: not-published [source](https://blaxel.ai/company/security)
- Billed per second: yes (per second) [source](https://blaxel.ai/pricing)
- CPU billed only while working: no (memory-based meter). The meter runs on the memory you allocated for as long as the sandbox is active, busy or not. [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Sandboxes/Overview.md)
- Paused costs only storage: yes (storage only) [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Sandboxes/Overview.md)
- No monthly fee: yes (none) [source](https://blaxel.ai/pricing)
- Flat monthly price: no (per GB-second). The price follows the memory you allocate and the seconds it runs. [source](https://blaxel.ai/pricing)
- Ongoing free tier: no (one-off credits). Free usage is a one-off promotional credit, not something that returns each month. [source](https://blaxel.ai/pricing)
- Free starting credit: yes (up to $200) [source](https://blaxel.ai/company/security)
- Try without a card: yes (no card) [source](https://blaxel.ai/company/security)
- Public status page: yes [source](https://blaxel.ai/company/security)
- Uptime promise (SLA): partly. A standard plan carries no numeric uptime promise; only the Custom plan lists custom SLAs. [source](https://blaxel.ai/pricing)
- SOC 2 report: yes (SOC 2, HIPAA, ISO) [source](https://blaxel.ai/company/security)
- Data processing agreement: not-published [source](https://blaxel.ai/terms)
- Open source or self-hostable: no. The sandbox platform is hosted only; there is no self-hosted or open-source edition. [source](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Sandboxes/Overview.md)

## Usability

- Dashboard: A console creates a sandbox by choosing an image, resources, TTL and region, with a browser terminal.
- Without code: The console can create and inspect a sandbox, but useful work still needs commands or a developer.
- Signup: Baseten or Blaxel sign-in. Card requirement and credit expiry are not published.
- Docs: Documentation covers sandboxes, snapshots, volumes, MCP and SSO. A status page is linked from the site. Support is Discord community plus paid tiers.
- Trips people up: Standby keeps memory but drops external connections.
- Trips people up: Free and low tiers enforce expiration dates on sandboxes.
- Trips people up: Snapshots are in private preview.
- Trips people up: A volume attaches to one sandbox at a time; Agent Drive is the shared option.

## Company

- Legal entity: Blaxel, Inc. (formerly Beamlit, Inc.), a Delaware corporation. [source](https://blaxel.ai/legal/terms/2025-12-10-blaxel-terms-and-conditions.pdf)
- Ownership: Acquired by Baseten on 10 September 2026. The linked terms predate the deal and still name Blaxel. [source](https://www.baseten.co/blog/blaxel-is-joining-baseten-to-build-the-future-of-agentic-cloud/)
- Founded and funded: 2024, by six founders including CEO Paul Sinaï. A $7.3M seed led by First Round. [source](https://blaxel.ai/company/about)
- Headcount: 12, per Y Combinator's directory. The figure is undated and not a post-acquisition count. [source](https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/blaxel)
- Status and SLA: Sandboxes 99.33% over July–October 2026. Custom SLAs only; no standard uptime commitment published. [source](https://status.blaxel.ai/)
- Certification: SOC 2, HIPAA and ISO 27001 claimed; the full SOC 2 report is on request through its compliance portal. [source](https://blaxel.ai/company/security)

## Caveats

- **Idle timing is stated two ways** (contradiction): The docs say a sandbox goes to standby after 15 minutes of idle WebSocket/TCP activity; the pricing FAQ says it scales to zero after about 5 seconds.
- **Snapshots and archive are private previews** (open): The snapshot docs say the feature is in private preview and not recommended for production; archive is also preview.
- **Ownership changed in September 2026** (open): Baseten acquired Blaxel on 10 September 2026. The product continues, but a permanent standalone guarantee is not published.
- **Low tiers delete sandboxes on a timer** (open): Tier 0 and Tier 1 enforce expiration dates of up to 7 and 30 days; activity is counted at resume or suspend, not in between.
- **Volume and shared-filesystem semantics differ** (open): A volume attaches to one sandbox at a time; Agent Drive is the multi-mount shared filesystem, and the two are separate products.

## Sources

- [Sandbox overview](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Sandboxes/Overview.md)
- [Snapshots and fork](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Sandboxes/Fork.md)
- [Volumes](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Sandboxes/Volumes.md)
- [Proxy secrets](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Sandboxes/Proxy-secrets-injection.md)
- [Pricing](https://blaxel.ai/pricing)
- [Baseten acquisition](https://www.baseten.co/blog/blaxel-is-joining-baseten-to-build-the-future-of-agentic-cloud/)