# Runtime

> Firecracker microVMs billed on measured CPU, with the strongest secret handling in this set.

Website: https://withruntime.com  
Guide page: https://botperch.com/providers/runtime/  
Checked: 2026-10-28

**Short answer:** One always-on personal agent (2 vCPU / 4 GiB / 20 GiB) costs about $24.95 a month here, the 6th 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: An agent that mostly waits: measured CPU with a 50-millicore floor makes an idle hour about $0.03.

Runtime Cloud is a hosted fleet of Firecracker microVMs that an agent, or the program driving it, creates, runs commands in, pauses, forks and deletes over an API.
It is sold as compute for AI-agent workloads rather than websites or long-lived servers. The commercial pitch is that CPU is billed on measured use with a very low idle floor, so a sandbox waiting on a language model costs almost nothing.
Twenty products sit behind one API, CLI, MCP server and SDK set: sandboxes, secrets, images, volumes, snapshots, previews, desktop, metrics, webhooks, OpenTelemetry, TCP ports, private networks and more.

**Who it is for:** Teams building agent products that execute model-written code, and teams migrating off a rival sandbox SDK: drop-in shims exist for E2B, Daytona, Vercel and Blaxel.

**Isolation:** Firecracker microVM on servers Runtime operates, with its own kernel; not a container and not gVisor. New sandboxes expose /dev/kvm, so nested virtualisation works. No GPU and no ARM: x86-64 only.

**Sizes and regions:** No fixed size menu: any vCPU / memory / disk combination inside the bounds, which are 16 vCPU, 64 GiB of memory and 400 GiB of disk on a paid account. CPU is shared by default; reserved guarantees every vCPU at full price.

## How it charges

- model: Prepaid credit, no plan fee, no seats and no commitment.
- meter: Per second: $0.025 per active vCPU-hour measured, with a 50-millicore floor per sandbox, plus $0.0075 per reserved GiB-hour of memory. Storage while paused or stopped is $0.08 per decimal GB per 30-day month.
- stopped: Disk and saved memory blocks keep billing at the storage rate. Only delete ends the charge.
- planFee: None publicly. Plans exist in a private beta with no published prices.
- minimum: No minimum billing period. Top-ups are $10 to $10,000, and an automatic top-up earns 5% extra credit.

Per second on measured CPU with a 50-millicore floor, reserved memory, and stored disk in decimal GB.
- A stopped box keeps billing storage, including saved memory; only delete ends the charge.
- Automatic top-ups earn 5% extra credit, not subtracted here.

## Monthly cost for each preset workload

- A personal agent that stays on (Hermes, OpenClaw): $24.95
- A coding agent for one developer: $13.49
- A code interpreter inside your product: $12.83
- A browser agent for a small team: $157.50
- Self-hosted n8n for a small team: $24.88
- A Discord or Slack bot for one server: $11.86
- Claude Code for a team of five: $66.96
- A scraper that runs four times a day: $0.50
- Your own remote MCP server: $6.39
- A: 1,000 short tasks: $9.17
- B: one always-on box: $54.54
- C: three hours a day: $4.76

## Fits well

- An agent that mostly waits: measured CPU with a 50-millicore floor makes an idle hour about $0.03.
- A small team that needs SSO, SCIM, a 400-day audit log and per-key spend limits without an enterprise plan.
- Secrets that must not enter the machine, plus OIDC tokens for AWS or GCP.

## Fits badly

- A buyer who needs a named founder, a funding history or a company older than a few months.
- Multi-region or EU data residency: there is one region, in Virginia.
- A workload that needs a Runtime-owned SOC 2 report.

## Features

- **Isolation** (yes): Firecracker; /dev/kvm. A Firecracker microVM with its own kernel, and new sandboxes expose /dev/kvm, so nested virtualisation works. [source](https://withruntime.com/llms.txt) [docs](https://withruntime.com/docs/security)
- **Sizes and regions** (partly): 64 GiB; 1 region. Any vCPU, memory and disk combination inside 16 vCPU, 64 GiB and 400 GiB. One region in Virginia; shared CPU by default, reserved on request. [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/api) [docs](https://withruntime.com/docs/sandbox-environment)
- **Lifecycle** (yes): Pause: RAM frozen. Pause freezes the VM with memory and programs intact; stop keeps files and drops memory. Both keep billing storage, and only delete ends the charge. [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/sandbox-environment) [docs](https://withruntime.com/docs/sandbox-environment#time-and-lifetime)
- **Snapshots and forks** (yes): RAM + disk. Snapshots default to memory plus disk, with disk-only opt-in; forks copy files, memory and processes but freeze the source while capturing; a sandbox with a volume cannot be snapshotted. [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/javascript) [docs](https://withruntime.com/docs/javascript#snapshots-and-forks)
- **Storage** (yes): Up to 4 volumes. Up to four volumes per sandbox, each mounted at a path, with a read-only snapshot mode for sharing. Buckets from S3, R2 or GCS can appear as a directory without the key entering the sandbox. [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/storage) [docs](https://withruntime.com/docs/storage)
- **Idle and waking** (yes): 300 s idle. No clock unless you set one, and persistent: true disables the idle pause. Otherwise it pauses after five idle minutes and wakes on the next request, usually within a second. [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/pricing) [docs](https://withruntime.com/docs/pricing)
- **Reaching it** (yes): Closed until opened. Nothing is reachable until you open a door: token-gated previews, custom domains, raw TCP ports, a WireGuard or Tailscale private network, or SSH over the API. [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/sandbox-environment) [docs](https://withruntime.com/docs/networking#private-preview-links)
- **Custom domains** (yes): Native, Let's Encrypt. A sandbox's web port can run at your own hostname with HTTPS, verified by DNS records and a certificate from Let's Encrypt. [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/networking) [docs](https://withruntime.com/docs/networking#custom-domains)
- **Outbound network** (yes): $5/mo static IP. internet: false refuses everything, an allow list is allow-list only, and deny always wins. A dedicated outbound address costs $5 a month, and sandboxes reach each other over a private name. [source](https://withruntime.com/pricing) [docs](https://withruntime.com/docs/egress)
- **Keys and secrets** (yes): No, placeholder + OIDC. The machine sees a placeholder, and the value is added only to HTTPS requests to the hosts you name. OIDC tokens let AWS or GCP trust a sandbox without a stored key. [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/security) [docs](https://withruntime.com/docs/security#secrets-sandboxes-never-see)
- **Ways to drive it** (yes): Yes, dashboard. REST, JavaScript, Python, Go, Ruby and Java SDKs, a CLI, a hosted MCP server, SSH over the API, a desktop, webhooks and OpenTelemetry. [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/mcp) [docs](https://withruntime.com/docs/cli)
- **Built-in agents** (no): None preinstalled. No preinstalled coding agents: the default image ships Python, Node, Bun, git, compilers and sudo, and agents are installed by you. The vendor says no bridge harness has run on Runtime yet. [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/vercel-ai-sdk)
- **Teams and accounts** (yes): Per-key daily + lifetime. Roles, compartments that wall off key groups, per-key daily spend limits and a per-sandbox lifetime cap. SSO, SCIM and a 400-day audit log are free. [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/pricing) [docs](https://withruntime.com/docs/teams)
- **Billing models** (partly): 50-millicore CPU floor. Prepaid credit, per second: measured active CPU above a 50-millicore floor, plus reserved memory, plus storage while paused or stopped. No plan fee; plans are in a private beta. [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/pricing) [docs](https://withruntime.com/docs/pricing)
- **Trials and free tiers** (yes): 100 h free, no card. Recurring free usage with no card: 100 hours of a 1 GB machine, memory and CPU allowances, and hard caps on size and concurrency. Accounts that never pay get it once across 30 days. [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/pricing) [docs](https://withruntime.com/docs/included-usage)
- **The company** (partly): Runtime LLC; 99% API credit. Runtime LLC, Denver; state of formation not published. No founder or executive named; launched September 2026; funding not published. Status checks the API every 2 minutes and a real sandbox every 10; the API passed 96.37% over 7 days and 98.87% over 30. The 99% promise is credit-based: 10% of the month's charges for any account that has bought credit, not tied to a plan. SOC 2 and ISO certificates belong to its data centre in Virginia, not Runtime. New usage can be repriced as soon as posted; cancellation deletes content without a notice promise. [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/pricing)

## Capabilities

- Its own virtual machine: yes (Firecracker microVM) [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/sandbox-environment)
- Root access: yes (sudo, then root) [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/sandbox-environment)
- Docker inside: yes (enable-docker) [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/sandbox-environment)
- Nested virtualisation: yes (/dev/kvm) [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/changelog)
- Your own image: yes (custom images) [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/images)
- Any size you like: yes (any combination in bounds) [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/api)
- Large machines: yes (16 cores / 64 GiB) [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/api)
- Resize while running: partly (memory, while paused). You can change the memory only while the machine is paused, not while it is working. [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/sandbox-environment)
- GPUs: no (no GPU). Runtime lists a GPU request as an example of something it cannot do. [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/feedback-and-support)
- Choose the region: no (one region). Everything runs in one place, in Virginia in the United States. [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/trust)
- Runs in the EU: no (US only). Everything runs in Virginia in the United States. [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/trust)
- Pause keeps memory: yes [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/sandbox-environment)
- Pre-started pools: partly. There is no pool to size or refill; you keep spare paused machines yourself and wake one for each task. [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/javascript)
- Starts in under a second: yes (About 0.1 s) [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/javascript)
- Snapshots of files: yes [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/api)
- Snapshots with memory: yes [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/javascript)
- Copy a running machine: yes. The source is frozen while the copy is captured, so it pauses for a moment. [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/javascript)
- Pick an older snapshot: yes [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/javascript)
- Reusable templates: yes [source](https://withruntime.com/llms.txt)
- Automatic backups: yes (Daily, or your cron). Backups cover volumes only; a sandbox's own disk has no copy. [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/storage)
- Files survive a stop: yes. A stopped disk is billed and kept until you delete the sandbox. [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/sandbox-environment)
- Separate volumes: yes (Up to 4) [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/storage)
- One volume, several machines: partly. Only one machine can write a volume at a time; others can hold a read-only copy taken when they start. [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/storage)
- Mount outside storage: yes [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/storage)
- Large disk: yes (400 GiB) [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/jobs)
- Can stay on indefinitely: yes [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/pricing)
- Choose the idle timeout: yes (300 s, or never) [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/javascript)
- Wakes on a request: yes [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/javascript)
- Scheduled runs: yes [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/jobs)
- Public link to a port: yes (Paid top-up) [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/included-usage)
- Private link: yes (Token by default) [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/sandbox-environment)
- Real SSH: partly (Through the CLI). The connection goes through the provider's own command rather than a plain SSH address. [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/editors)
- Terminal in the browser: yes (Console) [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/products)
- Tunnel to your computer: yes (Through the API) [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/editors)
- Non-web ports: yes (5 per machine) [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/networking)
- Your own domain: yes (Your hostname) [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/networking)
- Automatic HTTPS: yes (Let's Encrypt) [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/networking)
- Outbound data included: yes (100 GiB a month) [source](https://withruntime.com/pricing)
- Allow only some sites: yes (Allow list) [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/sandbox-environment)
- Turn the internet off: yes (internet: false) [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/sandbox-environment)
- Fixed outgoing IP: yes ($5 a month) [source](https://withruntime.com/pricing)
- Stored secrets: yes (Stored once) [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/security)
- Secrets the agent cannot read: yes (Placeholder) [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/security)
- Limited API keys: yes (Read-only keys) [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/pricing)
- Create from the website: yes [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/products)
- Command-line tool: yes [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/cli)
- Python SDK: yes [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/start)
- TypeScript SDK: yes [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/start)
- Documented HTTP API: yes [source](https://withruntime.com/about)
- MCP server: yes [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/mcp)
- Interactive terminal over the API: yes [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/cli)
- Files over the API: yes [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/javascript)
- Coding agents preinstalled: no. The default image ships languages and tools but no coding agent; you install the agent yourself. [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/vercel-ai-sdk)
- Send it a prompt: no. Runtime has no agent-run API; its own docs say no bridge harness has run on it yet. [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/vercel-ai-sdk)
- One-click Hermes: no. No Hermes template or guide is published. [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/start)
- One-click OpenClaw: no. No OpenClaw template or guide is published. [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/start)
- Browser built in: yes [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/javascript)
- Desktop for computer use: yes [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/javascript)
- Runs other platforms' agents: yes [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/frameworks)
- Team workspace: yes [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/teams)
- Roles and permissions: yes (4 roles) [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/products)
- Single sign-on: yes [source](https://withruntime.com/pricing)
- Hard spending cap: yes [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/pricing)
- Usage alerts: partly. The console warns when credit or free usage is about to run out, but you cannot set your own threshold. [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/products)
- Audit log: yes (400 days) [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/teams)
- Billed per second: yes (per second) [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/reservations)
- CPU billed only while working: yes (measured, 50 mcore floor) [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/pricing)
- Paused costs only storage: yes (storage only) [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/pricing)
- No monthly fee: yes (none) [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/pricing)
- Flat monthly price: no (measured parts). The bill is measured processor time plus reserved memory plus storage. [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/pricing)
- Ongoing free tier: yes (100 hours a month) [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/pricing)
- Free starting credit: partly (matched credit). There is no plain signup credit; whatever you add in your first 30 days is doubled, up to $1,000. [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/pricing)
- Try without a card: yes (no card) [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/pricing)
- Public status page: yes [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/trust)
- Uptime promise (SLA): yes (99% API) [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/pricing)
- SOC 2 report: partly. The SOC 2 and ISO certificates belong to its Virginia data centre, not to Runtime, so there is no Runtime-owned report. [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/trust)
- Data processing agreement: yes [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/pricing)
- Open source or self-hostable: no. Runtime runs everything in its own Virginia region and publishes no self-hosted edition. [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/trust)

## Usability

- Dashboard: Yes, a detailed console: a Home report with a Needs you section, sandboxes with Overview, Terminal, Files, Activity and Settings tabs, a limits page, and usage and billing with daily spend by product.
- Without code: Partly, and only for the first step: one click starts a sandbox with a shell in the page on free hours. There are no app templates and no hosted agent, and the documented no-code path is pasting its llms.txt link into Claude Code, Codex or Cursor.
- Signup: A Google sign-in, no card and no waitlist. Free usage needs a verified sign-in and is withheld from data-centre or VPN addresses until credit is added.
- Docs: Extensive, every page dated, with llms.txt bundles. Support is an AI agent in the same call, with humans for billing, security and data loss. The status page is public and specific.
- Trips people up: A sandbox is not a website host: nothing is reachable until you open a preview, domain or TCP port.
- Trips people up: The bill moves while nothing happens, because memory is charged for every running second.
- Trips people up: Pause, stop and delete are three different things with three different bills.
- Trips people up: The first useful step still needs a command or an agent.
- Trips people up: Memory is measured in GiB and disk in decimal GB, a 7.4% difference that shows up in quotes.
- Trips people up: There is no EU region, and uptime was below the promised 99% during research.

## Company

- Legal entity: Runtime LLC, at a Denver, Colorado address. The state of formation is not published. [source](https://withruntime.com/legal/terms)
- Leadership: No founder, executive or board member is named anywhere Runtime publishes.
- History: Public since 18 September 2026, the first changelog entry. Nothing earlier than September 2026 is published. [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/changelog)
- Funding: Not published. No round, investor, accelerator or valuation appears on the site.
- Status and SLA: API checks passed 96.37% over 7 days and 98.87% over 30, against a 99% monthly promise with a 10% credit for paid accounts. [source](https://withruntime.com/status.json)
- Certification: The certificates on its trust page belong to suppliers, including its Virginia data centre. No Runtime-owned SOC 2 is claimed. [source](https://withruntime.com/docs/trust)

## Caveats

- **A stopped sandbox keeps billing** (open): Only delete ends the storage charge. A stopped box is a bill, not a cleanup, and persistent: true bills memory around the clock.
- **Uptime was below the published promise** (open): The status page showed 96.37% over 7 days and 98.87% over 30 days against a 99% monthly promise at the time of research.
- **Free hours: every month or once?** (contradiction): The start page says 100 free hours every month; the pricing and included-usage pages say an account that has never paid gets them once, across its first 30 days.
- **The canonical state list is not published** (open): The docs name transitions and mention starting, running, pausing, paused, resuming, stopping and stopped, but there is no quotable list of state strings.
- **One region, in Virginia** (open): Everything runs in us-east. There is no EU option, and no per-tenant residency control.
- **Very young** (open): A one-month-old repository, near-zero community discussion, and daily changelog entries including breaking changes. No preinstalled coding agents, and the vendor says no bridge harness has run on Runtime yet.

## Sources

- [Docs: sandbox environment](https://withruntime.com/docs/sandbox-environment)
- [Docs: pricing](https://withruntime.com/docs/pricing)
- [Docs: security and secrets](https://withruntime.com/docs/security)
- [Docs: networking](https://withruntime.com/docs/networking)
- [Docs: API](https://withruntime.com/docs/api)
- [Pricing](https://withruntime.com/pricing)