ProvidersChecked 2026-10-28
Persistent Fly.io microVMs that suspend after about 30 seconds idle and bill measured CPU and memory.
Short answer: One always-on personal agent (2 vCPU / 4 GiB / 20 GiB) costs about $77.61 a month here, the 8th cheapest of the 11 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 pauses constantly: a warm pause after about 30 seconds resumes in 100–500 ms.
Sprites are persistent Linux environments on Fly.io for agents, development and user-submitted code. Each is a dedicated microVM with a whole filesystem that survives between sessions.
The design assumes a computer that sleeps: a short idle window suspends it with memory frozen, and a longer idle period stops it and drops memory, keeping the disk.
| Who it is for | Developers who want a long-lived Linux computer for an agent, with automatic sleep and usage-based billing rather than a reserved size. |
|---|---|
| Isolation | Dedicated microVM with hardware-level isolation. Root is available and Docker is reported to work, but Sprites do not run systemd: a built-in service manager starts services on wake. |
| Sizes | One fixed shape: 8 vCPUs and 100 GB of storage, with memory assigned and autoscaled per Sprite. No published region selection, GPU or ARM option. |
| A personal agent here | About $77.61 a month for one always-on 2 vCPU / 4 GiB machine (2 vCPU / 4 GiB / 20 GiB), before the AI model. Change the numbers |
| Recommended in | Not one of the picks in any use-case guide. |
Our reading of the sourced material on this page, not a provider claim.
| Model | Measured usage, with optional monthly plans that bundle allowances. |
|---|---|
| Meter | Actual CPU at $0.0385 per CPU-hour and actual memory at $0.021875 per GB-hour while awake; hot storage at $0.000683 per GB-hour and cold storage at $0.000027 per GB-hour. |
| While stopped | No compute charge in warm or cold state, but cold storage is billed for as long as data is kept. |
| Plan fee | The pricing page says there are no plans; the product FAQ describes plans including Hero at $100 a month. Both are current. |
| Minimum | No published minimum. A one-time $30 trial credit per user and per organisation, which cannot pay a subscription fee. |
How Sprites lets you try before paying is on Trials and free tiers.
| Dashboard | A dashboard exists for connector setup and a Gateway Playground that can fire a request without code. |
|---|---|
| Without code | Limited. The documented start path installs a CLI and opens a console; the no-code surface is connector testing, not running an agent. |
| Signup | Uses a Fly.io account. Card requirement, waitlist and trial duration are not published. |
| Docs and support | Fly documentation covers lifecycle, checkpoints, networking and connectors. Support is community on lower plans and varies by plan. |
Every capability the guide checks, with the catch where Sprites's version falls short. Compare all providers
From the profile's company section: the legal entity, who funds it, and what a buyer can check before signing.
Fly.io, Inc., a Delaware corporation. Sprites is a product on Fly's platform, not a separate company.
“The contracting party for all Fly.io services is Fly.io, Inc.” fly.io docs-confirmed
Scott Johnston is CEO; founder Kurt Mackey moved to an advisory role and remains on the board.
“Fly.io also announced that Scott Johnston has joined as CEO and a member of the board.” fly.io docs-confirmed
Fly has run the platform since 2017 and launched Sprites on 9 January 2026. A $25M Series D in July 2026, co-led by Dell Technologies Capital and Intel Capital.
“$25 million in Series D funding co-led by Dell Technologies Capital and Intel Capital, with participation from Andreessen Horowitz, EQT, Geodesic, and YC.” fly.io docs-confirmed
Sprites is a component on Fly's status page with no numeric uptime figure. Fly's 99.9% SLA is Enterprise-only and credits must be claimed.
“will apply to the Services for Customers with an Enterprise plan during the applicable Subscription Term” fly.io docs-confirmed
SOC 2 Type 2 covers the Fly platform and does not name Sprites; the report and BAA sit behind a $99-a-month compliance package.
“The report describes the Fly.io platform; it does not name individual products such as Sprites, which run on the platform it covers” fly.io docs-confirmed
Not published. Fly lists team members but no headcount figure.
not-published
Shown as the research found them. A contradiction means the provider's own pages disagree; an open question means the answer is not published.
Pricing says there are no plans and nothing charged per Sprite; the FAQ describes plans including Hero at $100 a month with CPU, RAM and storage allowances.
The idle window before warm suspension is about 30 seconds; how long before a Sprite drops to cold is not stated.
The FAQ says warm and cold are not billed, while the pricing page bills cold storage for as long as data is kept.
Checkpoints restore in place and overwrite current files; a live fork or clone is not established.
No provider-confirmed region list, GPU option or CPU architecture statement was found.
List-price illustrations from the calculator, not quotes. Prices checked 29 October 2026.
A · 1,000 short tasks
$22.18
2 vCPU / 4 GiB / 10 GiB (plan: Pay as you go)
B · One always-on box
$164.91
4 vCPU / 8 GiB / 50 GiB (plan: Pay as you go)
C · Three hours a day
$10.19
2 vCPU / 4 GiB / 20 GiB (plan: Pay as you go)