E2B
Isolated Linux sandboxes for AI agents to safely execute code
E2B is the pragmatic choice for AI agent builders needing secure, ephemeral code execution. The free Hobby tier with a one-time $100 credit lets you test risk-free; Pro at $150/mo adds CPU/RAM customization and 24-hour sessions. Its deep integrations with Claude Code, OpenAI Agents SDK, and GitHub Actions make it a strong default. Alternatives like Modal or Fly Machines offer similar sandboxing but lack agent-specific features like forking and MCP gateway. Skip it if you need persistent
Verified 8d ago · liveness 80/100 · cite: rightaichoice.com/tools/e2b
- Developers building AI agents that need secure code execution
- Teams automating CI/CD pipelines with sandboxed environments (e.g., GitHub Actions)
- Researchers testing AI models with code interpretation and data analysis
- Enterprises requiring isolated compute for data analysis workflows
- Users seeking a no-code, fully managed SaaS with fixed pricing
- Teams that need mobile or desktop native app integration
- Projects requiring persistent long-running servers
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Skip E2B if you need persistent long-running servers, a no-code managed service with fixed pricing, or real-time video/audio processing—E2B's sandboxes are ephemeral and developer-centric.
Going past 20 concurrent sandboxes on Hobby (or 100 on Pro) requires purchasing extra concurrency, which adds to your monthly bill.
E2B's pricing fits developers and startups that need ephemeral compute for agents—free Hobby tier with $100 credit is great for experiments, Pro at $150/mo is mid-range. Compared to Modal or Fly Machines, E2B's agent-centric features (forking, MCP gateway) justify the cost.
In short
E2B — Isolated Linux sandboxes for AI agents to safely execute code. Best for Developers building AI agents that need secure code execution, Teams automating CI/CD pipelines with sandboxed environments (e.g., GitHub Actions), Researchers testing AI models with code interpretation and data analysis. Free to start; paid plans from $150/mo.
What's new in E2B
Checked 5 days agoAcross the latest 6 updates: 3 feature updates, 1 changelog entry and 2 news mentions.
E2B SDK 2.39.0: Workload identity, Rust HTTP stack, detailed placement errors
Sandbox workload identity via iam option, Python SDK moves to Rust HTTP stack, detailed sandbox placement failure reasons.
Self-hosted proxy retirement, template cert repair, SDK install fixes
Reverse-proxy service retired on self-hosted clusters, SSL trust stores repaired in templates, Python SDK install unblocked.
Case Study: How Effective AI Runs Secure, Multi-Agent Insurance Workflows at Scale
Effective AI uses E2B to run secure multi-agent insurance workflows at scale.
Guide: Use E2B as the Execution Layer For Devin Outposts
Guide demonstrates using E2B as execution layer for Devin Outposts.
How Anything Is Building a Vibe-Coding Empire with 1M+ Users
Case study: Anything uses E2B for vibe-coding, serving 1M+ users.
E2B sandboxes are now available through Stripe Projects
E2B sandboxes now available through Stripe Projects.
What people actually say about E2B — is it worth it?
We ran a structured research pass across product reviews, community discussions, and post-purchase forum threads to surface the patterns vendors won't publish themselves. Below: the recurring strengths, the hidden costs people mention most, and the cohort that consistently regrets adopting this tool.
45 mentions across 2 sources (Hacker News, Lemmy) · researched Jul 3, 2026.
- +Quick sandbox spin-up in seconds via SDKs or CLI.
- +Strong isolation with full Linux VMs per sandbox.
- +Open-source, no lock-in, can self-host on any cloud.
- +Rich features: snapshots, persistence, custom templates, Git integration.
- +Integrates smoothly with popular AI agent frameworks.
- −Cost can add up for high-volume or long-running sandboxes.
- −Sandbox resource limits may constrain heavy agent tasks.
- −Limited community presence outside Hacker News.
- −Pricing structure less transparent than some competitors.
- −Self-hosting requires additional setup and maintenance effort.
- • Overages for extra sandbox usage beyond plan limits.
- • Self-hosting incurs cloud infrastructure costs.
Viability Score
How well maintained and how widely used is E2B? Built from what the vendor actually publishes (docs, changelog, tutorials, integrations, pricing), whether the site is live, and how much real users discuss it. How we calculate this
Last calculated: August 2026
How we score →Key Features
- Isolated Linux sandboxes (KVM-based VMs)
- JavaScript/TypeScript and Python SDKs
- Per-second billing for CPU, RAM, and storage
- Custom templates with base image, packages, and startup commands
- Snapshots and filesystem-only snapshots
- In-place sandbox forking with snapshot name filters
- Git integration inside sandboxes
- Interactive terminal with SSH access
- Public URLs for exposing sandbox services
- Data volumes for persistent storage
- File system operations (read/write/upload/download)
- Streaming and background command execution
- MCP gateway for agent-computer interaction
- OpenTelemetry telemetry export
- Network controls: internet access, proxy tunneling, restricted access
About E2B
E2B provides isolated Linux sandboxes that let AI agents safely execute code, process data, and run tools without risking the host environment. Built for developers building agentic applications, it spins up secure KVM-based virtual machines on demand via JavaScript/TypeScript or Python SDKs, then tears them down when the task completes. Sandboxes start in seconds and are billed per second, making them a flexible, developer-first layer between heavyweight cloud VMs and static serverless functions. The core building blocks are the Sandbox—a fast, secure Linux VM created on demand—and the Template, which pre-configures that VM. From there you get interactive terminals with SSH access, public URLs to expose sandbox services, data volumes for persistence, snapshots and filesystem-only snapshots, forking for in-place sandbox cloning, git integration, and granular network controls including internet access, proxy tunneling, and restricted access. The MCP gateway extends agent-computer interaction, and OpenTelemetry telemetry export covers observability. Recent updates include the deprecation of access tokens (CLI now uses E2B_API_KEY), new base images for Fedora, Alpine, Arch, and NixOS, and a revamped Python SDK transport layer. E2B integrates with major AI frameworks including Claude Code, OpenAI Agents SDK, LangChain, LangGraph, GitHub Actions, Devin, Google ADK, Mastra, and CrewAI. It also now supports launching sandboxes through Stripe Projects and is used as the execution layer for Devin Outposts. The company raised a $21M Series A and counts Perplexity, Manus, Groq, and Lindy among its users. Positioned as a flexible, developer-first layer between heavyweight cloud VMs and static serverless functions, E2B is purpose-built for the agent era.
Behind the Verdict
E2B earns its keep as the execution layer for AI agents that need to run code in a safe, ephemeral environment. If your agent needs to execute Python, run shell commands, or spin up a browser, E2B gives you a clean API and SDKs in JS and Python, so you can get from zero to a running sandbox in minutes. The per-second billing is a breath of fresh air compared to fixed monthly fees for unused capacity — you only pay for what your agent uses. For small-scale testing, the Hobby tier with its one-time $100 credit is genuinely useful; you can build and experiment without a credit card. When you outgrow it, Pro at $150/month unlocks CPU and RAM customization, sandbox sessions up to 24 hours, and up to 100 concurrent sandboxes — with the option to buy extra concurrency up to 1,100. That said, E2B is not a managed service. You're expected to handle your own infrastructure scaling, monitoring, and security patching of the base images. The sandbox sessions have hard time limits (1 hour on Hobby, 24 hours on Pro), so you can't run persistent services — for long-running apps, look at traditional VMs. The MCP gateway and deep integrations with Claude Code, GitHub Actions, and Devin make E2B a natural fit for agentic workflows, but if you're not building agents, you might be better served by a simpler code execution service. Compared to Modal or Fly Machines, E2B is agent-first: forking, snapshots, and the MCP gateway aren't features you'll find elsewhere. It's a sharp, specialized tool for a specific job — and it does that job well.
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Real-world workflow fit
Concrete scenarios for the personas E2B actually fits — and what changes day-one when you adopt it.
Build a coding agent that runs untrusted code from a user prompt.
Outcome: Spin up a sandbox with a template, execute the code via the Python SDK, and tear down in seconds—no host risk.
Add AI code review to GitHub Actions.
Outcome: Create a sandbox in a workflow step, run tests and AI analysis, and destroy it automatically—costing pennies per build.
Develop an agent that controls a virtual Linux desktop for browser automation.
Outcome: Use E2B Desktop sandboxes with streaming and snapshot to manage state, and expose via public URL for remote control.
Use Cases
- Run untrusted code from AI agents in isolated sandboxes to prevent host system breaches.
- Automate CI/CD testing and AI code reviews by spinning up sandboxes in GitHub Actions workflows.
- Enable AI models to interpret and execute Python/JavaScript code to analyze data.
- Build computer-use agents that control virtual Linux desktops for browser automation or desktop tasks.
- Create cloud browsers or proxy tunneling services within secure sandboxes for web scraping or testing.
- Deploy temporary coding environments for educational platforms or hackathons that auto-destroy after use.
Limitations
- E2B provides isolated Linux sandboxes for AI agents to execute code, with Hobby tier free and a one-time $100 usage credit, while Pro costs $150 per month plus usage costs.
- Hobby allows up to 1-hour sandbox session length and 20 concurrently running sandboxes; Pro extends session length to 24 hours and concurrency to 100, with the ability to purchase extra concurrency up to 1,100.
- Price structure includes separate usage costs beyond the base subscription, and features like custom CPU/RAM are Pro-only.
as of 2026-08-12
Verification history
We have re-verified E2B 6 times since . Each pass re-reads the vendor's own pages and re-checks every listed field against that evidence; passes where nothing had changed are marked as such.
- — re-verified summary, description, our verdict, our analysis, pricing model, pricing tiers, features, integrations, who it suits, who should skip it
- — re-verified summary, description, our verdict, our analysis, pricing model, pricing tiers, features, integrations, who it suits, who should skip it
- — re-verified summary, description, our verdict, our analysis, pricing model, pricing tiers, features, integrations, who it suits, who should skip it
- — re-verified summary, description, our verdict, our analysis, pricing model, pricing tiers, features, integrations, who it suits, who should skip it
- — re-verified summary, description, our verdict, our analysis, pricing model, pricing tiers, features, integrations, who it suits, who should skip it
- — re-verified summary, description, our verdict, our analysis, pricing model, pricing tiers, features, integrations, who it suits, who should skip it
Free to cite with attribution — this page re-verifies continuously.
12-month cost
Project the real annual outlay, including the implied monthly cost when only an annual tier is published.
Vendor list price only. Add-on usage, seat overages, and contract minimums are surfaced under Hidden costs & gotchas.
Plans compared
For each published E2B tier: who it actually fits, and what it adds vs. the previous tier. Cross-reference the cost calculator above for projected annual outlay.
Hobby
$0/mo + Usage Costs
Ideal for
Solo developers or startups evaluating E2B with a one-time $100 usage credit, needing up to 20 concurrent sandboxes and under 1-hour sessions.
What this tier adds
Starting tier: free, includes $100 usage credit, community support, up to 1-hour sessions, and 20 concurrent sandboxes.
Pro
$150/mo + Usage Costs
Ideal for
Teams in production needing longer sessions (up to 24 hours), higher concurrency (up to 100), and custom CPU/RAM allocations.
What this tier adds
Adds CPU/RAM customization, extends session length to 24 hours, raises concurrency to 100, and allows purchasing extra concurrency up to 1,100.
Ultimate Enterprise
Custom
Ideal for
Large enterprises needing custom solution with special pricing, dedicated support, and enterprise-grade security.
What this tier adds
Offers custom solution and pricing, plus dedicated support and enhanced security—above Pro's fixed features.
Where the pricing makes sense
The company stage and team size where E2B's pricing actually pencils out — and where peers do it cheaper.
E2B's pricing fits developers and startups that need ephemeral compute for agents—free Hobby tier with $100 credit is great for experiments, Pro at $150/mo is mid-range. Compared to Modal or Fly Machines, E2B's agent-centric features (forking, MCP gateway) justify the cost.
Setup time & first value
How long it actually takes to get something useful out of E2B — broken out by persona, not the marketing-page minute.
You can create your first sandbox in under 5 minutes: install the SDK (npm or pip), set your E2B_API_KEY, and run a simple command. For advanced setups like custom templates or CI/CD integration, plan for 15-30 minutes.
Switching to or from E2B
How to bring data in from common predecessors and how to get it back out — written for the switcher, not the buyer.
- →From Docker or local VMs: define your environment as an E2B template, then use SDKs to create sandboxes on demand.
- ↗To Modal or Fly Machines: replace E2B SDK calls with their equivalents, but you lose agent-specific features like forking and MCP gateway.
Integrations
Resources & Guides
Tutorials & Learning
Tools that pair well with E2B
Common stack mates teams adopt alongside E2B, with the specific reason each pairing earns its keep.
Featured Head-to-Head Comparisons
E2b vs Spider Cloud
Choose E2B if your AI agent needs to safely execute code in isolated sandboxes with fine-grained control — ideal for coding agents, CI/CD, and interactive terminals. Choose Spider Cloud if your priority is fast, affordable web scraping and structured data extraction for RAG or LLM training, with recent Browser AI commands making it easier to interact with pages. Both are open-source, freemium, and integrate with LangChain.
E2b vs Temporal Ai
Both tools are freemium but serve different needs: Temporal ensures durable, fault-tolerant orchestration for long-running AI agents and microservices; E2B provides secure, ephemeral sandboxes for code execution within AI workflows. Choose Temporal if you need guaranteed completion and state persistence across failures; choose E2B if you need isolated, temporary environments for AI agents to run code safely. They can complement each other in a stack.
E2b vs Presto Voice
Choose Presto Voice if you run a QSR chain seeking drive-thru automation with proven revenue uplift (up to 6% monthly). Choose E2B if you're a developer needing secure, ephemeral sandboxes for AI agent code execution—E2B offers flexible, per-second pricing and deep integration with agent frameworks, while Presto is a turnkey enterprise solution for drive-thru.
Alternatives to E2B
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