The best Vercel Sandbox alternatives for AI agents

Vercel Sandbox is the right tool for executing untrusted or AI-generated code in isolation, particularly if your app already deploys on Vercel — ephemeral microVMs with no persistent identity are exactly what you want for that. Choose 1Claw Cloud Runtimes when the agent persists, holds an identity, and needs credentials and outbound calls governed by policy. Runtimes require Pro.

Pick 1Claw when

• The agent persists and needs an identity and credentials.
• You need outbound calls made server-side under policy.
• The agent signs transactions or holds funds.

Tier note: The capability this list is about starts on Pro ($29/mo). See pricing.

The categories are adjacent but not the same. E2B optimises for cold-start latency and disposability. 1Claw optimises for a persistent agent with an identity: secrets resolved from the vault at start, Execution Intents for outbound calls so credentials stay server-side, idle auto-start, and a hosted slug under run.1claw.co with inbound auth.

Pick E2B when

• The workload is short-lived code execution and cold start dominates.
• You want a disposable sandbox per request with no persistent identity.
• You are building a code interpreter and need that specific shape.

If your agent needs a GPU or heavy compute, use Modal and point it at 1Claw for credentials over the API. The two compose cleanly — 1Claw's value is not the container, it is what the container is allowed to do.

Pick Modal when

• You need GPUs or serious compute — 1Claw is not a compute platform.
• Python-first ergonomics and fast iteration matter most.
• The workload is batch or scheduled rather than a persistent agent.

Running an agent on Fly is entirely reasonable, and if you do, use the 1Claw SDK inside it for credentials. The runtime product exists for teams that would otherwise build secret injection, an inbound auth layer, idle management, and audit from scratch.

Pick Fly.io Machines when

• You want control over regions, networking, and volumes.
• Cost per compute hour at scale is the deciding factor.
• You are comfortable building secret injection and auth yourself.

As with E2B, the practical split is workspace versus service. Daytona gives an agent somewhere to work. 1Claw gives an agent an identity, a scoped credential set, and an execution path where the credential never enters the container.

Pick Daytona when

• Agents need a development workspace per task.
• Fast provisioning and teardown is the core requirement.
• The work is code-writing rather than a running service.