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Where boxd stands out
A full VM, every time
Every boxd machine has its own kernel, root, systemd, Docker and nested virtualization. Daytona's default sandbox is a container on a shared kernel, without systemd; its VM class is opt-in and can only start from an existing VM image.
Composable: the sandbox is one part of the kit
Daytona has no built-in integrations and no schedules or event triggers (its webhooks only report lifecycle events), and sandboxes share a network only as a parent and its children. Put together, boxd's parts ran the CI of 10 open-source projects 6× faster than one GitHub-hosted job.
| Feature | boxd | Daytona |
|---|---|---|
| Composable | ||
| Ready machine described in code | Machine specs, built on one another | Declarative builder; not for VMs |
| Machines create machines | Yes, signed in as the machine | Not published |
| Built-in integrations | 100+, credentials kept out | No |
| Schedules and event triggers | Cron and events; sleeps between runs | Lifecycle webhooks only |
| Standalone disks | Yes, outlive the machine | S3-backed volumes, shared |
| Private network between machines | Org network, split by tags | Parent and child sandboxes only |
| Tailscale or NetBird | Both, built in | Install a client yourself, Tier 3+ |
| Agent skills or MCP | Agent skills; no MCP server | MCP server and agent skill |
Sized like a real computer
boxd machines start at 2 vCPU, 8 GiB and 100 GB, and go to 8 vCPU and 32 GiB without asking. Daytona's default is 1 vCPU, 1 GiB and 3 GiB of disk, with an org ceiling of 4 vCPU and 8 GiB.
Your app keeps running
A Daytona container stops after 15 idle minutes even while a process runs, and nothing wakes it on a request. A boxd machine sleeps with its memory kept and an HTTPS request brings it back: the app answered in 156 ms.
Self-host it, maintained
Daytona moved its core to a private codebase in June 2026 and archived the open repo. boxd self-hosts on your Google Cloud or AWS account, free up to 16 vCPUs, on the same release as boxd cloud.
Timings are medians of ten runs on our production cluster, from a client in the same datacenter. How we measured
Side by side
Checked Oct 30, 2026. Each ↗ goes to where Daytona says it. boxd's column is from our code and our own measurements.
| Feature | boxd | Daytona |
|---|---|---|
| The machine | ||
| Full VM, own kernel | Yes, every machine | Container by default; VM class opt-in↗ |
| Default size | 2 vCPU · 8 GiB · 100 GB | 1 vCPU · 1 GiB · 3 GiB↗ |
| Largest, self-serve | 8 vCPU · 32 GiB | 4 vCPU · 8 GiB (org default)↗ |
| Root, systemd, Docker | Yes, plus nested virtualization | Root and Docker; no systemd in containers↗ |
| CPU test (runs/s) | 12.6 (our run) | 21.52 (VM class)↗ |
| Composable | ||
| Ready machine described in code | Machine specs, built on one another | Declarative builder; not for VMs↗ |
| Machines create machines | Yes, signed in as the machine | Not published↗ |
| Built-in integrations | 100+, credentials kept out | No↗ |
| Schedules and event triggers | Cron and events; sleeps between runs | Lifecycle webhooks only↗ |
| Standalone disks | Yes, outlive the machine | S3-backed volumes, shared↗ |
| Private network between machines | Org network, split by tags | Parent and child sandboxes only↗ |
| Tailscale or NetBird | Both, built in | Install a client yourself, Tier 3+↗ |
| Agent skills or MCP | Agent skills; no MCP server | MCP server and agent skill↗ |
| Ready when you are | ||
| Sleeps with processes kept | Yes, standby and hibernate | VM class only↗ |
| Wakes on a request | Yes, HTTPS or SSH · app answers in 156 ms | No; build your own proxy↗ |
| Starts from a snapshot, app running | Yes · app answers in 1.19 s | VM class only↗ |
| Session limit | None | Stops after 15 idle min↗ |
| Built for agents | ||
| Coding agents installed | Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode | Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode↗ |
| SSH | Native, own port per machine | Token through their gateway↗ |
| HTTPS URL per port | Yes, plus custom domains | Yes, token or signed URL↗ |
| Raw TCP inbound | Yes, 3 ports per machine | Not published↗ |
| Secrets kept out | Yes, swapped in at the proxy | Yes, egress proxy↗ |
| Price | ||
| vCPU-hour | $0.047, CPU used | $0.0504, reserved↗ |
| RAM GiB-hour | $0.014, memory in use | $0.0162, reserved↗ |
| While asleep | Hibernated: disk only | Stopped: disk only↗ |
| Also worth knowing | ||
| GPUs | No | Yes, H100 to B300↗ |
| Regions | Frankfurt (US waitlist) | US, EU↗ |
| SOC 2 | SOC 2 in progress | SOC 2 Type II↗ |
| SAML SSO | No | Enterprise↗ |
| Egress allowlist | Yes | Yes↗ |
| Self-host | Yes, free to 16 vCPUs | Repo archived; BYOC only↗ |
Where Daytona is stronger
Fast container creation. Under 90 ms to create a container sandbox, with warm pools and 300 to 600 creates a minute.
GPUs, Windows and macOS. Nvidia and AMD GPUs by the second, plus Windows and macOS sandboxes. boxd has none of the three.
CPU on this test. Daytona's VM class scored 21.52 on the StarSling CPU test; boxd scored 12.6.
Compliance and enterprise controls. SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA BAAs, SAML SSO and audit logs.
Questions
- Is a Daytona sandbox a VM?
- Not by default. Daytona's default sandbox is a container that shares the host kernel. It also offers Linux and Windows VM classes, which you have to choose and which start only from existing VM images. Every boxd machine is a VM with its own kernel.
- Can I still self-host Daytona?
- Daytona archived its open-source repo in June 2026 and moved development to a private codebase; the last open release stays available but unsupported. For your own infrastructure it now offers BYOC runners attached to its control plane. boxd self-hosts end to end in your own cloud account, free up to 16 vCPUs.
- Does boxd have GPUs?
- No. If your agents train or run models on GPUs, Daytona or Modal is the better fit.