Morph Cloud vs Instabox
Both give each agent its own Linux virtual machine with root and Docker. Morph Cloud is a paid platform that snapshots and branches running machines with their memory, while Instabox launched today as a free, invite-only beta with one machine size and 5 machines per account.
The companies and products
Morph Cloud
Morph Cloud sells full virtual machines for AI agents that can be snapshotted, branched and restored with their memory, which it calls Infinibranch.
You get MorphVM instances as low-level building blocks and Devboxes as ready workspaces on top of them, with SSH, preview URLs and a tmux API for running coding agents you install yourself. Everything is billed in MCUs, where one MCU is 1 vCPU, 4 GB of RAM or 16 GB of disk for an hour. It is built for teams that fan agents out from one saved state, and it also sells managed GitHub Actions runners and a shared filesystem.
- Regions
- Not published
Instabox
Instabox, made by InsForge, gives each AI agent its own Linux computer in the cloud. It launched on 2026-10-14 as an invite-only beta.
Each Instabox machine is a Firecracker microVM with its own kernel, root and Docker, started from one of four templates (agent-browser, universal, herdr or orca) or from your own snapshot. Every machine is 4 vCPU / 8 GiB with 20 GB of storage, and you drive it from a CLI, a TypeScript SDK or an HTTP API, with SSH, mosh, public port URLs and a desktop for computer use. It is aimed at developers who want a cloud box for a coding agent.
- Isolation
- Firecracker microVM per machine
- Machines per account
- 5, in any state: paused and stopped ones count
- Company
- InsForge AI, Inc.
Which use cases each one fits
For each use case, Battleships prices every sandbox provider on the same workload and sorts them from the cheapest monthly bill up. “16th cheapest of 345” means 15 of the other 344 providers run that workload, with every feature it needs, for less. “With limits” means the provider runs it but misses something, so it is listed after every full match. Open a use case for its whole ranking and what each provider misses.
| Use case and its workload | Morph Cloud: price rank | Instabox: price rank | boat: price rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Software factory 100 at once · 4 vCPU / 8 GB · 2,200 sessions of 8 h a month Morph branches a running machine with its memory, while Instabox forks only stopped machines of one 4 vCPU / 8 GiB size; boat forks running sandboxes and ships coding agents you drive by API. | 198th of 367, with limits $2,288 a month | No published price | 3rd cheapest of 367 $634 a month |
| Always-on AI employees 50 machines 24/7 · 2 vCPU / 4 GB Both can keep a machine running with no session cap; Instabox pauses after 30 idle minutes unless you turn that off, and boat adds a desktop and a credentials proxy for any API. | 235th of 366, with limits $3,014 a month | No published price | 5th cheapest of 366 $657 a month |
| Code interpreter bursts 100 at once · 1 vCPU / 2 GB · 200,000 sessions of 1 min a month Morph suits short code runs: a paused machine keeps its memory, bills only its snapshot and wakes on the next request; Instabox has no published price to plan bursts around. | 16th cheapest of 345 $154 a month | No published price | 186th of 345, with limits $2,000 a month |
| Sandboxes for your users 300 at once · 2 vCPU / 4 GB · 30,000 sessions of 23 min a month Morph can give each user a machine that sleeps and wakes on request; Instabox allows 5 machines per account, paused and stopped ones included, so it cannot serve many users yet. | 12th cheapest of 361 $905 a month | No published price | Cheapest of 361 $209 a month |
| RL rollouts 1,000 at once · 2 vCPU / 4 GB · 1,000,000 sessions of 3 min a month Morph's memory branching suits rollouts that all start from the same running state, which Instabox's stopped-only fork cannot do. | 86th of 360, with limits $4,847 a month | No published price | 34th of 360, with limits $2,000 a month |
| Agent evals 250 at once · 4 vCPU / 8 GB · 15,000 sessions of 20 min a month Morph's limits are account-wide resource pools, while Instabox's 5-machine cap limits how many evals run at the same time. | 38th cheapest of 364 $675 a month | No published price | 10th cheapest of 364 $200 a month |
| CI runners 40 at once · 8 vCPU / 16 GB · 6,000 sessions of 12 min a month Morph sells managed GitHub Actions runners; Instabox does not document nested virtualization, and boat exposes /dev/kvm for Android and VM builds in your own runner. | 39th cheapest of 377 $355 a month | No published price | 4th cheapest of 377 $86 a month |
| 24/7 dev boxes 1 machine 24/7 · 4 vCPU / 8 GB | 85th cheapest of 368 $116 a month | No published price | 18th cheapest of 368 $26 a month |
| Computer-use agents 50 at once · 4 vCPU / 8 GB · 20,000 sessions of 15 min a month Instabox has a desktop with a browser on one template and a screenshot and click API; on Morph you install the browser and agent yourself; boat streams a 60fps desktop with Chromium. | 182nd of 369, with limits $595 a month | No published price | 6th cheapest of 369 $200 a month |
| Browser-use agents 50 at once · 2 vCPU / 4 GB · 30,000 sessions of 10 min a month | 214th of 367, with limits $250 a month | No published price | 7th cheapest of 367 $200 a month |
| Scraping & bots (startup scale) 50 at once · 1 vCPU / 2 GB · 100,000 sessions of 3 min a month | 239th of 346, with limits $234 a month | No published price | 6th cheapest of 346 $90 a month |
| Mass scraping & bots (undetectable) 1,000 at once · 1 vCPU / 2 GB · 3,000,000 sessions of 2 min a month | 154th of 338, with limits $4,750 a month | No published price | 71st of 338, with limits $1,800 a month |
| Parallel red teaming 200 at once · 2 vCPU / 4 GB · 5,000 sessions of 30 min a month | 214th of 360, with limits $228 a month | No published price | 2nd cheapest of 360 $200 a month |
| GPU eval jobs 10 at once · 8 vCPU / 32 GB · 500 sessions of 30 min a month | Can't run it | No published price | Can't run it |
| macOS agents 5 at once · 4 vCPU / 8 GB · 1,000 sessions of 20 min a month | Can't run it | No published price | Can't run it |
Key features
| Feature | Morph Cloud | Instabox | boat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Isolation | Full VM with its own kernel | Firecracker microVM with its own kernel and root | Full VM with its own kernel on dedicated AMD Ryzen 9 9950X hosts |
| Docker inside | Yes, including Docker in Docker and local Kubernetes | Docker and Docker Compose run inside | Docker and Compose run inside, with root and systemd |
| Nested virtualization | Experimental | Not documented | Yes, /dev/kvm for Android emulators and VMs |
| Machine sizes | Size set per machine, within an account pool of 64 vCPU on Developer up to 1,024 vCPU on Scale | One size for everyone: 4 vCPU / 8 GiB with 20 GB storage; other sizes are refused | Several sizes, up to 8 vCPU / 16 GB on the $20 plan and 16 vCPU / 32 GB on $100 and above |
| Pause with memory | Yes; resume brings back all processes and memory, and a paused VM bills only its snapshot | Yes; pause keeps memory and running programs, and resume usually takes about a second | No; disk is saved and resume boots the machine again |
| Fork | Branch a running VM with its memory, as many copies as you ask for, in under 250 ms | Fork copies a stopped machine only | Fork a running sandbox with its disk |
| Wake on request | Yes; a paused VM resumes on the next HTTP request, SSH or exec call | No; port URLs go offline while a machine is paused, and a visit does not wake it | No; a stopped sandbox is started by API |
| Saving work | Saved when you pause or snapshot; a plain stop deletes the instance | Snapshots by hand, up to 10; saving stops a running machine first unless the server allows a live save | Disk saved every minute and on every stop; a stopped sandbox is free |
| Desktop and computer use | Browser-based remote desktop; you install the browser and any computer use agent yourself | Linux desktop with a browser on one template, screenshot and click API, shareable view or control links | 60fps Linux desktop with Chromium and a computer use API |
| Coding agents | You install the agent and drive it through a tmux API that sends keys and reads the screen | Templates and saved agent sign-ins in snapshots; you run the agent yourself | Seven agents preinstalled, with a prompt, steer and events API |
| Keeping API keys out of the sandbox | Responses Proxy for model APIs; other secrets are handed to the machine | Vault writes your secrets into each machine as environment variables or files | Credentials proxy for model providers and any HTTPS API; real keys never enter the sandbox |
| Inbound access | Named HTTP services with optional API key auth; no raw TCP | HTTPS on up to 16 ports, open to anyone with the URL | HTTPS on up to 50 ports, token-protected by default; raw TCP too |
| SSH | SSH through Morph's gateway | SSH through a gateway with short-lived certificates, paste-anywhere SSH tokens and mosh | SSH into every sandbox |
| Where data lives | Regions not published | Regions not published | EU only (Germany, Finland, France), with zero data retention |
Every feature Battleships tracks (43)
| Feature | Morph Cloud | Instabox | boat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full VM (own kernel) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Docker inside | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Nested virtualization | Yes | Not published | Yes |
| Root | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Systemd | Yes | Not published | Yes |
| Desktop GUI | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Browser | No | Yes | Yes |
| Computer-use API | No | Yes | Yes |
| SSH | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Persistent disk | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Pause/resume | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Automatic snapshots | Yes | No | Yes |
| Fork/clone | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Live fork (no pause) | Yes | No | Yes |
| Memory fork | Yes | No | No |
| Custom image (Docker or snapshot) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| ≥24 h sessions | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Idle auto-stop | Yes | Yes | No |
| Wake on request | Yes | No | No |
| HTTPS preview URLs | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Raw TCP inbound | No | Not published | Yes |
| Public IPv4 | No | No | No |
| Egress allowlist | No | Not published | No |
| Secret proxy | Yes | No | Yes |
| Secret proxy for any API | No | No | Yes |
| Preinstalled agents | No | Not published | Yes |
| Agent harness API | Yes | Not published | Yes |
| MCP server | No | Not published | No |
| GPU | No | No | No |
| Windows | Yes | No | No |
| Arm64 | No | Not published | No |
| Self-hosting | No | Not published | No |
| BYOC | No | Not published | No |
| Open source | No | No | No |
| Scoped API keys | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Spend limits | Not published | Not published | Yes |
| Usage per sandbox (API) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Audit logs | Yes | Not published | No |
| SSO | Not published | No | No |
| SOC 2 | Not published | Not published | No |
| HIPAA | Not published | Not published | No |
| EU data residency | Not published | Not published | Yes |
| Zero data retention | Not published | Not published | Yes |
Performance
There is no comparable CPU measurement for Morph Cloud or Instabox: neither is in the hpc-sandbox-benchmarks run, so this page makes no speed claim between them. boat did 26.69 runs per second on that Node.js build-and-test loop at 4 vCPU / 8 GB. Morph says it restores a snapshot in under 250 ms and Instabox says a new machine's shell is ready in under a second; both measure start time, not CPU speed, and neither has been measured here.
Node.js build-and-test loop at 4 vCPU / 8 GB, higher is better. Measured with the open hpc-sandbox-benchmarks suite. Morph Cloud and Instabox have no published run in this suite yet, so there is no like-for-like number to compare.
Pricing in five scenarios
Each bill is priced from the providers' public price lists by the open Battleships engine, with the cheapest plan that runs the scenario.
| Scenario | Morph Cloud, a month | Instabox, a month | boat, a month |
|---|---|---|---|
| One coding agent, workdays 4 vCPU / 8 GB, 50 GB disk, 8 hours a day, 22 days a month, files kept between days | $32 · Developer | No published price | $20 · $20/mo |
| One agent that never stops 4 vCPU / 8 GB, 50 GB disk, running 24/7 all month | $121 · Team | No published price | $26 · $20/mo |
| 50 agents in parallel 50 machines of 4 vCPU / 8 GB at once, 8-hour sessions, 1,100 sessions a month, Docker inside | $1,459 · Scale | No published price | $317 · $20/mo × 3 seats |
| Sandboxes for your users 2 vCPU / 4 GB, 30,000 sessions of 10 minutes a month, up to 300 at once | $325 · Scale | No published price | $200 · $100/mo × 2 seats |
| 1,000 short jobs at once 2 vCPU / 4 GB, 1,000 at once, 3 minutes each, 200,000 jobs a month | $869 · Scale | No published price | $2,000 · $2000/mo · with limits |
Morph Cloud: Morph bills MCUs at $0.05 each: per hour, a machine uses the largest of its vCPUs, its RAM in 4 GiB steps or its disk in 16 GiB steps. Team ($40 a month) and Scale ($250 a month) are prepaid MCU bundles at a discount, and a paused VM bills only its snapshot.
Instabox: Instabox is free during the beta and publishes no price yet ("Free until we figure it out"), so no bill can be compared with Morph's or boat's.
Instabox: Plans start at $20 a month, and the whole fee is usage credit. You pay per second while a sandbox runs, and a stopped sandbox costs nothing and keeps its disk.
Limits in those scenarios
Instabox allows 5 machines per account, paused and stopped ones included, all at 4 vCPU / 8 GiB with 20 GB storage, so the 50-agent, user-sandbox and burst scenarios do not fit it today. Morph's limits are account-wide resource pools: Developer's 64 vCPU holds 16 machines at 4 vCPU, disk beyond 16 GiB per MCU raises the bill, and egress prices are not published. boat has no session cap on paid plans, but at 1,000 short jobs at once its $2,000 plan queues starts, while Morph Scale fits.
| Scenario | Morph Cloud | Instabox | boat |
|---|---|---|---|
| One coding agent, workdays |
|
| None that bite |
| One agent that never stops |
|
| None that bite |
| 50 agents in parallel |
|
| None that bite |
| Sandboxes for your users |
|
| None that bite |
| 1,000 short jobs at once |
|
|
|
Which one should you use?
Use Morph Cloud when
you need a paid platform today with published prices, memory branching from one running state, machines that wake on request, or experimental Windows and macOS guests.
- Memory branching and wake on request. For agents that fan out from one running state or sleep between requests: Morph branches memory and wakes paused VMs on demand.
- Published prices and room to grow. For teams that need a budget and scale today: Morph publishes its MCU rate and plans, and its pools reach 1,024 vCPU.
- Windows, macOS and managed CI. Morph lists experimental Windows and macOS (x86) guests and sells managed GitHub Actions runners from the same balance.
Use Instabox when
you want to try up to 5 free 4 vCPU / 8 GiB agent machines during its invite-only beta, with memory pause, a desktop template and mosh.
- Free during the beta. For trying things out: each account can run 5 machines of 4 vCPU / 8 GiB for free while the beta lasts.
- A desktop on a template. For computer use tests: one template comes with a Linux desktop, a browser and a screenshot and click API.
- SSH gateway with mosh. For working in the terminal: mosh and paste-anywhere SSH tokens keep a session alive across sleep and network changes.
Where boat fits
Morph Cloud and Instabox both hand you a plain Linux machine and leave the agent, the keys and the hosting to you. If your agents should arrive ready, with coding agents you drive from outside, a 60fps desktop, real keys kept outside the machine and private URLs in the EU, boat is built for that.
Coding agents you drive from outside
On Morph you install the agent and drive it by keystrokes through tmux; on Instabox you run it yourself. boat ships seven agents with a prompt, steer and events API, so you do not parse a terminal to know when work is done.
Real keys never enter the machine
Morph's proxy covers model APIs only, and Instabox's Vault writes secrets into the machine, where one prompt injection can leak them. boat's credentials proxy keeps real keys outside for model providers and any HTTPS API, such as GitHub.
Private URLs and work that is never lost
Instabox port URLs are open to anyone and its saves stop the machine; a plain stop deletes a Morph instance. boat URLs carry a token by default, the disk is saved every minute, and /dev/kvm is there for emulators.
Use boat when your agents need to arrive ready: coding agents you drive by API, a 60fps desktop with Chromium, real keys kept outside the machine, private URLs on many ports and /dev/kvm, in the EU. Compare it one to one: boat vs Morph Cloud and boat vs Instabox.
Questions people ask
Is Morph Cloud cheaper than Instabox?
It can't be compared yet. Instabox is free during the beta and publishes no price, so there is no bill to set against Morph's MCU rate of $0.05 an hour. The free beta allows only 5 machines of one size.
Which is faster, Morph Cloud or Instabox?
Neither has a CPU measurement in the benchmark run, so this page makes no speed claim. Morph says it restores a snapshot in under 250 ms, and Instabox says you are in a new machine's shell in under a second; neither has been measured here.
Can Morph Cloud and Instabox run Docker?
Yes. Morph runs Docker, Docker in Docker and local Kubernetes inside a full VM, and Instabox runs Docker and Docker Compose inside its Firecracker microVMs. Morph lists nested virtualization as experimental; Instabox does not document it.
Can I branch a running machine on each?
On Morph, yes: it branches a running VM with its memory, so each copy continues with its processes running. Instabox's fork copies a stopped machine only. boat forks a running sandbox with its disk.
Are port URLs private on Morph Cloud and Instabox?
Morph's HTTP services can require an API key. Instabox's docs say a published URL is not a secret and anyone can reach the service until you unpublish it. boat's port URLs carry a token by default.
Is boat SOC 2 compliant?
SOC 2 is in progress. We're open about where we stand: live status at status.ascii.dev and our data retention policy at docs.boat.dev/data-retention.
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