Namespace vs AWS AgentCore
Namespace is a build and dev platform: CI runners, caches and Devboxes on Linux, macOS and Windows that stop after 4 to 24 hours. AWS AgentCore is an AWS agent platform: small microVM sessions of up to 8 hours, plus a managed Code Interpreter and Browser, all inside your AWS account.
The companies and products
Namespace
Namespace is a dev platform for fast builds, tests and coding environments: CI runners, build caches and Devboxes, on its own hardware.
Most of Namespace is CI: a faster drop-in for GitHub Actions runners, with Docker, Bazel, Turborepo and Nix caching. Its Devboxes are remote Linux and macOS machines with persistent storage, made for people and AI coding agents, and they also host sessions for Claude Managed Agents, Cursor Cloud Agents and Devin. It is a different kind of product from boat, so this page compares the part where they overlap: a machine an agent works on.
- Products
- GitHub Actions runners, Docker, Bazel, Turborepo and Nix caching, Devboxes, and a compute API
- Hardware
- Its own hardware in its own racks: AMD EPYC for Linux and Windows, Apple M4 Pro or M5 Max for macOS
- Linux Devboxes
- Run from a container image you choose and include Docker; the docs do not say whether each one has its own kernel
- Funding
- Announced a $42M Series B
- Compliance
- Trust center lists SOC 2 Type II
AWS AgentCore
Amazon Bedrock AgentCore is a set of AWS services to deploy and run AI agents: a Runtime that hosts your agent code, plus built-in Code Interpreter and Browser tools.
AgentCore is not a sandbox product first. It is a hyperscaler's agent platform: you push a container image or code, and each Runtime session gets its own Firecracker microVM that you reach through AgentCore APIs. Around it sit managed tools (Code Interpreter, Browser) and services for memory, identity, gateways and evaluations, and an Instances compute type runs longer sessions on EC2 in your own account. It is built for teams who already build on AWS and want agents to stay inside their account, IAM and VPC.
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. “80th cheapest of 377” means 79 of the other 376 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 | Namespace: price rank | AWS AgentCore: price rank | boat: price rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Software factory 100 at once · 4 vCPU / 8 GB · 2,200 sessions of 8 h a month Both are a compromise for a software factory: a Namespace Devbox stops after at most 24 hours and an AgentCore microVM after 8 with only a small storage mount kept, while boat gives each agent a full VM with no session cap. | 39th of 367, with limits $3,495 a month | 100th of 367, with limits $888 a month | 3rd cheapest of 367 $634 a month |
| Always-on AI employees 50 machines 24/7 · 2 vCPU / 4 GB An assistant that never stops outlasts both: Namespace shuts a Devbox down within 24 hours, and AgentCore needs its Instances type on EC2 in your account, capped at 14 days; boat keeps it running on paid plans. | 303rd of 366, with limits $6,645 a month | 64th of 366, with limits $1,300 a month | 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 AWS AgentCore fits best here, because its Code Interpreter is built for short code runs and bills only for CPU actually used; Namespace and boat are both a compromise. | 247th of 345, with limits $250 a month | 7th cheapest of 345 $114 a month | 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 Neither fits well: AgentCore sessions have no open ports and Namespace URLs need a Namespace login, while boat gives each user sandbox HTTPS URLs on up to 50 ports. | 284th of 361, with limits $2,068 a month | 210th of 361, with limits $506 a month | 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 | 356th of 360, with limits $9,012 a month | 125th of 360, with limits $8,075 a month | 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 | 282nd of 364, with limits $1,043 a month | 33rd cheapest of 364 $650 a month | 10th cheapest of 364 $200 a month |
| CI runners 40 at once · 8 vCPU / 16 GB · 6,000 sessions of 12 min a month All three fit; CI runners with build caches are Namespace's main product, AgentCore is not a CI service, and boat runs CI jobs on full VMs with Docker and /dev/kvm. | 80th cheapest of 377 $765 a month | 52nd cheapest of 377 $399 a month | 4th cheapest of 377 $86 a month |
| 24/7 dev boxes 1 machine 24/7 · 4 vCPU / 8 GB Both are a compromise: a Namespace Devbox stops within 24 hours but keeps its storage, and AgentCore has no SSH and resets files outside its storage mount after a stop. | 126th of 368, with limits $168 a month | 228th of 368, with limits $52 a month | 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 | 67th of 369, with limits $982 a month | 104th of 369, with limits $202 a month | 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 AWS AgentCore fits well with a managed Chromium that has live view and session replay, while Namespace has no managed browser or Linux display API; boat ships Chromium on a full machine. | 285th of 367, with limits $789 a month | 4th cheapest of 367 $144 a month | 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 | 259th of 346, with limits $332 a month | 27th cheapest of 346 $287 a month | 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 | 226th of 338, with limits $9,012 a month | 165th of 338, with limits $5,458 a month | 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 | 242nd of 360, with limits $339 a month | 62nd of 360, with limits $294 a month | 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 | Can't run it | Can't run it |
| macOS agents 5 at once · 4 vCPU / 8 GB · 1,000 sessions of 20 min a month Only Namespace fits: it runs macOS on Apple Silicon, while AgentCore and boat have no macOS. | 6th cheapest of 36 $1,205 a month | Can't run it | Can't run it |
Key features
| Feature | Namespace | AWS AgentCore | boat |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | A CI and dev platform: GitHub Actions runners, build caches and Devboxes | An AWS agent platform: hosted agent sessions plus managed Code Interpreter and Browser tools | A sandbox platform: each agent gets its own full Linux machine |
| Isolation | Linux Devboxes run from a container image on Namespace's own hardware; the docs do not say if each has its own kernel | Firecracker microVM per Runtime session; Code Interpreter and Browser in a containerized environment | Full VM with its own kernel on dedicated AMD Ryzen 9 9950X hosts |
| Machine size | 4 vCPU / 8 GB Devboxes and bigger sizes; Devbox vCPU is a ceiling it can boost to | 2 vCPU / 8 GB per microVM session, not adjustable; bigger EC2 types only on Instances | Up to 16 vCPU / 32 GB on the $100 plan and above |
| CPU speed (Node.js build-and-test, 4 vCPU / 8 GB) | 21.79 runs/s | Not measured | 26.69 runs/s |
| How long a session can run | Devboxes stop after 4, 5 or 24 hours by plan, 24 at most | Up to 8 hours on microVMs, 15 idle minutes by default; up to 14 days on Instances | No session cap on paid plans |
| Files after a stop | A stopped Devbox keeps its storage, billed at $0.20 per GB-month used | Only one storage mount under /mnt, up to 1 GB, in preview; EBS volumes on Instances; the rest resets | The whole disk, saved every minute and on stop; a stopped sandbox costs nothing |
| Fork and suspend | No fork; compute instances can suspend and resume with RAM kept | No user snapshots or fork of a session | Fork a running sandbox with its disk; resume reboots from disk |
| Docker and /dev/kvm | Docker in Linux Devboxes; /dev/kvm on Linux compute instances | Root inside the microVM; Docker and /dev/kvm not documented | Root, Docker, systemd and /dev/kvm on every machine |
| Reaching the sandbox | HTTPS URLs that need a Namespace login, TCP through a CLI port-forward; no public IP | No open ports or SSH; reached only through AgentCore APIs with IAM or JWT | HTTPS URLs for up to 50 ports, token-protected; raw TCP; SSH |
| Network controls | Egress rules per Devbox blueprint, runner or instance: block, advisory or allow by domain | VPC mode with security groups, PrivateLink and a NAT gateway for a fixed outbound IP | Open internet on every plan; no provider-side allowlist |
| Browser and desktop | Screenshot and click API on macOS Devboxes only; VNC and RDP for compute instances | Managed Chromium with live view, recording and replay; no full desktop | 60fps Linux desktop with Chromium, computer use and browser control |
| Coding agents | Hosts Claude Managed Agents, Cursor and Devin sessions run by those partners; an MCP server for your own agent | AWS's own managed harness built on Strands Agents, or your own agent code | Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode and more preinstalled, with a prompt, steer and events API |
| Keeping keys out of the sandbox | Egress rules inject a header from Namespace Vault, resolved outside the workload | AgentCore Identity stores OAuth tokens and API keys and hands them to your agent code | Credentials proxy for model providers and any HTTPS API; switch a credential to another account when credits run out |
| Operating systems and GPUs | Linux, macOS on Apple Silicon, Windows on Team plans and up; no GPUs | arm64 Linux on microVMs; x86_64 or arm64 and NVIDIA or Inferentia2 GPUs on Instances | Linux only, no GPUs; Wine for Windows apps |
Every feature Battleships tracks (43)
| Feature | Namespace | AWS AgentCore | boat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full VM (own kernel) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Docker inside | Yes | Not published | Yes |
| Nested virtualization | Yes | No | Yes |
| Root | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Systemd | Not published | No | Yes |
| Desktop GUI | Yes | No | Yes |
| Browser | No | Yes | Yes |
| Computer-use API | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| SSH | Yes | No | Yes |
| Persistent disk | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Pause/resume | Yes | No | Yes |
| Automatic snapshots | Yes | No | Yes |
| Fork/clone | No | No | Yes |
| Live fork (no pause) | No | No | Yes |
| Memory fork | No | No | No |
| Custom image (Docker or snapshot) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| ≥24 h sessions | Yes | No | Yes |
| Idle auto-stop | Yes | Yes | No |
| Wake on request | Yes | Yes | No |
| HTTPS preview URLs | Yes | No | Yes |
| Raw TCP inbound | Yes | No | Yes |
| Public IPv4 | No | No | No |
| Egress allowlist | Yes | Yes | No |
| Secret proxy | Yes | No | Yes |
| Secret proxy for any API | Yes | No | Yes |
| Preinstalled agents | Yes | No | Yes |
| Agent harness API | No | No | Yes |
| MCP server | Yes | Yes | No |
| GPU | No | Yes | No |
| Windows | Yes | No | No |
| Arm64 | Yes | Yes | No |
| Self-hosting | No | No | No |
| BYOC | No | Yes | No |
| Open source | No | No | No |
| Scoped API keys | Not published | Not published | Yes |
| Spend limits | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Usage per sandbox (API) | No | No | Yes |
| Audit logs | Yes | Yes | No |
| SSO | Yes | Yes | No |
| SOC 2 | Yes | Yes | No |
| HIPAA | No | Yes | No |
| EU data residency | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Zero data retention | Not published | Not published | Yes |
Performance
In StarSling's public run of 2026-09-29 at 4 vCPU / 8 GB, boat did 26.69 Node.js build-and-test runs per second and Namespace did 21.79, so the same build takes about a fifth longer on Namespace. AWS AgentCore has no comparable measurement: it was not part of that run, and its microVM sessions stop at 2 vCPU.
Node.js build-and-test loop at 4 vCPU / 8 GB, higher is better. Measured with the open hpc-sandbox-benchmarks suite. Namespace measured on: Linux compute instance (unit-minutes, PAYG/overage $0.0015). AWS AgentCore has 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 | Namespace, a month | AWS AgentCore, 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 | $50 · Devbox (pay as you go) | $26 · Pay-as-you-go (Instances) · with limits | $20 · $20/mo |
| One agent that never stops 4 vCPU / 8 GB, 50 GB disk, running 24/7 all month | $176 · Devbox (pay as you go) · with limits | $107 · Pay-as-you-go (Instances) · with limits | $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 | $2,198 · Devbox (pay as you go) | $1,286 · Pay-as-you-go (Instances) · with limits | $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 | $1,214 · Devbox (pay as you go) | $423 · Pay-as-you-go · with limits | $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 | $3,237 · Devbox (pay as you go) | $1,615 · Pay-as-you-go (Instances) | $2,000 · $2000/mo · with limits |
Namespace: Devboxes are billed pay as you go in Devbox Minutes at $0.004 each on every plan, and stored files cost $0.20 per GB-month used. The minutes in the Team and Business plans cover runners and instances, not Devboxes.
AWS AgentCore: Runtime microVMs, Code Interpreter and Browser bill per second for CPU actually used and for peak memory. The 4 vCPU shape in these scenarios is the Instances type: the EC2 on-demand price plus a 12% management fee, with EBS and data transfer on top.
AWS AgentCore: Plans start at $20 a month, and the whole fee is usage credit spent per second on running sandboxes. A stopped sandbox costs nothing and keeps its disk.
Limits in those scenarios
On Namespace the limit that bites is time: a Devbox is shut down within 24 hours, so the agent that never stops restarts at least once a day, and Namespace does not publish an egress price. On AgentCore, a 4 vCPU agent needs the Instances type, and files outside the storage mount reset after a stop, so it does not fit the coding agent scenarios; it also caps Instances sessions at 14 days. Both fit 1,000 short jobs at once, where boat's plans queue starts above 90 per minute and do not fit.
| Scenario | Namespace | AWS AgentCore | 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 Namespace when
you need macOS or Windows machines, faster GitHub Actions runners with build caches, or Devboxes for people that stop when idle and keep their files.
- macOS and Windows. Useful if your agents build iOS or Mac apps or test on Windows: Namespace runs macOS on Apple Silicon and Windows machines.
- CI runners and build caches. Useful if you want faster GitHub Actions: Namespace is a drop-in runner with Docker, Bazel, Turborepo and Nix caching.
- Devboxes that sleep and wake. Useful for dev machines people share with agents: a Devbox stops when idle, keeps its storage and starts again when you connect.
Use AWS AgentCore when
your agents must stay inside your AWS account and VPC, need a GPU, or are short code and browser tasks that fit its managed tools.
- It lives inside your AWS account. Teams built on AWS keep agents behind their own IAM, VPC, security groups and PrivateLink, in 17 commercial regions.
- Managed code and browser tools. For short code runs and browser tasks, Code Interpreter and Browser bill only for CPU used, with live view and replay.
- GPUs and two-week sessions. Agents that need a GPU or a session of up to 14 days can run on the Instances type, on EC2 in your account.
Where boat fits
If what you are really running is coding agents that work on a machine for hours or days, both Namespace and AgentCore cut them off: Namespace within 24 hours, AgentCore's microVMs at 8. boat gives each agent a full, faster Linux VM with no session cap on paid plans, a disk that keeps everything, and URLs you can open.
No clock on the session
A Namespace Devbox is shut down at 4, 5 or 24 hours even mid-task, and an AgentCore microVM at 8 hours. The AgentCore workaround is Instances, which means running and paying for EC2 in your own account.
A whole machine that keeps its disk
AgentCore keeps only a 1 GB storage mount after a stop, so installed packages must be set up again, and neither offers fork. boat is a full VM with Docker and /dev/kvm, saved every minute, that you can fork while it runs.
Open what the agent builds
AgentCore sessions have no open ports and Namespace URLs need a Namespace login, so showing a preview to a user means proxying it yourself. boat gives each sandbox token-protected HTTPS URLs on up to 50 ports, plus raw TCP.
Use boat when your agents work on Linux for hours or days: a full, faster VM with no session cap, Docker and /dev/kvm, a disk saved every minute, a 60fps desktop and coding agents you drive from outside. Compare it one to one: boat vs Namespace and boat vs AWS AgentCore.
Questions people ask
Is Namespace cheaper than AWS AgentCore?
In the scenarios we priced, AgentCore comes out lower, for example $1,286 against $2,198 for 50 agents in parallel, but it does not fit that scenario because files reset outside its storage mount. For 1,000 short jobs at once both fit, at $1,615 on AgentCore and $3,237 on Namespace. boat comes to $317 for the 50 agents.
Which is faster, Namespace or AgentCore?
Only Namespace was measured: 21.79 Node.js build-and-test runs per second at 4 vCPU / 8 GB, against 26.69 for boat. AgentCore was not in that benchmark, and its microVM sessions stop at 2 vCPU.
How long can a session run on each?
A Namespace Devbox runs up to 4, 5 or 24 hours by plan, even while you work. An AgentCore microVM session lasts up to 8 hours and stops after 15 idle minutes by default, and the Instances type runs up to 14 days. boat has no session cap on paid plans.
Can Namespace or AgentCore run Docker?
Namespace Linux Devboxes include Docker, and its Linux compute instances expose /dev/kvm. AgentCore runs your container image as root in a microVM, but its docs do not say Docker or /dev/kvm work inside a session. boat runs Docker and exposes /dev/kvm on every machine.
Which one runs macOS or GPUs?
Namespace runs macOS on Apple Silicon and Windows on Team plans and up, but has no GPUs. AgentCore offers NVIDIA and Inferentia2 GPUs on its Instances type, but no macOS. boat runs Linux only, without GPUs.
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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