Compare / Daytona vs Modal
Daytona vs Modal for AI agents
Pick Daytona for Windows and lower compute cost: $0.1656/h versus Modal at $0.238/h without a region pin, at 2 vCPU / 4 GiB before plan, storage and network fees on 21 October 2026. Pick Modal for more regions. Lizard Sandboxes fit CPU work with memory pause at $0.0162/h for that size, before the Pro fee, on the same date.
Which should you pick?
Daytona
Pick it if you need Windows or memory pause on Linux VM and Windows sandboxes. Paused VMs bill disk only; GPU sandboxes are deleted on stop and cannot pause.
Modal
Pick it if you need regions across the US, Europe and Asia-Pacific or GPUs on gVisor. Choosing a region costs extra; GPU sandboxes may stop without warning.
Lizard
Pick it if you need lower CPU compute rates and free memory pause in US East or EU West. Ready templates and private snapshots must suit your workload; no GPUs or Dockerfile builds.
The differences that matter
Daytona costs less at the same size
At 2 vCPU / 4 GiB on 21 October 2026, Daytona costs $0.1656/h and Modal $0.238/h without a region pin, before plan, storage and network fees. Modal bills the higher of requested and used resources.
A lower median or shorter slow starts
In our 12 October 2026 test, Daytona had an 819 ms median; Modal had 929 ms and a lower p99. We timed 300 starts per provider from one US East runner, from before the create call until a Python command returned.
Memory pause or alpha memory snapshots
Daytona pauses Linux VM and Windows sandboxes with memory, billing disk only. Modal has no pause feature; alpha memory snapshots stop the original and restore a copy. They expire after 7 days, exclude GPUs and need the same machine type.
Windows or more regions
Daytona offers Windows and shared US and Europe regions; GPU location needs support. Modal offers US, Europe and Asia-Pacific. Region choice costs 1.15x for broad regions or 1.75x for narrow ones; memory snapshots cannot choose a region.
Daytona vs Modal vs Lizard
Figures come from Daytona and Modal docs and pricing pages and from ours; we last checked them on 21 October 2026. Daytona pricing · Modal pricing
| Compared by | Daytona | Modal | Lizard |
|---|---|---|---|
| Isolation | Containers by default: shared kernel; Linux VM/Windows: own kernel | gVisor containers by default; optional VM with own kernel; GPUs: gVisor only | Firecracker microVM; own kernel per sandbox |
| Start time (our test) | 819 ms median, 2,332 ms p99 | 929 ms median, 1,593 ms p99 | 228 ms median, 477 ms p99 |
| Price, 2 vCPU / 4 GiB | $0.1656/h | $0.238/h, without a region pin | $0.0162/h, disk and egress included |
| Largest size | Container/Linux VM: 4 vCPU/8 GiB; Windows defaults: up to 4 vCPU/16 GiB; GPUs: larger | CPU and memory: Not published; disk: 512 GiB; GPUs: up to 8, A10: up to 4 | Large: 8 vCPU / 16 GiB / 50 GB disk; no custom sizes |
| Idle and paused billing | Idle: billed; stopped containers/paused VMs: disk only; archived containers: free | Idle billing: Not published; no pause feature; snapshot billing: Not published | Idle: billed per second by size; paused: free; attached volumes billed separately |
| Longest session | No max; idle containers stop in 15 min unless auto-stop is 0; Linux VM and Windows pause in 1hr | 24 hours max via timeout; default: 5 minutes; file snapshots for longer work | Default: 5 min; optional deadline; VM stops after 596 hours |
| Sandboxes at once | Not published; shared CPU, memory and disk limits by tier | Sandbox limit: Not published; plan container limits: Starter 100, Team 5,000 | Trial: 5; Pro: 100, paused excluded; Enterprise: no fixed limit |
| Pause and resume | Linux VM/Windows: files + memory; containers: stop keeps files only; no GPU pause | No pause feature; alpha memory snapshots stop the original and restore a copy | Files, memory, processes, ID and ports kept; free pause; remaining lifetime kept |
| Snapshots and forks | Containers: stopped, files only; Linux VM/Windows: live memory snapshots and forks | Files: many copies; memory: alpha, 7 days, no GPU/region choice, same machine type | Files + running memory; many restores from one snapshot; no separate fork command |
| Custom images | Dockerfile builds: containers/GPUs only; Linux VM/Windows: existing VM snapshots | Dockerfiles or registry images; Python image builder; JS/Go: registry images | Ready templates or private snapshots; no Dockerfile or registry-image builds |
| GPUs | Up to 8; deleted on stop; no free credits; spot: Tier 2+, may stop without warning | gVisor only; may stop without warning; payment method needed; no memory snapshots | None |
| Self-hosting | Core repo archived, unmaintained; managed hosting in your cloud: Enterprise, by request | Not published | Managed service only; platform not open source |
| SDKs | Python, TypeScript, Ruby, Go, Java; CLI; REST API; MCP server | Python, Go, JavaScript/TypeScript; CLI | Lizard SDK: TypeScript, Python; Lizard CLI; REST API; Lizard MCP |
| Regions | US, Europe; GPU location: contact support; dedicated regions: via sales | US, Europe, Asia-Pacific; region choice: 1.15x broad / 1.75x narrow | US East (Virginia), EU West (Limburg); same price in both |
When Daytona or Modal is the better choice
Both offer GPUs, Dockerfile builds, Go SDKs and SOC 2 Type II reports. Lizard has no GPUs or Dockerfile builds; Lizard SDK supports TypeScript and Python. Daytona also offers Windows, Ruby and Java SDKs, and managed hosting in your cloud on Enterprise, by request; Dockerfile builds cover containers and GPUs only. Modal adds Asia-Pacific regions beyond Lizard's US East and EU West. Modal GPUs use gVisor and may stop without warning; Daytona deletes GPU sandboxes on stop.
Start a sandbox and run code
Frequently asked questions
Daytona had the lower median in our 12 October 2026 test: 819 ms versus 929 ms. Modal had the lower p99: 1,593 ms versus Daytona's 2,332 ms. We sell Lizard Sandboxes; see the linked benchmark for settings and data.
Daytona at this size: $0.1656/h versus Modal at $0.238/h for 2 vCPU / 4 GiB on 21 October 2026, before plan fees, storage and network. Modal prices exclude a region pin and bill the higher of requested and used resources. Choosing a region costs extra.
Both do. Daytona uses Linux containers, deletes them on stop and excludes free credits; spot requires Tier 2 or above. Modal GPUs require gVisor and a payment method, may stop without warning and cannot use memory snapshots.
Daytona offers managed hosting in your cloud on Enterprise, by request; Modal publishes no self-hosting option. Daytona archived its core repo in June 2026 and no longer maintains it. You can use that code as-is without support; Modal publishes its client SDK.
Lizard Sandboxes cost $0.0162/h for 2 vCPU / 4 GiB as of 21 October 2026; Pro costs $19/month with $19 of usage included. They keep memory on pause at no charge. Daytona and Modal add GPUs and Dockerfile builds; Daytona limits those builds to containers and GPUs, while Modal GPUs need gVisor.
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