HEAD-TO-HEAD · PRICES VERIFIED 2026-08-25
Beam (sandbox) vs Self-host Firecracker (Hetzner)
Across 3 benchmark profiles, Beam (sandbox) prices lower in 2 of 3 — by up to ~93% where the gap is widest. Both rows use identical workload inputs and USD list rates from the capture-dated catalog; verify current rates via each vendor's source link.
Monthly Cost Across Realistic Benchmarks
100 hr × 1 vCPU / 2 GiB
Beam (sandbox): $11.36 Self-host Firecracker (Hetzner): $153.59
Cheaper: Beam (sandbox)500 hr × 2 vCPU / 4 GiB
Beam (sandbox): $113.58 Self-host Firecracker (Hetzner): $153.59
Cheaper: Beam (sandbox)2,000 hr × 4 vCPU / 8 GiB
Beam (sandbox): $908.64 Self-host Firecracker (Hetzner): $153.59
Cheaper: Self-host Firecracker (Hetzner)Rate Card Snapshot
| Vendor | $/vCPU-hr | $/GiB-hr | Billing granularity | Concurrency note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beam (sandbox) | $0.0675 | $0.0230 | per 0.001s | No self-serve concurrency cap published at capture time. |
| Self-host Firecracker (Hetzner) | — | incl. | — | Bounded only by host capacity — the point of self-hosting. |
Fit Notes
- Beam (sandbox) — Skip if you want the biggest platform — young product; fine for browser/computer-use sandboxes, thinner on compliance and regions than E2B or Modal.
- Self-host Firecracker (Hetzner) — Skip if usage is bursty or spiky — the host bills 24/7 whether sandboxes run or not; below roughly half utilization the managed providers win on total cost and you still own the pager.
Run your own workload through the full interactive calculator, or browse all pairs on the comparisons hub.