Celesto vs Boat
Celesto vs Boat: both give each agent a full Linux virtual machine with a shell, Docker, and a disk that survives stops; Boat charges less per hour on its fixed sizes and adds disk snapshots, forks, and real SSH, while Celesto has no monthly plan, a 1 vCPU size, a built-in CDP browser, an internet off switch, and a hosted MCP server.
Pick by how you buy and what the agent drives: pay-as-you-go credit, small sizes, and browser automation favor Celesto; a monthly plan with cheaper large machines, forks, and SSH-first workflows favor Boat.
- Same 2 vCPU · 4 GB sandbox
- $0.030 vs $0.018
- Per running hour. Boat is cheaper here, on a plan from $20 a month.
- Smallest sandbox
- $0.015/hour
- Celesto Micro, 1 vCPU · 2 GB. Boat starts at 2 vCPU · 4 GB.
- Monthly commitment
- None
- Celesto runs on prepaid credit from $2. Boat plans run $20 to $2,000 a month, all spent on compute.
A CDP browser, egress control, and MCP that Boat doesn't ship.
A dot marks whoever has the edge on that line.
Isolation and access
- Isolation model
- Its own KVM virtual machine and kernel
- Its own VM and kernel on dedicated hosts
- Cold boot
- Under 2 seconds
- Resume or fork in a few seconds
- Shell access
- Browser terminal, or celesto computer ssh with no SSH keys
- Real SSH and SCP, plus VS Code or Cursor over Remote-SSH(Boat has the edge)
- Docker inside
- Supported
- Supported, with systemd and nested virtualization(Boat has the edge)
Browser and desktop
- Desktop view
- Live desktop on the browser templates, read-only or with control
- 1080p desktop stream at 60 fps, VNC fallback, recording(Boat has the edge)
- Browser over CDP
- Built-in Chromium at a CDP URL(Celesto has the edge)
- Start Chrome yourself with a debugging port
State and storage
- Snapshot and resume
- Stop and start keep disk and packages; processes end
- Disk saved every minute, named snapshots, and forks; processes end(Boat has the edge)
- Stopped sandboxes
- Disk kept free for 30 days(Celesto has the edge)
- Disk kept 14 days
- Disk per sandbox
- 20 to 100 GB by size, included
- 12 to 251 GB by size
- Persistent workspace
- CelestoFS, not limited by disk size(Celesto has the edge)
- Not documented beyond the disk
Network and tools
- Egress control
- Internet on or off (TypeScript SDK)(Celesto has the edge)
- No API setting; block with iptables yourself
- Public preview URLs
- Up to 4 public HTTPS ports per sandbox
- Up to 50 ports, token-gated, plus raw TCP and UDP(Boat has the edge)
- MCP
- Hosted MCP server that creates sandboxes and runs commands(Celesto has the edge)
- Docs search only; computer-use MCP inside the desktop
- SDKs and API
- Python, TypeScript, CLI, and a REST API
- Python, TypeScript, CLI, and a REST API
Price and limits
- 2 vCPU · 4 GB, per hour
- $0.030
- $0.018(Boat has the edge)
- Sizes
- Six, from 1 vCPU · 2 GB to 8 vCPU · 32 GB
- Four, from 2 vCPU · 4 GB to 16 vCPU · 32 GB
- Plan
- None; prepaid credit from $2(Celesto has the edge)
- $20 to $2,000 a month, spent on compute
- Free start
- $5 one-time credit, no card
- 7-day trial with 25 compute hours, card required
- Running at once
- Up to 10
- 100 to 2,000 by plan(Boat has the edge)
- Self-host
- Apache-2.0 microVM package runs sandboxes locally(Celesto has the edge)
- Closed source, no self-hosting
Celesto has the edge Boat has the edge
No monthly plan, and a 1 vCPU size from $0.015 an hour.
Each Celesto size next to the same CPU and memory on Boat, or its nearest size, per hour.
| Hardware | Boat | Celesto |
|---|---|---|
| 1 vCPU · 2 GB | Not offeredBoat's smallest size is 2 vCPU · 4 GB at $0.018/hour | $0.015/hourMicro, 20 GB disk included |
| 2 vCPU · 4 GB | $0.018/hourBoat small, 12 GB disk | $0.030/hourStandard, 30 GB disk included |
| 2 vCPU · 8 GB | $0.036/hourNearest size: 4 vCPU · 8 GB (default), 50 GB disk | $0.040/hourMemory, 40 GB disk included |
| 4 vCPU · 16 GB | $0.072/hourNearest size: 8 vCPU · 16 GB (large), 125 GB disk | $0.080/hourLarge, 60 GB disk included |
| 8 vCPU · 32 GB | $0.200/hourNearest size: 16 vCPU · 32 GB (xlarge), 251 GB diskNeeds the $100 plan | $0.160/hourXL, 100 GB disk included |
Boat sells four fixed sizes, so rows without an exact match show its nearest size. Boat prices need a monthly plan from $20, which is spent on compute; Celesto has no plan. Both prices include the disk. Matching CPU and memory does not imply equal performance.
Pay-as-you-go agents cost less on Celesto.
Choose Celesto if
- You want to pay for what you run, with no monthly plan
- A 1 vCPU · 2 GB sandbox at $0.015/hour is enough for the job
- Your agent drives a browser through a CDP URL
- Untrusted code should run with outbound internet turned off
- Claude Code, Cursor, or another MCP client should create and drive sandboxes itself
Choose Boat if
- You run machines most of the month and a plan's lower hourly rate pays off
- You fork sandboxes or keep named disk snapshots
- Your workflow is built on SSH, SCP, and Remote-SSH in VS Code or Cursor
- You need many public ports, raw TCP or UDP, or more than 10 sandboxes at once
- You need 16 vCPU in one sandbox
Questions.
Is Celesto cheaper than Boat?
Not per hour on Boat's own sizes. Boat's small size, 2 vCPU and 4 GB, costs $0.018 an hour against $0.030 for Celesto Standard. Boat requires a monthly plan from $20 that is spent on compute and expires at month end, and its smallest size is 2 vCPU. Celesto has no plan, runs on prepaid credit from $2, and starts at $0.015 an hour for 1 vCPU and 2 GB, so it costs less when sandboxes run only part of the month.
Can I SSH into Celesto and Boat sandboxes?
Boat offers standard SSH and SCP, and works with VS Code or Cursor over Remote-SSH. Celesto gives you an interactive shell with celesto computer ssh over a secure WebSocket, with no SSH keys or open port 22, plus a terminal in the browser console.
Do Celesto and Boat keep files when a sandbox stops?
Yes, both keep the disk; neither keeps running processes. Celesto keeps a stopped disk free for 30 days and also mounts a CelestoFS workspace. Boat saves the disk every minute, keeps a stopped sandbox's disk for 14 days, and offers named snapshots and forks.
Which one is better for browser agents?
Celesto's browser-agent template includes a Chromium browser your code drives over CDP by calling computer.browser(), and a live desktop view. Boat streams a full desktop at 1080p and 60 fps with recording, and Chrome is preinstalled, but you start it with a remote debugging port yourself.
Can I block internet access?
Celesto turns outbound internet off with networkPolicy: { mode: "off" } in the TypeScript SDK. Boat has no API setting for network rules; its docs show blocking traffic with iptables inside the sandbox.
What is a good Boat alternative for AI agents?
Celesto is a Boat alternative when you want pay-as-you-go sandboxes without a monthly plan: each one is its own virtual machine with a terminal, desktop view, CDP browser, public preview URLs, Docker, and a disk that survives stops, from $0.015 per hour. New accounts get a one-time $5 credit with no card.
Start with $5 in credits. No card required.
Boat details from its public pricing and documentation, as of October 17, 2026: Home · Docs · Security · Readiness · Desktop streaming · Limits. Celesto details come from the current sandbox catalog and feature list. Prices are list rates, not measured performance. Boat is a trademark of its owner; Celesto is not affiliated with it.