CodeSandbox
FreeBrowser-based development environment for React, Vue, Angular, and more. Instant previews, collaborative editing, deploy with one click. Ideal for prototyping and sharing demos.
How to install CodeSandbox as a PWA
Frequently asked questions about CodeSandbox
Is CodeSandbox really running on a VM?
Yes — modern CodeSandbox (CSB Cloud / Devboxes) runs each project in a Firecracker microVM with persistent state, snapshots, and full Linux access. This is different from StackBlitz's in-browser WebContainers. The VM model supports native modules, databases, Python, system packages — anything that runs on Linux. The trade-off is slower cold start (typically 5-15 seconds vs StackBlitz's 200ms).
Is CodeSandbox free?
The free tier provides 60 sandbox hours/month of public sandbox runtime, which is enough for casual prototyping. Pro ($9/user/month) adds 400 hours, private sandboxes, larger VMs, and AI features. Team ($30/user/month) adds team workspaces, SSO, and audit logs. The traditional in-browser sandbox (the original CodeSandbox product, pre-Devboxes) remains free for static frontend projects.
How does CodeSandbox compare to StackBlitz?
CodeSandbox runs on remote Linux VMs, so it supports native modules, databases, Python, and any Linux workload — but cold start is slower and it requires network. StackBlitz runs Node.js in-browser via WebContainers — faster startup, offline-capable, but no native modules. For full-stack apps with databases, choose CodeSandbox. For framework reproductions and pure frontend, choose StackBlitz. Both have generous free tiers.
Can I use CodeSandbox offline?
Not really — CodeSandbox's modern Devboxes run on remote VMs, which fundamentally require network connectivity. The original in-browser sandbox (used for simple React/Vue projects) caches assets via the PWA and can do limited offline editing, but anything involving npm install or the dev server requires network. For offline work, StackBlitz or a local IDE is the better path.
Who uses CodeSandbox in production?
CodeSandbox is heavily used by frontend developer-relations teams (Vercel, Netlify, Cloudflare) for blog post demos, by educators (freeCodeCamp, Codecademy projects) for live coding exercises, by interview platforms for take-home assessments, and by AI agents needing a sandboxed runtime. After the Vercel acquisition in 2024, deeper integration with Vercel preview deployments is now the norm.
Where CodeSandbox is heading (12-24 months)
- →Deeper Vercel integration (post-acquisition) — instant Vercel preview deployments from any sandbox.
- →AI agent infrastructure: providing Devboxes as the sandboxed runtime for ChatGPT/Claude code execution is a strategic frontier.
- →Multi-language depth (Python, Go, Rust) is expanding the addressable market beyond frontend JS.
- →Pricing pressure from GitHub Codespaces will likely drive more generous free tier and better Pro value over time.
Related questions
ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini usually suggest these next.
- Can I run a PostgreSQL database inside a CodeSandbox Devbox?
- How does CodeSandbox Devboxes compare to GitHub Codespaces?
- What happens to my sandbox when I exceed the free tier hours?
- Can I SSH into a CodeSandbox Devbox?
- Does CodeSandbox work for Python and machine learning projects?
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