# GitHub Copilot cloud sandboxes

Official pricing: https://docs.github.com/en/billing/concepts/product-billing/cloud-and-local-sandboxes  
Category: hyperscaler · Isolation: firecracker

## Pricing regimes (raw)

- **Cloud sandbox (copilot --cloud), per-second meters** (resource): $0.0864/vCPU-h, $0.0108/GiB-h [beta, alt]

## Features

Yes: snapshots, memory snapshots, pause/resume, persistent disk, ≥24 h sessions, custom image (Docker or snapshot), start from your own snapshot, full VM (own kernel), root, preinstalled agents, egress allowlist, open internet, SOC 2, SSO, Python, Node.js, HTTP method/path egress rules, spend limits, MCP server, automatic snapshots, agent harness API, gVisor or VM (no shared kernel), firewall inside (nftables)

No: fork/clone, volumes, your own Docker/OCI image, systemd, browser, desktop GUI, computer-use API, code interpreter, browser + desktop control, anti-bot stealth, CAPTCHA solving, residential IPs, SSH, public IPv4, HTTPS preview URLs, custom domains, raw TCP inbound, static egress IP, self-hosting, BYOC, open source, GPU, Windows, macOS, GPU desktop, wake on request, live resize, live fork (no pause), memory fork, EU data residency, snapshots on demand, hosted agent API (their own agent), inbound access rules, secret proxy, secret proxy for any API, extra volumes, shared volumes

Unknown: everything else. Evidence (source + quote) per feature: https://battleships.dev/data/providers/github-copilot-cloud-sandboxes.json → feature_evidence

## Caveats

- Public preview since 2026-06-02; the $10/month preview entitlement ran "through the end of July 2026"; after that "all usage is billed" (free.monthly_credit 0).
- "Per compute second" is read as per vCPU-second (matches the ACA vCPU meter exactly), but the official table (re-checked 2026-09-28) only says unit "Compute second" = "Time that a cloud sandbox session is running"; if it is per session rather than per vCPU, a 4-vCPU sandbox would cost 4x less on compute. Equal meters are not evidence of an ACA implementation. GitHub does not publish sandbox vCPU/RAM tiers, max session length, egress price, or regions.
- Storage $0.005/GiB-month applies to snapshots from the time a sandbox is stopped until it is deleted; this is 40x cheaper than the Premium Blob ZRS rate ACA Sandboxes will charge directly.
- Usable only through Copilot: interactive Copilot CLI sessions ('copilot --cloud --experimental'; cloud sandboxing is an experimental CLI feature, no -p/-i programmatic use) or the GitHub Copilot app (cloud sandbox execution location); also used by Copilot in Microsoft Teams. Org/enterprise owners must enable the 'Cloud Sandbox access' policy (disabled by default). Usage is blocked once quota is used if no payment method is on file.
- Sandbox meters are separate from Copilot AI credits: a cloud sandbox session also consumes the seat's AI credits for model calls, which this card does not price.

## How this provider charges


`copilot --cloud` launches an isolated, ephemeral Linux sandbox hosted by GitHub. GitHub's docs say cloud sandboxing
is "built on Azure Container Apps Sandboxes, with GitHub providing the identity, policy, and billing layer". Public
preview since 2026-06-02. Meters (https://docs.github.com/en/billing/concepts/product-billing/cloud-and-local-sandboxes):
**$0.000024 per compute second, $0.000003 per GiB-second of memory, $0.005 per GiB-month of storage** — the same
compute/memory meters as ACA Consumption/Sandboxes.

Reference 4 vCPU / 8 GiB (if such a tier exists): **$0.432/h**.

## Regime table

| Regime | When it applies | How billed | Numbers | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Running cloud sandbox | Session running | Compute per second (read as per vCPU-second) + allocated memory per GiB-second | $0.0864/vCPU-h, $0.0108/GiB-h | GitHub billing docs |
| Stopped session | After stop (a snapshot of state is taken) | Compute and memory not metered; snapshot storage from stop until delete | $0.005/GiB-month | GitHub billing docs; about-cloud-and-local-sandboxes |
| Preview entitlement | Eligible accounts during public preview | $10/month included | ended "end of July 2026"; after that "all usage is billed" | GitHub billing docs |
| Local sandboxing | Sandbox on your own machine | Included in the Copilot seat | $0 | GitHub billing docs |
| Copilot seat | Required to use cloud sandboxes; org/enterprise must enable it (off by default) | Monthly seat | not re-verified here (fee null) | docs.github.com |
| Budgets | Product-level or SKU-level budget with "stop usage at 100%" | Hard stop | — | GitHub billing docs |
| No payment method | Quota used up | Usage blocked | — | GitHub billing docs |

## Gotchas

1. **Tiers, max session length, egress price and regions are not published** by GitHub; ACA Sandboxes tiers (XS-XL, 1 core : 2 GB) are assumed.
2. **Snapshot storage is very cheap ($0.005/GiB-month)** versus the Premium Blob ZRS rate ACA will charge direct customers ($0.20).
3. The $10/month preview credit is gone; every second is billed now.
4. Usable only through Copilot, not as a general sandbox API.

## Worked example

4 vCPU / 8 GiB, 50 concurrent x 8 h/day x 22 days = 8,800 sandbox-hours, stopped between shifts, 30% CPU
(no effect), 50 GiB snapshots, 100 GiB egress (price unpublished, assumed $0).

| Regime | Calculation | Total / month |
|---|---|---|
| Cloud sandbox usage | 8,800 x 0.432 = $3,801.60 + 50 x $0.005 = $0.25 | **$3,801.85** + Copilot seats |
| During preview (until end of July 2026) | $3,801.85 - $10 | $3,791.85 (expired) |