# Microsoft Execution Containers vs Together Code Sandbox

> Microsoft Execution Containers scores 76.3 (BB) on agent readiness against Together Code Sandbox's 53.6 (D), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Together Code Sandbox leads on schema & documentation. Both do sandbox code. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side…

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- Updated: 2026-10-09

Microsoft Execution Containers scores 76.3 (BB) on agent readiness against Together Code Sandbox's 53.6 (D), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Together Code Sandbox leads on schema & documentation. Both do sandbox code.

- Microsoft Execution Containers: grade BB, 76.3/100, rank #35 of 842. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/microsoft-execution-containers.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/microsoft-execution-containers.json
- Together Code Sandbox: grade D, 53.6/100, rank #628 of 842. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/together-code-sandbox.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/together-code-sandbox.json

## Which one, for what

### Microsoft Execution Containers (BB)

Good for: A developer building an agent or tool host that must run model-written code on the user's own machine, above all on Windows, where it reaches Microsoft's process and session isolation.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 81 against 25
- Security & auth, 69 against 47
- Payments & pricing, 60 against 20
- Maintenance & community, 92 against 83
- Transparency & trust, 83 against 60

Also in its favour:
- Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better
- No key needed to call it
- Free to start without a card
- Open source

Watch for: 1.0.0 shipped on 6 October 2026, and the Node changelog still lists the V1 changes under Unreleased

### Together Code Sandbox (D)

Good for: Teams already buying from Together, and former CodeSandbox SDK users, who want Docker-defined sandboxes with disk and memory snapshots from Python or TypeScript.

Ahead on:
- Schema & documentation, 86 against 81

Also in its favour:
- A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install

Watch for: The SDK and CLI work only for organisations Together has enabled, and the docs say to contact Together for access


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Microsoft Execution Containers | Together Code Sandbox | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 81 | 25 | Microsoft Execution Containers +56 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 81 | 86 | Together Code Sandbox +5 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 74 | 70 | Microsoft Execution Containers +4 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 69 | 47 | Microsoft Execution Containers +22 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 60 | 20 | Microsoft Execution Containers +40 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 92 | 83 | Microsoft Execution Containers +9 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 83 | 60 | Microsoft Execution Containers +23 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **76.3 · BB** | **53.6 · D** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Microsoft Execution Containers | Together Code Sandbox |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | SDK + MCP | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Microsoft | Together AI |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | `https://api.bartender.codesandbox.io` |
| Transports |  | HTTP |
| Auth | None | API key |
| Pricing | Free | Pay per use |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | MIT | Proprietary service under Together's terms of service. The SDKs, CLI and OpenAPI documents on GitHub are MIT |
| Read-only variant documented | yes | no |
| llms.txt | no | yes |
| Last release | 2026-10-06 | 2026-10-07 |
| Terms last updated | no document linked | no date given |
| Privacy policy last updated | couldn't be read | no date given |
| Customer content may train models |  | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access |  | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict benchmarking |  | yes |
| Terms or service can change without notice |  | not found in the text |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver |  | not found in the text |
| Popularity | 1.5k stars, 472k npm/wk | 3 stars, 1.3k npm/wk, 3.4k PyPI/wk |

## Verdicts

**Microsoft Execution Containers.** MXC puts nine operating-system sandbox backends behind one typed request, with network access denied by default and a JSON Schema for the stable 1.0.0 contract. Version 1.0.0 is two days old as of 8 October 2026. Enforcement varies by backend, and `isolation_session` cannot restrict networking at all.

**Together Code Sandbox.** Two public OpenAPI documents, MIT clients for Python and TypeScript, cursor pagination and built-in retries make the surface easy for an agent to drive. Access is the limit. Together enables the SDK per organisation on request, publishes no rate limits or SLA, and neither status page names the sandbox service.

## Before you call either

### Microsoft Execution Containers

1. Import from `@microsoft/mxc-sdk/v1`. The package root exports nothing.
2. Call `getPlatformSupport()` first and stop if `isSupported` is false. `getAvailableBackends()` is advisory and launch-time validation still applies.
3. Set `network.egress.default` to `allow` only when the task needs it. Omitted network policy resolves to deny in every direction.
4. Never pass `--audit` to an executor for untrusted code. It turns off all sandbox security for the workload.
5. Read `ExecutionResult.warnings` after each run. Security warnings arrive there and are not written to stdout or stderr.

### Together Code Sandbox

1. Confirm the organisation is on Together's allowlist before installing. A valid `TOGETHER_API_KEY` alone is not enough
2. Build a snapshot first with `snapshots.create`. No default image exists, and every sandbox needs `snapshot_id` or `snapshot_alias`
3. Set `ttl` at creation or call `terminate()`. Nothing stops a sandbox otherwise, and closing the Python client leaves it running
4. Store the snapshot alias, not the sandbox ID. A terminated sandbox can't restart, and its state lives at `sandbox:<id>`
5. Exclude `snapshots.create` from retries with `should_retry`, and set `experimental.network_policy` before serving anything private on a port

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Microsoft Execution Containers or Together Code Sandbox?

Microsoft Execution Containers scores 76.3 (BB) on agent readiness against Together Code Sandbox's 53.6 (D), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Together Code Sandbox leads on schema & documentation.

### Can an agent call Microsoft Execution Containers and Together Code Sandbox without installing anything?

No hosted endpoint is listed for Microsoft Execution Containers. Together Code Sandbox has a hosted endpoint at https://api.bartender.codesandbox.io.

### Are Microsoft Execution Containers and Together Code Sandbox open source?

Microsoft Execution Containers is open source (MIT). No open-source release is listed for Together Code Sandbox.


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/microsoft-execution-containers-vs-together-code-sandbox.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/microsoft-execution-containers-vs-together-code-sandbox.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "microsoft-execution-containers", "b": "together-code-sandbox"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare microsoft-execution-containers together-code-sandbox`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/microsoft-execution-containers.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/together-code-sandbox.json

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