# OpenComputer vs Boxes.dev

Boxes.dev and OpenComputer both run Claude Code and Codex on cloud machines, so your agents keep working after you close the laptop. Both let you bring your own Claude or ChatGPT subscription instead of paying for tokens.

The difference is the shape of the product. Boxes.dev is a devbox platform with apps on every surface: you snapshot a working dev environment and every thread starts from a copy of it, driven from a Mac app, phones, a CLI, Slack or Linear. OpenComputer is a coding agent you mention in Slack, built around a shared thread the whole team can steer, and billed per workspace for the minutes the agent actually works rather than per seat.

If you want a personal cloud devbox you can open in your editor, Boxes.dev fits. If you want a teammate in Slack that turns requests into pull requests, OpenComputer fits.

## At a glance

| | Boxes.dev | OpenComputer |
|---|---|---|
| Where the agent runs | Cloud Linux devbox per thread | Your workspace's cloud Linux machine |
| Agent and models | Claude Code and Codex | Claude Code and Codex |
| How you hand it work | Mac, web and mobile apps, CLI, Slack, Linear, API | Slack mention or API |
| What you get back | Changes on the devbox; you or the agent open a PR | A pull request with screenshot and preview for UI changes |
| Between tasks | Box sleeps after about 5 minutes, files and memory kept | Machine stays warm; repo and caches kept |
| Pricing model | Per seat plus awake box-hours | Per workspace, work minutes |
| Entry price | Starter, $19 per seat per month | Pro, $20 per month for the workspace |
| Free option | Trial with 20 box-hours per user | 3-day trial, 600 work minutes |

## What is Boxes.dev?

Boxes.dev describes itself as [cloud devboxes for parallel coding agents](https://boxes.dev). You set up a project once as a "Template box", either from a local folder or from a GitHub repository, and an agent gets the app running. Boxes then [snapshots the box, filesystem and memory](https://boxes.dev/help/how-boxes-works), and each new thread starts from a copy of that snapshot with its own services, ports and database state.

It runs [Claude Code and Codex with their native harnesses](https://boxes.dev/help/connect-agents), signed in with your Claude or ChatGPT subscription or an API key. Boxes.dev does not resell tokens. You reach it from a Mac desktop app, a web app, iOS and Android apps with a terminal, the [`dvb` CLI](https://boxes.dev/help/use-cli) (which can also open the box in VS Code or JetBrains over SSH), [Slack](https://boxes.dev/help/slack), [Linear](https://boxes.dev/help/linear), schedules and an [automation API](https://boxes.dev/help/automation-api).

## What is OpenComputer?

OpenComputer runs Claude Code and Codex in its own cloud, and you hand them work by mentioning @Computer in a Slack thread or calling the API from your code. Each Slack workspace gets its own cloud Linux machine, sized to its plan. Every thread works in its own copy of the repos on its own branch, so parallel requests don't collide. Workspaces resume warm, with the repository, dependencies and build caches already in place.

@Computer reads the code, runs the commands and tests, then opens a pull request that says what changed, why, and how it was checked, with a link back to the thread. UI changes come with a screenshot and a preview link. The same cloud runs [serverless agents](/agents) you write in TypeScript, so a team can build its own agents on the minutes it already pays for.

## Key differences

### A devbox you work in, or a teammate you hand work to

Boxes.dev is built around the machine. You get a full copy of your dev environment per thread, and you can step into it yourself from the CLI, an IDE over SSH or the mobile terminal. Work stays on the devbox until you or the agent [commit, push and open a PR](https://boxes.dev/help/commit-push-pull-request).

OpenComputer is built around the request. You describe the change in Slack, and what comes back is a reviewable pull request with the evidence attached. There is no desktop or mobile app and no IDE to attach. If you want to drive the box by hand, Boxes.dev gives you more surface.

### Single-player threads or a shared one

Both products take requests in Slack. On OpenComputer the thread is the unit of work: everyone in it sees every file @Computer opens and every command it runs, anyone can redirect it, and conventions one person explains apply to the next person's requests. The thread is also the record of who asked for what. Boxes.dev's Slack integration starts a devbox per mention and takes follow-ups in the thread, with [some limits](https://boxes.dev/help/slack) such as no group DMs and no guests starting work. Its apps are oriented around one developer's threads.

### Environment setup

Boxes.dev's snapshot covers memory as well as files, so long-running services such as a database or dev server come back exactly as they were. That suits apps with heavy local setup. OpenComputer keeps the repository, installed dependencies and build caches warm on the workspace's machine, which covers most build-and-test loops without a setup step. Its threads share that machine, each with its own copy of the repos and its own branch, rather than each getting a full copy of the environment. If your app needs several services running before anything works, or you want each thread on its own machine, Boxes.dev's template model is the more direct fit.

### What you pay for

Boxes.dev charges [per paid seat plus box-hours](https://boxes.dev/help/plans-and-box-hours), where a box-hour is a 4 vCPU, 8 GiB devbox awake for an hour, billed per second. Sleeping boxes are free. OpenComputer charges per Slack workspace for work minutes: the clock runs only while @Computer is working on a message, and time spent waiting on you costs nothing. Neither charges for tokens when you bring your own subscription.

## Pricing compared

As of October 2026, Boxes.dev lists [Starter at $19, Pro at $99 and Max at $249 per seat per month](https://boxes.dev/help/plans-and-box-hours), including 50, 250 and 600 box-hours per user. Extra time is $0.60 per box-hour from prepaid credits. OpenComputer lists Pro at $20 a month with 2,000 work minutes and Max at $200 with 25,000, for the whole workspace, and $0.01 per extra minute.

For a team of five, Boxes.dev Starter is $95 a month before overage. OpenComputer Pro is $20 a month for the same five people, covering about 33 hours of active agent work. The units differ: a box-hour counts awake machine time, including idle time before the box sleeps, while a work minute counts only time the agent spends working. Which is cheaper depends on how many people use it and how bursty their work is. Seat pricing favors one heavy user, and workspace pricing favors a team.

## When to choose Boxes.dev

- You want a full copy of a complex dev environment, with services and database state, for every agent thread.
- You want to step into the agent's machine yourself from an IDE, the CLI or your phone.
- You use apps more than chat, and want desktop, iOS and Android clients.
- You want Linear assignment and scheduled automations from the same tool.

## When to choose OpenComputer

- Your team already works in Slack and wants requests, review and history in one shared thread.
- You want pull requests with the evidence attached: what changed, how it was tested, and a screenshot for UI work.
- You'd rather pay per workspace for active agent time than per seat.
- You also want to build your own agents, such as [a background coding agent](/blog/background-coding-agent), on the same cloud and minutes.

## FAQ

### Is OpenComputer a Boxes.dev alternative?

Yes, for teams that mainly hand coding work to Claude Code or Codex from Slack. Both run those agents on cloud Linux machines with your own subscription. OpenComputer is centered on a shared Slack thread that ends in a pull request, while Boxes.dev is centered on devboxes you can also use directly.

### How much does Boxes.dev cost?

Boxes.dev has a free trial with 20 box-hours per user, then Starter at $19, Pro at $99 and Max at $249 per seat per month, plus $0.60 per extra box-hour. Tokens are billed by your model provider, not by Boxes.dev.

### Can I use my Claude or ChatGPT subscription with both?

Yes. Boxes.dev signs in to Claude Code and Codex with your Claude or ChatGPT subscription or an API key. OpenComputer does the same, and can switch to its own tokens at API prices with no markup when your subscription hits its limit, or stop and wait for the reset, whichever you choose.

### Do Boxes.dev and OpenComputer charge while the agent is idle?

Boxes.dev bills box-hours while a devbox is awake and puts it to sleep after about 5 minutes of inactivity by default. OpenComputer bills work minutes only while @Computer is working on a message, so waiting for your review costs nothing.

### Does OpenComputer have a desktop or mobile app?

No. You use OpenComputer from Slack, where your phone's Slack app already works, or from your own code through the API. Boxes.dev has a Mac app, a web app and iOS and Android apps.

## Sources

- [Boxes.dev homepage](https://boxes.dev)
- [How boxes.dev works](https://boxes.dev/help/how-boxes-works)
- [Plans and box-hours](https://boxes.dev/help/plans-and-box-hours)
- [Connect agents](https://boxes.dev/help/connect-agents)
- [Commit, push and pull request](https://boxes.dev/help/commit-push-pull-request)
- [Use the CLI](https://boxes.dev/help/use-cli)
- [Slack](https://boxes.dev/help/slack)
- [Linear](https://boxes.dev/help/linear)
- [Automation API](https://boxes.dev/help/automation-api)
- [Sleep, wake and recover](https://boxes.dev/help/sleep-wake-recover)