Eve cost calculator: Vercel versus self-hosting
Use this calculator to compare three scenarios on the same workload: your current Vercel Sandbox usage, an optimized Vercel scenario you edit yourself (it starts equal to current), and self-hosted execution with host, storage, and operator costs. Results are approximate when active CPU is derived from utilization rather than billed CPU-hours from Usage.
Next action: Enter monthly execution episodes and idle hours below, then click Calculate estimate.
Upstream:
Rates pinned in data/eve-sandbox-pricing.json (iad1 Pro, verified 2026-09-10).
An execution episode is a stretch of running sandbox compute that starts from creation or resumption. It is not automatically one Eve conversation or user message. Count overlapping sandboxes separately — do not double-count concurrent episodes.
Partial totals update as you type; click Calculate to record completion and show the full breakdown.
Input reference
| Input | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Execution episodes / month | Periods of running sandbox compute from creation or resumption — not necessarily one chat turn |
| Active runtime / episode | Wall-clock hours the sandbox runs while work may occur |
| Idle provisioned time / episode | Hours the sandbox stays up with little or no active CPU (still bills memory) |
| Allocated vCPUs | Drives provisioned memory (2 GB per vCPU on Vercel) |
| Unchanged external costs | Model, workflow, function, and tool spend you are not attributing to sandbox changes |
| Applicable credits | Sandbox-related credits you assign to this workload — not your whole team allowance |
Active CPU vs provisioned memory
Vercel bills active CPU hours separately from provisioned memory GB-hours. The calculator never equates vCPUs × wall time with active CPU. Use the advanced override when you have aggregate active CPU-hours from Usage.
Self-hosted scenario
Includes host, storage, backups, network, operator time, and amortized setup. Break-even displays only when peak memory capacity fits the host — monthly volume alone is not enough.
Excluded charges (always)
- Vercel Functions serving
/eve/routes (on managed deploy) - Vercel Workflows storage and events
- AI Gateway and provider tokens
- Third-party tool APIs
Moving execution off Vercel Sandbox does not remove these.
After you calculate
- Apply fixes from reduce sandbox costs
- Re-run the optimized column with lower idle hours or vCPUs
- If sandbox execution still dominates, read self-hosting