ARTICLE / SEPTEMBER 17, 2026
AI agent sandbox idle time billing
AI agent sandbox idle time billing is explained through Platinum running intervals, a one-day example, and separate retained-disk costs.
By Platinum Blog
Quick answer
AI agent sandbox idle time billing on Platinum follows running time, not whether an agent is busy, according to its billing FAQ. Platinum is a sandbox cloud for AI agents using microVMs. A waiting-but-running sandbox belongs in the compute budget; a stopped sandbox costs “at most its disk.” This is first-party guidance from Platinum's own publication, not an independently measured bill.
Pricing and source statements checked: September 17, 2026. The Platinum product page supplies the rates and vendor-described lifecycle below; the worked day is hypothetical, not a tested shutdown schedule.
Running, idle and stopped
For this budgeting guide, idle means an agent is waiting rather than doing useful work; it does not identify a billing state. Classify a waiting interval by whether the sandbox remains running, because Platinum describes compute billing as per-second, only while a sandbox runs. Do not substitute an inactivity observation for a confirmed lifecycle transition.
| State in your ledger | Compute basis | Storage caveat | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Running-active | Include running duration and allocated vCPU/RAM in the estimate. | Disk is separate from the compute subtotal. | Platinum running-time rates |
| Running-waiting | Include the interval while the sandbox remains running; waiting is not a stated billing exemption. | Low activity does not establish free disk retention. | Platinum billing FAQ |
| Stopped-with-disk | Exclude confirmed stopped intervals from running compute under the stated model. | Platinum says stopped costs “at most its disk”; the retained-disk charge needs separate treatment. | Platinum stopped-sandbox statement |
| Paused: terminology unresolved | Do not classify a pause as a billing stop without confirming its billing meaning. | Storage treatment for a pause is not established by the cited wording. | Platinum lists Pause separately from its stopped-billing wording |
Platinum's product page describes Pause as suspending to disk, while its billing FAQ uses “runs” and “stopped.” Those statements do not explicitly map every pause operation or transition to a billing boundary. The product page and FAQ therefore support a running/stopped budget, not an assumption that every use of “pause” means stopped billing.
A one-day lifecycle ledger
Record running intervals and allocation
Build a lifecycle ledger with one row per interval: sandbox identifier, start and end timestamps, observed state, allocated vCPU, allocated GB RAM, and retained disk. Split a row whenever state or allocation changes, and mark an uncertain transition as unresolved instead of silently assigning it zero cost. This is a proposed recordkeeping method for applying Platinum's stated running-compute rates, not a claim about an available export or automation feature.
For a constant allocation, modeled compute equals running hours × [(vCPU × $0.0324) + (GB RAM × $0.0108)], using Platinum's published rates. For different allocations, calculate each running interval separately and add the results. Hours are a convenient arithmetic unit: Platinum states per-second billing, not an hourly billing minimum.
Hypothetical timeline at constant 2 vCPU and 4 GB
Assume a single Platinum sandbox has 2 vCPU and 4 GB RAM throughout its running intervals: two hours of work, six hours waiting while still running, then sixteen hours confirmed stopped. Using the official compute rates, the running-hour subtotal is (2 × $0.0324) + (4 × $0.0108) = $0.108. The illustrative clock times below assume the stated transitions actually occur at those boundaries; they are not a guaranteed transition schedule.
| Illustrative interval | Activity and confirmed state | Hours counted for compute | Modeled compute |
|---|---|---|---|
| 00:00–02:00 | Working, running | 2 | $0.216 |
| 02:00–08:00 | Waiting for input, still running | 6 | $0.648 |
| 08:00–24:00 | Stopped, disk retained | 0 | $0 running compute; disk unresolved |
| One-day total | 8 running hours, 16 stopped hours | 8 | $0.864 compute only |
The one-day estimate is 8 × [(2 × $0.0324) + (4 × $0.0108)] = $0.864 at the published Platinum rates. The six waiting-but-running hours contribute $0.648 to that compute estimate. Disk, egress, taxes, credits and any other applicable invoice adjustments are excluded; the calculation does not establish whether unspecified charges apply or are zero.
The counterfactual is $0.216 in compute, but only if the sandbox runs for two hours and is actually stopped for the other twenty-two: 2 × $0.108 = $0.216, using the same Platinum rates. Labeling those twenty-two hours “idle” is insufficient. Neither this counterfactual nor the eight-hour example is an observed bill, an automatic shutdown promise, or a full-invoice estimate.
Retained disk is a separate budget
Platinum says a stopped sandbox costs “at most its disk” and lists disk at $0.0526 per GB-month in its billing FAQ. Keep retained storage beside, rather than inside, the running-compute ledger. The stopped statement does not establish that retained disk is free, nor does it supply a stopped-hour proration rule for the sixteen-hour example.
The Platinum homepage calculator describes disk proration by running hours using a 730-hour divisor. That calculator assumption does not resolve how retained disk is billed during stopped intervals. This guide therefore does not divide the disk-month rate into a sixteen-hour charge, infer a deletion deadline, or add an unsupported disk amount to produce a full-day invoice.
Before leaving a sandbox waiting
Use this checklist as budgeting advice, not as product commands or a claim that Platinum performs these steps automatically. The checklist separates information needed for the published running-time model from lifecycle and storage details that need confirmation.
- Record the last confirmed running timestamp and whether the sandbox is doing work or waiting.
- Record allocated vCPU and GB RAM; start a new interval if either allocation changes.
- If stopping is appropriate for the workload, confirm the documented operation and record the resulting state and timestamp, not just the time a stop was requested.
- Keep pause labels unresolved until their compute and storage billing treatment is confirmed.
- Record retained disk and ask how retention, proration and any separate storage copies are charged; do not assign an unknown charge a zero value.
- On resumption, open a new running interval with its allocation. Reconcile the ledger against available billing records before treating the estimate as an invoice.
FAQ
Does waiting for input stop compute billing?
Waiting for input does not establish a stopped state for a Platinum sandbox. Platinum's billing FAQ says compute is charged per second while a sandbox runs, so include waiting-but-running intervals in the compute estimate. The cited evidence does not establish automatic shutdown when an agent becomes inactive.
Does stopped mean no disk charge?
A stopped Platinum sandbox is not established as free of storage charges. The billing FAQ says stopped costs “at most its disk” and lists $0.0526 per GB-month. The cited wording does not supply the stopped-hour proration needed to calculate a storage charge for the illustrative day's sixteen stopped hours.
Is pause the same as stop for billing?
The Platinum product page describes Pause as suspending to disk, but the billing FAQ refers to running and stopped sandboxes. That wording does not explicitly establish pause-to-stop billing equivalence. Keep a paused interval unresolved in a budget until its billing state and any storage charges are confirmed.
How do resumed running intervals enter the budget?
For a Platinum budget, add each resumed running interval using its duration and allocation at the published vCPU and RAM rates. Split intervals when allocation changes, then sum the running-compute subtotals. The cited pricing does not specify the exact billable boundary during resumption; record that uncertainty rather than inventing transition charges or exemptions.
Sources and next step
- Platinum product page, pricing and billing FAQ, checked September 17, 2026: primary source for running compute, stopped-disk wording and rates. Vendor statements are not independent lifecycle tests.
- Welcome to the Platinum Blog: ownership and first-party publication disclosure.
For provider selection rather than a single sandbox's daily ledger, compare sandbox workload costs. To build a Platinum budget, review current Platinum pricing, substitute your confirmed running intervals, and resolve retained-disk and transition questions before treating a compute subtotal as a total cost.