Cloud Window
How Cloud Window compares
Prices checked 1 October 2026 · Early access
Cloud Window is a computer that stays on, with a desktop in the browser and Claude Code and Codex already installed, for $26 or $35 a month. You can get pieces of that elsewhere. This page puts the prices side by side, says what each one includes, and lists what you would still have to do yourself. Every number has a source and the date we checked it. Where a price depends on how much you use it, the assumption is written next to it.
| Option | Monthly price at typical use | Always on? | Desktop in the browser? | Agents built in? | Persistent disk? | What you still set up yourself |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud Window | $26 Base (4 vCPU, 8 GB, 75 GB) $35 Plus (6 vCPU, 12 GB, 100 GB) |
Yes, no idle shutdown | Yes, drawn, not streamed video | Claude Code and Codex installed; agent tools included. Your own model accounts | Yes, with a daily snapshot | Signing in to your model accounts |
| exe.dev | $351 for 4 vCPU, 8 GB, 200 GB shared by your VMs. $15 for 2 vCPU, 4 GB, 100 GB | Yes, VMs | No, a shell and web access | Built for running agents; you install them | Yes | A desktop, if you want one; the editor, the browser, the agent tools |
| GitHub Codespaces | $62.852 at 160 hours a month on 4 cores with 75 GB. $268.05 if left on all month | No, it stops when idle and is billed by the hour | An editor, not a desktop | No | Yes, storage billed per GB | A dev container, the agents, everything outside the editor |
| Ona (formerly Gitpod) | From $203 in credits that cover agent tokens and environment time | No, environments are deleted after 7 days of inactivity | No, development environments | Yes, its own background agents | Per environment, not a standing computer | Your own project definitions; credits to top up |
| Hetzner Cloud | $9.994 for 4 vCPU, 8 GB, 80 GB (Germany or Finland) | Yes | No, a bare server | No | Yes | All of it: a desktop, remote access, security, updates, backups, the agents |
| DigitalOcean | $485 for 4 vCPU, 8 GB, 160 GB | Yes | No, a bare server | No | Yes | All of it, as above |
| AWS Lightsail | $446 for 2 vCPU, 8 GB, 160 GB. 4 vCPU comes with 16 GB at $84 | Yes | No, a bare server | No | Yes | All of it, as above |
| Mac mini hosting (MacStadium) | $1497 for an M4 with 16 GB and 256 GB | Yes, dedicated hardware | Not in a browser; you connect with your own tools | No | Yes | Remote access, updates, the agents. Runs macOS, not Linux |
| Shadow PC | $44.998 for Neo Pro, a Windows 11 PC with unlimited use | A PC you connect to | Streamed video of a Windows desktop | No | Yes | A development environment on Windows; the agents |
Option by option
exe.dev
The nearest neighbour: a computer for developers and agents, always on, billed as a block of capacity that you divide among up to 50 VMs. We were told its plan was $20 a month; the pricing page today lists $15 for 2 vCPU and 4 GB and $35 for 4 vCPU and 8 GB, so that is what we compare against. It gives you the machine and the shell. It does not give you a desktop in the browser or the agent tools Cloud Window ships with.
GitHub Codespaces
The best fit if your work lives on GitHub and you code in short sessions. A 4-core machine is $0.36 an hour, so 160 hours is $57.60, and storage is $0.07 per GB a month, $5.25 for 75 GB. GitHub's free monthly allowance would reduce that for a personal account. Left running around the clock it is about 730 hours, or $262.80 plus storage. It is an editor in a container, not a computer you keep.
Ona, formerly Gitpod
Now aimed at teams running background agents: a task goes in and a pull request comes out. Plans start at $20 a month in credits, spent on agent usage and environment time, and environments are deleted after 7 days without use. Its homepage says the company is joining OpenAI. It does not offer a personal desktop. The pricing page we checked listed Core and Enterprise; we found no Pro tier.
A cloud server at Hetzner, DigitalOcean or Lightsail
The cheapest way to rent the hardware. Hetzner's 4 vCPU, 8 GB server is $9.99 a month, DigitalOcean's is $48, and Lightsail's 8 GB bundle has 2 vCPUs for $44. But you are renting a server, not a computer. To use it like one you install a desktop environment and a way to reach it from a browser, secure and update it, set up backups, and install your agents. A VS Code tunnel is simpler, but it gives you an editor on the remote machine, not a desktop9. For a developer who enjoys that work, it is a good deal. Hetzner's price also rose sharply in June 2026, which is worth knowing if you read older comparisons.
A Mac mini in colocation or at MacStadium
Dedicated Apple hardware, always on, at $149 a month for the current entry M4 on MacStadium. It is the right choice if you need macOS, for instance to build iOS apps. It is not Linux, it does not come with a browser desktop, and it costs several times as much. We did not price buying a Mac mini and placing it in a colocation rack, since the rack fee varies by provider.
Shadow PC and other cloud desktops
Shadow runs a full Windows 11 PC with a graphics card and streams it to you as video; Neo Pro is $44.99 a month. That is the right tool for games and creative software. It is a different thing from a Linux development computer, and there are no agents on it.
Why this price
Cloud Window is $26 a month for the Base computer and $35 for Plus. Here is what the money pays for, and what it does not.
- Always on. The computer keeps running when you close the window. There is no idle shutdown and no hourly meter, so the price does not change with how much you use it.
- Drawn, not streamed. The desktop is drawn in your browser from the computer's own data rather than sent as video, which is why it works on a phone and why we can offer it at this price.
- Agents built in. Claude Code and Codex are installed and can drive the computer through built-in tools, asking you before anything risky. Model usage is not included: you sign in with your own accounts.
- A real Linux computer. Your files, shells and apps stay where you left them. It is yours, not a sandbox that is thrown away.
Compared with a bare server it costs more, because the desktop, the agent tools and the upkeep are part of what you pay for. Compared with the products that meter by the hour, it is cheaper if you use the computer most of the month, and more than you need to pay if you code a few hours a week. These are early-access prices, and they may change with notice; you will always see the price before you pay.
Sources
- exe.dev personal plan, checked 1 October 2026: exe.dev/docs/billing/personal and exe.dev/pricing.
- GitHub Codespaces billing, checked 1 October 2026: docs.github.com, About billing for GitHub Codespaces. $0.36 an hour for 4 cores and $0.07 per GB a month. Assumes 160 hours of compute and 75 GB of storage, before any free allowance: 160 x $0.36 + 75 x $0.07 = $62.85. All month: 730 x $0.36 + $5.25 = $268.05.
- Ona pricing, checked 1 October 2026: ona.com/pricing (Core from $20 a month, environments deleted after 7 days of inactivity; homepage: ona.com).
- Hetzner price adjustment, effective 15 June 2026, checked 1 October 2026: docs.hetzner.com, price adjustment. CX33 at $9.99 a month in Germany and Finland; specifications from hetzner.com/cloud/cost-optimized. Excludes VAT and any extra IPv4 address.
- DigitalOcean Basic Droplet with 8 GB, checked 1 October 2026: digitalocean.com/pricing/droplets.
- AWS Lightsail Linux bundles, checked 1 October 2026: aws.amazon.com/lightsail/pricing.
- MacStadium Mac mini, M4.S, month to month, checked 1 October 2026: macstadium.com/pricing.
- Shadow PC US plans, checked 1 October 2026: shadow.tech/us/shadowpc/offers.
- VS Code tunnels, checked 1 October 2026: code.visualstudio.com/docs/remote/tunnels. Needs the code command-line tool and a GitHub or Microsoft sign-in; provides the editor, not a desktop.
Prices are in US dollars, monthly, and change; check each provider before you decide. Cloud Window's prices are from our pricing section.