Browser Development Environment Reviews
How much free compute does a browser IDE actually give you?
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The Short Answer
- GitHub Codespaces — GitHub grants free users "120 core hours or 60 hours of run time on a 2 core codespace, plus 15 GB of storage each month", in an environment that is a checkout of your own repository.
- StackBlitz — StackBlitz's free plan covers "unlimited public StackBlitz projects, collections and Github repositories", with both a local download button and a direct git push documented.
- CodeSandbox — CodeSandbox grants "40 hours of monthly VM credits" while the git route it documents — converting a sandbox into a Repository — had "Full support for repositories will end on July 1, 2026".
- Replit — Replit's free plan is described as "Free daily Agent credits" with no figure attached, and its docs describe importing a zip with no matching export.
| Product | Best for | From | Free plan | Free-plan compute |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GitHub Codespaces | Numbers on both halves | — | Yes | Quantified, code exits |
| StackBlitz | Two documented exits, public projects only | $18/mo (annual) | Yes | Capped or unstated |
| CodeSandbox | 40 free hours, and a retired way out | $170/mo | Yes | Capped or unstated |
| Replit | Neither number nor download | $18/mo (annual) | Yes | Capped or unstated |
What we checked, and what we did not test
A browser IDE holds two things you care about: the machine that runs your code and the code itself. Free tiers ration the first, which everyone expects, and quietly decide the second, which almost nobody checks. Code you cannot retrieve is code you have lent to someone.
On 6 August 2026 we read four pricing pages and their documentation, looking for a compute number and a documented exit. Each verdict quotes what we found. We did not run any code.
An exit route that expired before we read it
CodeSandbox’s free tier is unusually well quantified — “40 hours of monthly VM credits” for five members, private sandboxes included. Getting code out is the part that has moved.
Its own getting-started guide says the way to add git to a sandbox is that “You can scale your VM Sandbox into a Repository.” Its Repositories page says that feature is being withdrawn: “CodeSandbox Repositories will no longer accept new imports starting April 1, 2026. Full support for repositories will end on July 1, 2026”, with a migration guide pointing at GitHub Codespaces.
We read those pages on 6 August 2026. Both dates are in the past. The guide that tells you how to get your code out still points at a feature whose support the same company says has ended, and no download or zip export is documented anywhere else we looked. That is not a criticism of the product’s quality — it is a statement about what its documentation currently tells a new user to do, on the day we read it, which is exactly the kind of thing a dated review is for.
Numbers on both halves
1. GitHub Codespaces — Numbers on both halves
Codespaces is the only environment here that publishes a compute figure and an exit that is not a feature but the architecture.
Best for A free allowance published as numbers, on a checkout of your own repo
From —. Free plan: "GitHub will provide users in the free plan 120 core hours or 60 hours of run time on a 2 core codespace, plus 15 GB of storage each month"; GitHub Pro accounts get 180 hours and 20 GB-month.
- Pay-as-you-go beyond the free quota — price not shown on the page we opened (Not a flat plan: compute runs from $0.18 an hour on 2 cores to $1.44 on 16, since "The compute cost is proportional to the number of processor cores", and storage is $0.07 per GB-month. Usage past the free quota is blocked unless a payment method is on file)
Both halves are answered and neither is hedged. The allowance: "GitHub will provide users in the free plan 120 core hours or 60 hours of run time on a 2 core codespace, plus 15 GB of storage each month." The exit: a codespace is a checkout of your repository, and the docs state "You can perform all the Git actions you need directly within your codespace", commit and push included, with no plan condition attached.
Pros
- The free allowance is a published number rather than a phrase — 120 core hours and 15 GB a month.
- Getting code out is not a feature but the architecture: the environment is a clone of a repository you already own.
- Overage rates are published per core-hour and per GB-month.
Skip it if
- Those overage rates are on a separate billing docs page, not on the product page.
- Work past the free quota stops until a payment method is added.
- The free tier is tied to having the code in GitHub in the first place.
Two documented exits, public projects only
2. StackBlitz — Two documented exits, public projects only
StackBlitz documents more ways out than anyone here, on the condition that the work is public.
Best for Two documented exits, on public projects only
From $18/mo (annual). Free plan: Personal — $0 a month with "Unlimited public projects and collections", "Open and edit public GitHub repositories", "Up to 1MB of file uploads per project" and community support; the FAQ confirms "The free Personal plan includes unlimited public StackBlitz projects, collections and Github repositories".
- Pro — $25/mo, or $18/mo billed annually · 1 seat (Adds private projects and private repository access)
- Teams — $60/mo, or $55/mo billed annually · 10 seats (Per member, for teams up to 10 users)
- Enterprise & Self-hosted — price not shown on the page we opened ("Let's chat" for teams over 10 users)
The free tier's condition is visibility rather than time: "The free Personal plan includes unlimited public StackBlitz projects, collections and Github repositories" — private work requires a paid plan, and no compute-hour or storage figure is published at all. The exits are documented twice over: "you can download the project to your local machine by clicking the button right underneath the 'Share' dialogue", and in Codeflow "you can push code directly into GitHub".
Pros
- Unlimited public projects with no stated time limit on compute.
- Two documented ways out — a local download button and a direct git push.
- Public GitHub repositories can be opened and edited on the free plan.
Skip it if
- Free work is public work; private projects and private repos need Pro.
- No compute-hour, session-length or storage figure is published for the free plan.
- File uploads are capped at 1MB per project.
40 free hours, and a retired way out
3. CodeSandbox — 40 free hours, and a retired way out
CodeSandbox quantifies its free tier better than most and points at a door it has already announced closing.
Best for A quantified free tier whose documented exit has been retired
From $170/mo. Free plan: Build — $0 with "5 members", "40 hours of monthly VM credits", "Unlimited Browser & VM Sandboxes", private sandboxes, VM specs up to 4 vCPUs and 8 GiB RAM, and 20 GB of storage per VM.
- Pro — price not shown on the page we opened · 20 seats (Appears only in the comparison table with 20 members and 20 GB storage, and carries no price anywhere on the page)
- Scale — $170/mo · 20 seats ("From $170 per month per workspace" with 160 hours of VM credits and on-demand credits at $0.15 an hour)
- Enterprise — price not shown on the page we opened (Custom pricing behind a sales contact)
The allowance is published clearly — "40 hours of monthly VM credits" for five members. The exit is the problem. The getting-started guide says the way to add git is that "You can scale your VM Sandbox into a Repository", and the Repositories page says that feature is being retired: "CodeSandbox Repositories will no longer accept new imports starting April 1, 2026. Full support for repositories will end on July 1, 2026." Read on 6 August 2026, both dates have already passed, and no download or zip export is documented on any page we checked.
Pros
- The free compute allowance is a number — 40 hours of VM credits a month across five members.
- Private sandboxes are included on the free tier rather than reserved.
- VM sandboxes advertise forking in about two seconds and waking in about one.
Skip it if
- The only documented git pathway is a feature whose full support ended on 1 July 2026, before the date we read the page.
- No zip or local-download export is documented on the pricing page or in the sandbox guides we checked.
- The Pro tier appears in the comparison table with no price attached anywhere.
Neither number nor download
4. Replit — Neither number nor download
Replit describes its free allowance in words and documents an import with no matching export.
Best for A free tier described in words rather than numbers
From $18/mo (annual). Free plan: Starter — "Free daily Agent credits", a built-in database, slides and animations, "Publish up to 1 project" and private or password-protected deployments; no compute-hour or storage figure is stated.
- Core — $20/mo, or $18/mo billed annually · 5 seats (Includes "$20 of monthly credits"; annual billing is 10% off)
- Pro — $100/mo, or $90/mo billed annually · 15 seats (Includes "$100 monthly credits")
- Enterprise — price not shown on the page we opened (Custom pricing behind a sales contact)
The allowance is a phrase, not a number: "Free daily Agent credits" and "Publish up to 1 project", with no hours, requests or gigabytes stated anywhere on the pricing page. The exit is documented but narrow — the Git pane can "Send your commits to your remote repository with a single click" with no plan gate, while the docs describe importing a zip and document no matching download, so git is the only stated way out.
Pros
- The free plan includes a real database and the ability to publish one project.
- Git push and pull are documented as one-click workspace features with no stated plan restriction.
- Private and password-protected deployments are available on the free tier.
Skip it if
- "Free daily Agent credits" is never quantified on the pricing page.
- The docs describe importing a zip and no equivalent export, so leaving means pushing to git or nothing.
- Only one published project on free.
What this means if you are choosing today
If the code matters, start where the code already lives. Codespaces begins as a clone of your own repository, so the exit is not a feature that can be deprecated — it is git, and the free allowance is published as 120 core hours and 15 GB a month.
If you are prototyping in public, StackBlitz’s free tier has no published time limit and two documented ways to retrieve your work. And whichever you choose, push to a remote on the first day rather than the last. Two of these four have changed or omitted their export story while their free tiers stayed generous, and the free tier is not the part that will strand you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which browser IDE gives the most free compute?
GitHub Codespaces publishes the largest quantified allowance: "120 core hours or 60 hours of run time on a 2 core codespace, plus 15 GB of storage each month", rising to 180 hours on GitHub Pro. CodeSandbox publishes 40 hours of VM credits a month across five members. StackBlitz and Replit publish no compute figure at all.
Can you get your code out of these?
From Codespaces and StackBlitz, clearly. GitHub's docs state "You can perform all the Git actions you need directly within your codespace", and a codespace is a clone of your repository to begin with. StackBlitz documents two routes: a local download button beneath the Share dialogue, and a direct git push from Codeflow. Replit documents git push but no download. CodeSandbox's documented route has been retired.
What happened to CodeSandbox's git integration?
Its own docs say it is ending. The getting-started guide directs you to "scale your VM Sandbox into a Repository" to get git, and the Repositories page states "CodeSandbox Repositories will no longer accept new imports starting April 1, 2026. Full support for repositories will end on July 1, 2026." Read on 6 August 2026, both dates have passed, and no download or zip export is documented elsewhere.
Is StackBlitz's free plan really unlimited?
Unlimited in projects, restricted in visibility. The FAQ says "The free Personal plan includes unlimited public StackBlitz projects, collections and Github repositories" — the word doing the work is public. Private projects and private repository access require Pro at $18 a month billed annually. No compute-hour or storage figure is published for free either way.
Did you run code in these environments?
No. Every verdict here was read on the vendor's own pricing page or docs on 6 August 2026 and is labelled as read, not run. The most valuable hands-on test in this category would be the CodeSandbox one: opening a free sandbox today and seeing what git options remain now that the documented route is past its stated end-of-support date.
How We Keep This Updated
Prices move and vendors rewrite their plan tables, so every value on this page carries the date we read it. When a page changes, the change lands here rather than being edited away quietly. The procedure is on the methodology page. tell us and we will re-check it.
- 2026-08-06 — First published. Free compute allowances and export routes read on each vendor's own pricing page and documentation, including CodeSandbox's Repositories deprecation notice, whose stated end-of-support date had already passed on the day we read it.