Noco vs Daytona
An honest comparison of Noco and Daytona for cloud development environments. Who each tool is best for, where they differ, and when to choose which.
At a glance
Noco
- Best for
- Teams where designers, PMs, and founders ship code alongside engineers using AI tools
- Pricing
- Free during early access
- Setup time
- ~60 seconds
- AI tool support
- Any (Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, vim, etc.)
- Preview URLs
- Every branch, automatic TLS
Daytona
- Best for
- AI agent builders who need sandboxed code execution
- Pricing
- Open source core, cloud offering TBD
- Setup time
- < 90ms (sandbox)
- AI tool support
- Built for AI agents, not human AI-assisted coding
- Preview URLs
- Not available
What is Daytona?
Daytona started as a cloud development environment with impressive sub-90ms container startup times and an SDK-first approach. In 2025, they pivoted to focus on AI code execution sandboxes — lightweight containers for running AI-generated code safely, rather than full development environments.
Daytona's new focus is on being the infrastructure layer for AI agents that need to execute code — think sandboxes for Devin, GPT-Engineer, or similar AI coding agents. This is a different product category than a cloud dev environment where humans write and review code.
Strengths
- Extremely fast container startup (< 90ms)
- SDK-first approach for programmatic access
- Open source with active development
- Purpose-built for AI code execution sandboxes
Limitations
- –No longer focused on human developer experience
- –No preview URLs or branch-based environments
- –No team management or collaboration features
- –Pivoted away from CDE — not investing in that category
What is Noco?
Cloud dev environments for your entire team — not just engineers. One command gives anyone a live, running copy of your app with a preview URL. Works with any AI coding tool, any git provider.
Noco gives every branch a live preview URL. Designers, PMs, and founders use AI coding tools to build features on the real codebase, then submit PRs that reviewers can click and use — not just read diffs.
Feature comparison
| Feature | Noco | Daytona |
|---|---|---|
| Setup complexity | One command | SDK integration or CLI |
| Time to running app | ~60 seconds | < 90ms (sandbox) |
| IDE / editor lock-in | None — any editor, any AI tool | N/A (SDK-first) |
| AI tool support | Any (Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, vim, etc.) | Built for AI agents, not human AI-assisted coding |
| Preview URLs | Every branch, automatic TLS | Not available |
| Git provider support | Any (GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket) | Any |
| Self-hosted option | Yes (K8s) | Yes |
| Non-engineer accessibility | Designed for it | Not applicable (SDK-first) |
| File sync speed | < 50ms via Mutagen | N/A |
| Platform team required? | No | Developer/SDK knowledge required |
Key differences
Dev environments vs. code execution sandboxes
Noco creates full development environments where humans (using AI tools) write, preview, and ship code. Daytona creates lightweight sandboxes where AI agents execute code autonomously. These are fundamentally different products for different use cases.
Who cares: Teams evaluating Daytona expecting a CDE — it's no longer that. If you need humans to code with AI assistance, you need Noco. If you need AI agents to execute code in isolation, Daytona is purpose-built for that.
Human-first vs. API-first
Noco is designed for human users — one command, live preview, visual feedback. Daytona is SDK-first — designed to be called programmatically by AI agents or automation. No human-facing UX.
Who cares: Anyone who needs to actually see and interact with their running application.
Preview URLs and collaboration vs. isolated execution
Noco environments have live preview URLs, team visibility, and PR integration. Daytona sandboxes are isolated execution contexts with no external visibility.
Who cares: Teams where code review involves seeing the running feature.
When to choose Daytona
- You're building an AI agent that needs sandboxed code execution
- You need programmatic (SDK) access to create and destroy environments
- You need sub-100ms container startup for ephemeral execution
- You're building infrastructure for autonomous AI coding agents
When to choose Noco
- You need full development environments for humans coding with AI tools
- You want preview URLs for every branch
- You need team collaboration features
- You want designers, PMs, or founders to ship code alongside engineers
Frequently asked questions
Is Daytona still a cloud dev environment?
Not really. Daytona pivoted in 2025 to focus on AI code execution sandboxes. Their product is now designed for AI agents, not human developers. If you need a CDE, Noco is a better fit.
What's the difference between a dev environment and a sandbox?
A dev environment (like Noco) is a full workspace where humans write, preview, and ship code — with live URLs, file sync, and team features. A sandbox (like Daytona) is an isolated container for executing code programmatically, typically by AI agents.
Can I use Daytona like Codespaces?
Not anymore. Daytona's original CDE functionality has been deprioritized in favor of their AI sandbox product. For a Codespaces-like experience that works with any AI tool, consider Noco.
Try Noco for your team.
One command. Live preview URL. Works with any AI coding tool.
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