Atlas
Atlas vs boxes.dev

Atlas or boxes.dev? Two ways to put Claude Code to work.

boxes.dev gives each coding agent its own cloud Linux computer, a copy of the environment you prepared, and runs Claude Code or Codex there on your own subscription; you steer the agents, merge their pull requests and pay for machine time by the box-hour. Atlas starts on your Mac, free for one project: a team of AI engineers on your own Claude plan plans, builds, tests and reviews the work. When it should carry on with the laptop closed, move the project in one click to a server in your own DigitalOcean account. You choose how large and fast that server is; the Atlas licence stays a flat $50 a month per project, whatever size you pick, and the server is billed to your own account.

boxes.dev fits when
  • You are a developer who wants to drive Claude Code or Codex yourself, with a terminal, SSH and your own editor
  • You want many agents at once, each on its own cloud machine with its own ports and database
  • You want to start agents from Slack, Linear, a schedule or an API, and follow them from your phone
Atlas fits when
  • You want to say what you need in plain words and get tested, reviewed work back, without steering agents yourself
  • You want releases handled too: to hosting you own, and never without your say
  • You want to start free on your Mac, then move to a server in your own DigitalOcean account so the team keeps working with the laptop closed
  • You want a flat fee per project, whatever size of server you pick, with no machine-hours to count
  • You work on a Mac with Apple silicon
Download for Mac
Side by side

What each one does, from its own pages.

boxes.dev’s column is from its own website, read on 10 November 2026, with the page beside each line. Atlas’s is from this site.

Atlasboxes.dev
What it isA team of AI engineers built on Claude Code, in a Mac app. You talk to PA, your project assistant, in plain words; specialists design, build, test and security-check the work.Cloud Linux machines (“devboxes”) for coding agents: each task gets its own, made from a snapshot of the environment you prepared, with its own files, processes, ports and data. It runs Claude Code and Codex as their makers ship them, with no agent of its own. boxes.dev
Where you use itOn a Mac with Apple silicon. A team can move a project to its own server, in its own DigitalOcean account, and keep working with the laptop closed.In the browser, a desktop workbench for Mac, apps for iOS and Android, and a command-line tool; you can also open a machine over SSH or in VS Code or JetBrains. The machines run in its cloud, so agents keep working with the laptop closed. boxes.dev
Where your app goes liveOn hosting you own, for as many users as you like; Atlas never charges for the software running live. Deploys to DigitalOcean sign in with your approval in the browser, with no keys pasted.Wherever you deploy it. While you build, a public link lets anyone try the app running on a devbox, for as long as that machine is awake. boxes.dev
What it costsOne project in development on your Mac is free, for ever. Each more project in development at the same time is $50 a month, with 30 days free for one on your own server. You also need your own Claude Pro or Max plan, billed by Anthropic.Trial: free, with 20 box-hours and up to 2 projects. Starter: $19 a month per seat for 50 box-hours. Pro: $99 for 300. Max: $249 for 750. Past those, $0.40 a box-hour. Your Claude or Codex subscription is separate. boxes.dev
How AI use is countedAgainst your Claude plan’s limits: no AI credits to buy and no per-token bill. Checks that repeat run as programs, with no AI at all.Not by boxes.dev: AI use goes on your own Claude or ChatGPT plan, or an API key. Its plans pay for machine time — one standard machine (4 vCPU, 8 GiB) awake for an hour is a box-hour, and sleeping machines are free. boxes.dev
Which AI modelsClaude, through your Claude Code plan. Each kind of task starts on a model and effort chosen for it — the top model for design and architecture, Haiku for mechanical steps — and you can change any of them.Claude Code or Codex, signed in with your Claude or ChatGPT account or an API key; you pick the model and reasoning effort in each thread. Codex can also use other providers, such as OpenRouter. boxes.dev
Your codeIn your project’s own git repository. Finished work lands on its main branch, and main’s history is never rewritten.In your git repository. Work is committed on the devbox, then pushed and opened as a pull request from its Git view (pull requests need GitHub). A commit never pushed goes when the machine is destroyed. boxes.dev
TestingBuilding waits for failing tests. Work is not “done” until a screen has its test cases and screenshots; the Tests screen shows every run, with a step-by-step replay.boxes.dev says the agent “runs your app and tests its changes in the browser as it builds”, on its own machine. You can also point at a page and send the agent comments, and a schedule can run nightly end-to-end QA. boxes.dev
Review and securityEvery build is reviewed as it finishes and comes back releasable or with fix tasks. A change to sign-in, payments or stored secrets gets a security look at once; the Security screen tracks 162 attack classes.You review: comments you leave on changed lines go to the agent, and a pull request can fix failed checks and answer bot review comments on its own. boxes.dev
Going liveNever without your say. A release beyond the Mac follows eight steps, including a backup proven by restoring it and database changes rehearsed on that copy.You confirm each merge after checking the pull request. Its help ends at the merged pull request and does not cover deploying. boxes.dev
Working with othersAs many people as you like, each with their own free project on their Mac. Talk to PA in the app or in Slack.A seat for each person. The team starts from one shared Template box, and teammates see each other’s threads and devboxes. Teams plans add SSO, SCIM, roles, audit logs and spend controls. boxes.dev

Plans and prices change: check boxes.dev/help/plans-and-box-hours before you decide. Atlas is independent and not affiliated with boxes.dev, Anthropic or OpenAI.

How Atlas works

What a table can’t show.

A team, not one assistant

Each engineer is its own Claude Code session with a written role — architecture, design, front end, back end, testing, security and more — and its own copy of the code, so nobody edits the same files under someone else.

Done means proven

Building waits for an approved design and failing tests. Completion is refused until the work is on main or queued to land, a screen has its test cases and screenshots, and the product’s rules pass.

You decide what matters

Production go-lives, spending, deleting data, sending anything outside and dropping scope are never decided for you. An optional daily budget pauses the team at its limit.

Questions

Atlas or boxes.dev: common questions

Is Atlas a boxes.dev alternative?

For some people. Both run Claude Code on your own Claude plan, and both can keep working with the laptop closed — Atlas once a project moves to your own server. But they do different jobs: boxes.dev gives each agent its own cloud computer and leaves the steering to you, which suits developers running many agents at once. Atlas is the team itself: you tell PA what you want, and specialists plan, build, test and review it, and release it when you say so.

What does each cost for one person?

Atlas is free for one project in development on your Mac; you also need your own Claude Pro or Max plan, billed by Anthropic. boxes.dev is free to try with 20 box-hours, then $19 a month for 50 box-hours on Starter, up to $249 for 750 on Max, with your Claude or Codex subscription on top (boxes.dev’s plans page, 10 November 2026).

Do I need to know how to code?

Not for Atlas: you talk to PA in plain words, and specialists design, build, test and security-check the work. boxes.dev is written for developers and engineering teams: you steer the agents yourself and finish the work with git and pull requests.

Can both use my Claude Pro or Max plan?

Yes. Atlas runs Claude Code signed in with your Claude plan, with no API keys; usage counts against the plan’s limits, and several engineers at once use them faster, so Max gives the most room. boxes.dev signs Claude Code in with your Claude login or an API key, and its own plans pay only for the machines.

Also compared: Atlas vs Lovable · Atlas vs Bolt · Atlas vs Replit · Atlas pricing

Start with one project on your Mac. It stays free.

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For Macs with Apple silicon · sign in with your email · questions: [email protected]