Sandboxie
Container engine software
DevOps software
Containerization software
- Features
- Ease of use
- Ease of management
- Quality of support
- Affordability
- Market presence
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€40.00 per year
Free Trial unavailable
Free version
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What is Sandboxie
Sandboxie is a Windows application sandboxing tool that isolates programs in a controlled environment by redirecting file system and registry writes to a separate sandbox. It is used by IT administrators, security teams, and power users to test untrusted software, browse the web with reduced system impact, and reproduce issues without permanently changing the host OS. Unlike OS-level container engines designed for packaging and deploying services, Sandboxie focuses on per-application isolation on Windows desktops and servers.
Strong Windows app isolation
Sandboxie provides per-application isolation on Windows by virtualizing writes to the file system and registry into a sandbox. This helps users run installers, browsers, and other executables with reduced risk of persistent system changes. It is well-suited to desktop and endpoint testing scenarios where OS-level containers are not the primary tool.
Low overhead, fast setup
Sandboxie runs as a lightweight local tool and does not require a container runtime, image builds, or orchestration components. Users can create sandboxes quickly and start isolating applications with minimal infrastructure. This makes it practical for ad hoc testing and troubleshooting on individual Windows machines.
Open-source availability
Sandboxie is available as an open-source project, which allows independent review of code and community-driven fixes. Organizations can evaluate it without typical commercial licensing barriers and can maintain internal builds if needed. This can be useful in regulated environments that require transparency into security tooling.
Not a container engine
Sandboxie does not implement OCI-style containers, container images, or a daemon-based runtime used for deploying services. It does not provide features expected in container platforms such as image registries, networking models for microservices, or orchestration integration. As a result, it is not a drop-in alternative for DevOps containerization workflows.
Windows-only scope
Sandboxie targets Windows and is not designed for Linux-based container ecosystems. Teams standardizing on cross-platform container tooling may find it difficult to apply consistently across developer workstations and production environments. This limits its use primarily to Windows endpoint isolation and testing.
Isolation has practical limits
Application sandboxing is not equivalent to full virtualization, and some applications may require additional configuration to run correctly inside a sandbox. Certain system-level interactions (drivers, kernel-level components, or complex integrations) may not behave as expected when isolated. Organizations may need complementary controls for high-risk workloads or stronger isolation requirements.
Plan & Pricing
| Plan | Price | Key features & notes |
|---|---|---|
| Free (Sandboxie-Plus / Classic) | Free | Open-source downloads available; free for personal/non-commercial use; core sandboxing functionality available without purchase. |
| Home (Supporter Certificate - Home) | €40.00 per year | Personal-use certificate valid 1 year; unlocks premium features, removes reminder screen, enables Sandboxie‑Live updates. |
| FamilyPack | €50.00 per year | Family certificate valid 1 year; covers multiple family devices; unlocks premium features and Sandboxie‑Live. |
| Personal (Supporter Certificate - Personal) | €80.00 per year | Personal certificate valid for the version at purchase and updates released within one year; unlocks premium features and Sandboxie‑Live. |
| Business (Supporter Certificate - Business) | €80.00 per year (per seat) | Commercial-use license for one seat for 12 months; unique serial per seat tied to motherboard GUID; renew yearly; contact for volume discounts. |
| Developer (Supporter Certificate - Developer) | €120.00 per year | Includes Home + Advanced Encryption Pack; online activation; access to private GitHub insider repo; unlimited online activations (HWID-bound certificates). |
| Advanced Encryption Pack (add-on / upgrade key) | €30.00 | Upgrade key that must be applied to an existing valid (non-advanced) certificate; enables Sandbox Encryption, Proxy Injection, DNS Filtering; does not change certificate expiry. |
| Renewal for Personal | €60.00 | 1-year renewal for Personal certificate (discounted vs full Personal purchase); Advanced Encryption Pack must be renewed separately. |
| Eternal (Supporter Certificate - Eternal) | €1,000.00 (one-time) | Lifetime (no expiration) supporter certificate for personal use; includes supporter-exclusive and advanced features; can be earned via contributions. |
Seller details
Sandboxie (open-source project; originally developed by Ronen Tzur)
Open Source
https://sandboxie-plus.com/
