Claude Computer Use vs Screenbox
Claude Computer Use
anthropic.comScreenbox
screenbox.devSide by side
| Figure | Claude Computer Use | Screenbox |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | Free |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 0 | 1 |
| Spec score · AI Computer Use Agents | 7.7 (#8) | 7.7 (#12) |
| Integrations | At launch, Anthropic said computer use was available through its API, Amazon Bedrock, and Google Cloud Vertex AI. | It connects to MCP clients including Claude Desktop, Claude Code, and Cursor, and supports stdio, streamable HTTP, and SSE transports. |
| Isolation | The reference implementation runs the computer-use environment inside a Docker container for security and isolation. | Desktops run in Docker containers with memory limits, network isolation, and no bind mounts; the maker cautions that containers are not hardened sandboxes. |
Plans
In their own words
Claude Computer Use
Claude Computer Use has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.
Screenbox
Screenbox gives AI agents isolated virtual desktops with real browsers and desktop applications. Each desktop includes Chromium with DevTools and extensions, plus tools such as file managers, terminals, and office applications. Agents can use 21 MCP tools across more than 100 actions, including screenshots, OCR, clicks, typing, shell access, file operations, and clipboard control. It connects to MCP clients including Claude Desktop, Claude Code, and Cursor through stdio, streamable HTTP, or SSE. A web dashboard supports live viewing, agent management, snapshots, session logs, and a knowledge browser. Users can save and restore desktop states, including files and browser sessions, and clone desktops from templates. Activity can be viewed through RDP or noVNC, with mouse and keyboard control available. Desktops run in Docker containers with memory limits, network isolation, and no bind mounts; the maker cautions that they are not hardened sandboxes. The software is self-hosted and open source under AGPL-3.0. The maker says deployment data stays on the user's infrastructure and the software sends no telemetry to Screenbox or third parties. It requires about 2 GB of RAM per desktop and no GPU; idle desktops pause automatically.