Side by side
Devbox vs Flox
Both stand on development environment managers. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.
Free plan ExtensionLinuxMac+2
Pick Devbox when reproducible, code-defined development environments and broad package coverage matter. It is especially suitable for workflows spanning local shells, CI, containers, or cloud environments. Look elsewhere if installing Nix or using Windows through WSL2 does not fit your setup.
Visit Devbox
Free plan ExtensionLinuxMac+3
Flox combines environment configuration, package access, sharing, and CI workflow support. The free tier has limits on private environments and packages; Team starts at $20/seat/month, while Enterprise pricing is custom.
Visit FloxThe facts
| Devbox | Flox | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Not published | Not published |
| Runs on | Extension, Linux, Mac, Web, Windows | Extension, Linux, Mac, Self-hosted, Web, Windows |
| Lowest paid plan | Solo: $5 a month | Team: $20 per seat a month |
| Plans published | 4 | 3 |
| Maker | Not published | Not published |
| Website | jetify.com | flox.dev |
| On development environment managers | #4 of 50 | #8 of 50 |
Devbox: what it does well
- Open-source project with community support
- Searchable Nix catalog spans 80,000 packages
- One definition can generate shells, containers, or cloud environments
- Process-compose can orchestrate services without Docker
- GitHub Action can cache the Nix store
What to know first
- Requires the Nix Package Manager
- Windows use is through WSL2
- Docker is needed for container creation
Flox: what it does well
- Environments define packages, variables, and shell hooks.
- Catalog contains more than 190,000 packages.
- GitHub Actions can activate environments in CI.
- Free Personal plan includes three private environments.
What to know first
- Personal includes only five private packages.
- Team costs $20/seat/month.
- Enterprise pricing is custom.