Canvex vs Kasm Workspaces
Container streaming is a tool. A workstation is a place to work.
Kasm is very good at what it's for: disposable containerized browsers and apps, self-hosted. Canvex is for the other thing: persistent full workstations with real GPUs that someone does their job in all day.
The honest version
We like Kasm. It's the rare product in this space with real engineering taste, and if you want a disposable Chrome-in-a-box for browser isolation or a self-hosted streaming layer you control end to end, it's the right tool. The divergence is the unit of work: Kasm's native unit is the container image, streamed per-session; full Windows desktops and persistent workstations are add-ons to that model, and either way you're the one running the servers. Canvex's native unit is the workstation: a persistent Linux or Windows machine with a real GPU option, on infrastructure we operate, billed by the day.
| Kasm | Canvex | |
|---|---|---|
| Native unit | Containerized apps and browsers, streamed per-session. Windows arrives via RDP bridging to machines you provide. | Full persistent Linux and Windows workstations (VMs and containers), first-class. |
| Who runs the infrastructure | You do: agents, servers, scaling, upgrades. (There's a hosted tier, but self-hosting is the product's center of gravity.) | We do. You create workstations from a dashboard. |
| Time to first desktop | An afternoon if you know Docker; longer for multi-server with GPUs. | About five minutes from signup. |
| GPU workstations | GPU passthrough to containers works, on GPUs you own and drivers you maintain. | Real NVIDIA and Intel GPUs as a daily add-on, drivers and vGPU licensing included. |
| Self-hosting / air gap | First-class. Community edition is free; your data never leaves your metal. | Not offered. Canvex is a hosted platform. |
| Browser isolation | The signature use case: disposable, per-session browsers with strict egress control. | You can browse on a Canvex workstation, but per-session disposable browsers aren't the product. |
| Pricing model | Free community edition; per-user annual licensing for enterprise features, plus your hardware. | Platform plan from $9/mo plus per-desktop daily compute. No hardware line item. |
| Persistence model | Session-oriented by design; persistent profiles are configuration work. | Workstations persist by default: your files, tools, and window layout are there tomorrow. |
Where Kasm is the right call
- You need browser isolation or disposable app sessions, which is Kasm's home turf.
- Self-hosting is a requirement: air-gapped networks, data-residency rules, or you simply own good hardware.
- You have ops capacity and want a free community edition to build on.
- Everything you stream is Linux and containerizable.
Where Canvex is the right call
- Your users need a persistent workstation they live in, not a session that evaporates.
- You need first-class Windows workstations without bridging to machines you manage.
- You want GPU workstations without owning GPUs or maintaining drivers.
- Nobody on the team wants to be the streaming-infrastructure admin.
These products overlap less than the category label suggests. For isolation sessions and self-hosting, use Kasm. For persistent GPU workstations as a managed service, use Canvex. Plenty of teams run both.
Try it before you commit.
3-day free trial, your first desktop streaming in about five minutes. No Kasm sizing call required.