Paperspace vs Shells (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Shells grades higher than Paperspace: 2.0 against 1.8 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Paperspace grades higher on features. Shells grades higher on value for money and ease of use. They get the same grade on the free plan and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Paperspace
Cloud desktops and GPU machines you rent by the hour or month
Which one is for you
Pick Paperspace if
- Fits if you need a GPU machine for design, video or machine learning
- Works for people who prefer paying by the hour
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you want a monthly desktop: Air is $22 and Pro is $120
- Watch out: hourly machines add a monthly storage fee, and its amount isn't on the pricing page
- Watch out: the pricing page lists no refunds, and exceptions go through a support ticket
- Watch out: the Gradient plan shows both $8 and $12 for Pro on the same page
- Tight if you want the wider GPU range, as the site points to DigitalOcean for it
Pick Shells if
- Fits if you want a spare Windows or Linux desktop you can open from a phone or browser
- Works for light daily use like documents and browsing
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want to try before paying, as no free plan or trial is listed
- Too light for heavy applications on Basic, with 2 GB of memory and 1 processor
- Watch out: the home page says plans start at $5 a month, but the pricing page lists $14.95 as the lowest
- Pricey if you pay monthly, since Plus is $22.95 and Pro is $39.95
How we grade them
| 1.8GPAPaperspaceWeak | 2.0GPAShellsFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | DAir desktop is $22 a month, above the category's $18 dearer-quarter line, rising to $120 for Pro. Hourly machines start at $0.0045 an hour. | C$14.95 a month for Basic, within the category's range but above its $8.33 middle, and the entry plan is 2 GB and one processor. |
| Free plan and trial | FNo free plan and no trial is listed for the desktops on the pricing page. | FNo free plan or free trial is listed on the pricing page. |
| Features | BBrowser and desktop-app access, hourly or monthly billing, GPU machines, team management and an API are listed. | CA desktop on any device, Linux and Windows options, automatic backup, plan upgrades and team infrastructure. The entry plan is light for heavy applications. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. You pick a machine type, billing mode and storage before you start. | BNo store rating on record. You sign up and open the desktop in a browser with nothing to install. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, Windows, Mac and Linux are listed, with an API and Jupyter Notebooks. No phone apps are listed. | BWeb, iPhone and Android are listed, so phones and a browser but no desktop app. No integrations are listed. |
| Best for | cloud desktops and GPU machines by the hour or month | a cloud desktop you reach from any device |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Paperspace and Shells. How we grade
Price against what you get
Paperspace starts at $22 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Shells starts at $14.95 a month and scores 2.7.
They score the same, and Shells starts $7.05 a month lower. Of the other remote desktop apps on the chart, 5 score higher than Paperspace for less, and 5 score higher than Shells for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Paperspace also covers AI agents.
- Shells also covers file sync.
At a glance
| Paperspace | Shells | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Paid |
| Starts at | $22 per month for the Air desktop; hourly machines from $0.0045 per hour | $14.95 per month, billed monthly |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Paperspace (DigitalOcean) | E Shells Inc. |
| Price read from | paperspace.com | shells.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Paperspace
- The pricing page lists no refunds and says exceptional cases go through a support ticket.
- Hourly machines add a monthly storage fee on top of the running time; the fee amount is not on the pricing page.
- The Gradient machine-learning platform has its own plans, and its Pro plan shows both $8 and $12 per month on the same page.
- Paperspace is now part of DigitalOcean, and the site points to DigitalOcean for its wider GPU range.
Shells
- No free plan or free trial is listed on the pricing page.
- The entry plan has 2 GB of memory and 1 processor, which is light for heavy applications.
- Yearly prices were not readable in the page text; only the percentage saving is shown.
- The homepage says plans start at $5 a month, but the pricing page lists $14.95 as the lowest plan.
Key features
Paperspace
- Browser and desktop-app access
- The vendor says its streaming technology works directly in a web browser, and Core also has a desktop app for Windows, Mac and Linux.
- Hourly or monthly billing
- Hourly machines pay a flat monthly fee for storage and access plus a per-hour rate while running. Monthly machines are a flat rate.
- GPU machines
- Machine types range from a P4000 at $0.51 per hour to an H100 at $3.09 per hour, with dedicated monthly GPU options listed.
- Team management
- Core for teams has user management, shared drives, private networking and IPsec VPN, with SAML SSO and consolidated billing listed for business.
- API
- A full API gives programmatic access to machines for scripted or larger workloads.
Shells
- Desktop on any device
- The site lists Android TV, iOS, Android, Chrome, Firefox, Safari, PlayStation, Xbox, Oculus and Tesla browsers as ways to open a Shells desktop.
- Linux and Windows desktops
- Solution pages cover a Linux cloud desktop, a browser in the cloud, cloud virtual machines and a cloud IDE.
- Automatic backup
- The vendor says each Shell is backed up automatically in the cloud and that its firewalls and end-to-end encryption keep data private.
- Plan upgrades
- Moving to more processors, memory or storage is described as a one-click change, and a build-your-own option sits below the three plans.
- Team infrastructure
- A business section describes remote infrastructure deployment and a bring-your-own-device workforce setup for small teams.
Plans
Paperspace
Air desktop$22
per month, flat rate for unlimited access
2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM, 512 MB GPU and 50 GB SSD, with a Windows license included.
Standard desktop$35
per month, flat rate for unlimited access
4 vCPU, 8 GB RAM, 512 MB GPU and 50 GB SSD, for office work and browsing. Windows license included.
Advanced desktop$65
per month, flat rate for unlimited access
6 vCPU, 16 GB RAM, 2 GB GPU and 50 GB SSD, for mid-range apps and 2D CAD. Windows license included.
Pro desktop$120
per month, flat rate for unlimited access
8 vCPU, 32 GB RAM, 4 GB GPU and 50 GB SSD, for 3D CAD and Photoshop. Windows license included.
Shells
Shells Basic$14.95
per month, billed monthly
1 processor, 2 GB memory and 40 GB storage with unlimited use. The page shows a 25% saving on yearly billing.
Shells Plus$22.95
per month, billed monthly
2 processors, 4 GB memory and 80 GB storage with unlimited use. The page shows a 23% saving on yearly billing.
Shells Pro$39.95
per month, billed monthly
4 processors, 8 GB memory and 160 GB storage with unlimited use. The page shows a 33% saving on yearly billing.
Ways to pay less
Paperspace
- Education
Education discount for Core
The Core page lists an education discount among its affordability points; the terms were not stated on the page.
Shells
- Annual discount
Yearly billing saves 23% to 33%
The pricing page shows Save 25% on Basic, 23% on Plus and 33% on Pro when billed yearly. The yearly prices themselves were not read.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Paperspace or Shells?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Shells is cheaper to start with: $14.95 a month, against $22 a month for Paperspace. Paperspace starts at $22 per month for the Air desktop; hourly machines from $0.0045 per hour, and Shells starts at $14.95 per month, billed monthly.
Which has a free plan, Paperspace or Shells?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither Paperspace nor Shells has a free plan.
Which platforms do Paperspace and Shells run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Paperspace lists macOS, Windows and Linux apps and only Shells lists iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.