# The workspace trial vs a pad

> Both keep your work alive after you close the laptop. They differ in what they are and how you reach them.

Part of the reachpad docs: https://reachpad.dev/docs. Rendered page: https://reachpad.dev/docs/free-session-vs-pad. Last checked 2026-08-13.

## What each is

- The workspace trial runs Linux VMs on the reachpad fleet, driven from the [reachpad CLI](https://reachpad.dev/docs/cli) in your own terminal: 10 workspaces, 5 running at once, no card required, sharing the one-time compute grant. Disk and memory are sealed to object storage, so a paused workspace resumes mid-session, and you can fork or rewind it at retained checkpoints. Keeping a workspace's disk is free during the preview.
- A pad is a dedicated machine with a browser terminal at its own address: multiple always-on workspaces, agents preinstalled (Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode), several running side by side. See [the browser terminal](https://reachpad.dev/docs/terminal). Pads are no longer sold as a flat monthly plan; the customers who hold one keep it, and new accounts are billed for active compute instead.

## What happens when you leave

A pad stays up: the machine keeps running whether or not anyone watches, which suits always-on work and a team sharing one box. A trial workspace pauses on `reachpad pause` and resumes exactly where it stopped, memory included; the next `run` or `attach` wakes it while compute credits remain. Both finish the run you walked away from.

## Moving up

Past the trial grant you are billed for active compute, by the minute, with no monthly minimum; see [pricing](https://reachpad.dev/pricing). Cancelling and invoices are covered in [plans, billing and cancelling](https://reachpad.dev/docs/billing).