14 Browser Automation Pricing for Quick Comparisons

Browser automation pricing has become genuinely hard to compare in 2026. As AI agents take over web tasks — clicking, filling forms, and scraping sites that have no API — a wave of providers has emerged, and no two charge the same way.

Some bill per token. Others bill per credit, per “unit,” per gigabyte, or per browser-hour. They also sit at very different points on the open-source-to-fully-managed spectrum.

This guide breaks down browser automation pricing and features across the major players so you can compare them side by side.

Why Browser Automation Pricing Is So Hard to Compare

Browser automation pricing is hard to compare because there are two kinds of tool in this market, and conflating them is the first mistake buyers make.

The first kind is a hosted browser — the actual cloud infrastructure that runs a real Chromium instance for you. The second is an orchestration layer — an open-source CLI or framework that drives someone else’s browser.

Disparity in the Browser automation pricing units make things worse — A token, a credit, and a “unit” all mean different things, and the cheapest option depends entirely on the shape of your workload. Short bursty tasks favor unit-based plans; long sessions favor per-hour billing; proxy-heavy scraping is dominated by per-gigabyte bandwidth cost.

Browser Automation Pricing and Features: Full Comparison Table

The table below covers all 14 providers across pricing, open-source status, concurrency, stealth, and the AI agent layer.

Provider	Type	Pricing	Open Source	Concurrency	Proxies	CAPTCHA	Stealth / Anti-bot	AI / Agent Layer	Protocol / Compatibility	Self-Hostable	Notable Extras	Maturity
Rusty Browser	Hosted browser	Free (175 tokens/mo); $10/$50/$150 per mo; PAYG $0.05/hr	Yes — MIT	Unlimited	Premium, unlimited use included	Included, all users	“Ghost Stealth” adaptive evasion	Natural-language AI instruct engine	WebDriver BiDi / CDP, direct Chromium	Yes (cluster via Flux)	Results storage, JS hydration, custom parsers, auto-scaling	Very early (v0.1.0)
Browser Use	Hosted browser + agent	$0/$29/$299/$999 per mo; $0.06/hr	Yes — open library	3 → 500 by tier	$5/GB	Included	Advanced stealth	“Browser Use 2.0” custom model + v3 agent	Built on Playwright	Partial (harness)	~15× cheaper, 6× faster than frontier models; BYO-key	Established (1.3M+ downloads)
BrowserBase Stagehand	Hosted browser + framework	Free/$20/$99 per mo; ~$0.10–$0.12/hr	Yes — MIT (framework)	3 → 250+ by tier	$10–$12/GB	Auto, paid tiers	Basic → Advanced by tier	act/extract/observe/agent primitives	Direct CDP; TS + Python	Stagehand runs local	Action caching, self-healing, session replay, Model Gateway	Established
Browserless	Hosted browser	Free (1k units); $25/$140/$350 per mo + Enterprise	Core closed; clients open	~1 → 100 by tier	Residential, 6 units/MB	10 units/solve	BrowserQL anti-fingerprinting	Smart Scrape API, MCP server; no AI agent	Puppeteer/Playwright via WebSocket	Yes (Enterprise)	Live debugger, session replay, Lighthouse testing, hybrid automations	Mature
Steel.dev	Hosted browser	Free ($10 credits, 100 hrs); $29/mo, $99/mo	Yes — fully open source	Thousands of sessions	Built-in proxy chain / IP rotation	Built-in	Anti-flagging controls	Foundation only — you build agent logic	Puppeteer, Playwright, Selenium, CDP	Yes — deploy or local	Page→markdown/PDF, session viewer, extensions; 24-hr sessions	Public beta
Skyvern	Hosted browser + agent	Free open-source; cloud usage-based (credits)	Yes — open source	Parallel instances (cloud)	Bundled in cloud	Bundled in cloud	Anti-bot in cloud version	Vision-LLM + planner-actor-validator loop	Playwright-compatible SDK	Yes (pip / Docker)	No selectors — computer vision; no-code workflow builder; templates	Established
Hyperbrowser	Hosted browser	Free tier; credit-based (~$0.10/hr); ~$30/mo for 30k credits	HyperAgent framework open source	10,000+ concurrent browsers	Global IP rotation	Automatic	Fingerprint randomization (UA, canvas, WebGL)	HyperAgent (Playwright AI extension)	Puppeteer, Playwright, Selenium	No (managed)	Sub-ms latency, 99.9% uptime, isolated containers, sync/async clients	Newer, fast-growing
Kernel	Hosted browser	Free tier; usage-based, no idle charges, proxies never billed	Yes — open source	Fleet-based (org limits)	Residential, never billed separately	Automatic	Built-in stealth mode	Agent runtime / code execution platform	Playwright, Puppeteer, Browser Use, Magnitude	Yes (open infra)	Unikernel, sub-150ms cold starts, live view + replay, persistent auth, SOC 2 / HIPAA-ready	Newer (YC S25, $22M raised)
Anchor Browser	Hosted browser	Monthly plan + usage: per-browser, per-hr, proxy/GB, per AI step	No	Unlimited concurrent browsers	VPN integration, proxy support	Automated CAPTCHA resolution	Custom session fingerprinting, anti-bot bypass	“Perform web task” natural-language endpoint	CDP, Playwright, APIs, agent frameworks	No (cloud-hosted)	Full browser isolation, Okta/Azure AD, SSO/RBAC/DPA, MCP-first; batch up to 5,000	Newer
Bright Data Agent Browser	Hosted browser	Free (2 GB), Starter $39/mo (10 GB), PAYG $8/GB; enterprise $500–1,000+ min	No	1M+ concurrent sessions	Huge residential/datacenter/mobile network	Autonomous CAPTCHA solving	Headful GUI browser harder to detect; advanced unlocking	/agent endpoint takes plain-English tasks	Puppeteer, Selenium, Playwright	No	~98% success across hard domains; MCP server; web data layer	Mature (enterprise)
Notte	Hosted browser + framework	Usage-based (single API)	Open framework (SSPL license)	On-demand headless instances	Standard + customizable proxies	Bundled	Browser interface for LLM agents	Full-stack web AI agents; perception layer	CDP, cookie integration	Yes (open framework)	Secure credentials vault, session replay, websites→navigable maps	Newer
Vercel Agent Browser	Orchestration CLI	Free (open source); pay only the underlying provider you connect	Yes — open source (vercel-labs)	Depends on connected provider	Depends on connected provider	Depends on connected provider	AI chat via Vercel AI Gateway	Drives Chrome, Lightpanda, AgentCore, Browserbase, Browserless, Browser Use, Kernel	Yes (local CLI)	Snapshot refs (@e1/@e2) for LLMs, auth vault, domain allowlist, live dashboard	Newer (Vercel Labs)
Lightpanda	Browser engine	Free; open source	Yes — open source	Lightweight local engine	Bring your own	Bring your own	Minimal footprint	None built-in	CDP-compatible	Yes (local engine)	Headless browser built for speed/low memory; used as an engine, not a service	Newer
AWS Bedrock AgentCore Browser	Hosted browser	AWS usage-based (pay per use)	No	AWS-scale	Via AWS networking	Not bundled	Standard	Part of Bedrock AgentCore agent runtime	CDP / Playwright	No (AWS-managed)	Enterprise AWS integration, IAM, VPC, secure sandboxes	Newer
Scrapybara	Hosted desktop/browser	Usage-based (credits)	No	Parallel instances	Bundled	Bundled	Standard	Computer-use sandbox for agents	Computer Use APIs (Anthropic/OpenAI)	No (managed)	Full virtual desktop, not just a browser; built for computer-use agents	Newer

How to Read the Browser Automation Pricing Above

Treat the pricing column as a starting point, not a verdict.

Vercel’s Agent Browser shows “$0” because it’s an orchestration layer — it doesn’t run browsers itself, so you still pay whichever hosted provider you connect it to. Lightpanda is free for the same reason: it’s an engine, not a service.

Among the genuinely hosted browsers, the cheapest headline rate is rarely the cheapest total bill. Proxy fees, CAPTCHA charges, and idle-time billing can quietly double a quote.

You can verify any figure directly on each vendor’s own pricing page — for example Browserbase pricing, Browser Use pricing, and Browserless pricing. Underlying control protocols are documented in the Chrome DevTools Protocol reference and the W3C WebDriver BiDi spec.

Bottom Line: Which Provider to Pick

When it comes to browser automation pricing, there’s no single winner — the right pick depends on your workload.

For a full autonomous agent that plans and reasons, start with Browser Use or Stagehand. For messy legacy or canvas-heavy sites where the DOM is unreliable, Skyvern‘s vision approach earns its higher per-step cost.

For maximum control and zero lock-in, the open-source pair Steel.dev and Kernel lead — Kernel on latency, Steel on maturity. For deterministic scraping, QA, and document rendering, Browserless is a dependable veteran.

For enterprise scale, Bright Data (deepest anti-detection) or AWS AgentCore (if you’re already on AWS) are the conservative picks. Scrapybara is the odd one out — a full virtual desktop for computer-use agents, not just a browser.

Two warnings on browser automation pricing: figures change fast, so confirm them on the provider’s own page before committing. And don’t trust the marketing tables — including each vendor’s own — until you’ve run a small proof-of-concept against your real target sites.