Browserbase vs. Browserless
Browserless gives you browsers and APIs that work well until a site changes. Browserbase is the managed platform that keeps going when it does, with Agent Identity and session replay by default.
Browserbase is the platform where identity, observability, and a managed agent are built in by default, to production grade.
Browserless gives you browsers, a broad API surface, and a hosted agent. What it leaves you is the production layer: tune the anti-bot handling, switch on the recording, keep up with sites that change.
| Feature | Browserless | Browserbase |
|---|---|---|
| Browser and web access | ||
| Puppeteer, Playwright and Stagehand support | Yes | Yes |
| Managed MCP server | Yes | Yes |
| Residential and datacenter proxies | Yes | Yes |
| Automatic CAPTCHA solving | Metered, 10 units per solve | Yes |
| Verified identity | Limited to bypassing major bot detectors | Verified identity recognized by major bot-protection partners |
| Adapting to site changes | Deterministic scripting. BrowserQL needs a query per site. | Stagehand and Agents let you extract and interact with websites that changes over time. |
| Production and scale | ||
| SOC 2, BAA, and HIPAA | SOC 2 Type II, GDPR on cloud. HIPAA BAA on self-host or private-cloud only | SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA BAA |
| Observability | Opt-in per connection, paid tiers only, viewable in their dashboard with no replay API. | Recorded by default, with browser action and network traces plus a replay API. |
| Managed agents | Beta release, limited to data extraction. Available on Cloud plans only. | Sandbox workspace, file IO and shell tools to perform complex website interactions (ex: login, fill forms). Available on every plan. |
(1) You run browser agents against protected, dynamic, or frequently changing sites. (2) You need Agent Identity, session recording, and long sessions without building them. (3) You want production reliability built in, not assembled and maintained.
Talk to us!(1) You must self-host or stay air-gapped for data residency. (2) You run short, deterministic, high-volume jobs. (3) You mainly need one-call utilities like PDF, screenshot, or Lighthouse.
Every session is recorded automatically, with a replay API. Nothing to switch on, and nothing to click through.
Solving is included on paid plans. Browserless meters ten units per solve, and bills its hosted agent's model usage as separate units on top.
Combine Browserbase’s reliable platform with Stagehand to let your web automation adapt to websites changes.
Verified agent identity through Cloudflare Signed Agents. Your agent is recognized, not blocked.
Run a single session up to six hours. Browserless caps sessions by plan (15–60 minutes).
When one script per site stops scaling, managed Agents run the whole job from a prompt.
I think the most important thing with Browserbase is just consolidating all into one. It's typically more reliable, and since we have the browser automation piece, we can do more complex things that we could not do before.
Point your existing Puppeteer or Playwright code at Browserbase. Same code, now managed, with Agent Identity on by default.
Quickstart
Search and Fetch pull web context in fewer tokens than driving a browser to read a page.
More on Web Data APIs
When one script per site stops scaling, a managed agent runs the job end to end.
More on AgentsBrowserless gives you browsers, a broad API surface, and the option to run it yourself. Browserbase is a platform where the parts that decide production are already on: Agent Identity, automatic recording on every session with a replay API, and managed Agents with a sandbox workspace. Both can run a browser agent. They differ on what you assemble around it, and on what you can retrieve after a run fails.
Both platforms now offer a hosted browser agent you can call in one request. Browserbase Agents differs in what surrounds the browser: a sandbox workspace with file IO and shell tools, so a run can return a finished artifact and not just an answer; verified agent identity through Cloudflare Signed Agents, so agents are recognized and allowed in rather than only trying to look human; and automatic recording on every session with a replay API, so a failed run can be inspected without having predicted the failure. Browserless's hosted agent endpoint is in beta and available on Cloud plans only.
Browserless is better for short, deterministic, high-volume scraping jobs; Browserbase is better for protected or frequently changing sites where reliability matters. For short, deterministic, high-volume extraction, Browserless can be the lower-cost option and is a fine choice. For protected or frequently changing sites where reliability matters, Browserbase's identity and managed tooling cut the breakage you would otherwise maintain.
Browserless offers first-class self-hosting, including air-gapped deployments, which is its strongest fit when data cannot leave your network.Production self-hosting uses a commercial license, and your team operates scaling, anti-bot upkeep, and monitoring.
Browserbase runs as a managed cloud platform; enterprise teams with strict residency needs should talk to us about options.
Browserbase & Browserless both offer solutions to antibots. The difference: Browserbase adds verified agent identity through Cloudflare's Signed Agents program, so legitimate agents are recognized instead of fighting detection.
Yes. Both offer free tiers, and neither requires a credit card.
Yes. Both support Puppeteer, Playwright, and Selenium over standard CDP. With Browserless you swap the connection string; with Browserbase you create a session with one SDK call and connect to its URL, a few lines either way.
Browserbase has a free plan with no credit card required, and paid plans start at $20/mo. When comparing with Browserless, compare cost per completed job: Browserless meters residential proxy traffic at 6 units/MB and CAPTCHA solves at 10 units each, which stack on long sessions.
On Browserbase, automatic CAPTCHA solving is included on paid plans with no per-solve charge. On Browserless, each solve costs 10 units from your plan.
Last update: August 12th, 2026. Sources: Browserless pricing and docs, Browserbase pricing and docs.
Start free, or talk to us about scale.
