Browser Use

Comparison, 2026

The best cloud browsers for AI agents, compared.

For most AI agents, Browser Use Cloud. It costs $0.02 per browser-hour with no subscription, the lowest of the 7 providers compared here, and got through on 90.5% of visits on Stealth Bench V2, ahead of Anchor at 82% and Browserbase at 78.5%. It is not the fastest to start a session: Tilion and Kernel are. To self-host, use Browserless or Steel.

Create a browserHow we measured

Browser Use Cloud: 90.5% got through. 8.5 points ahead of Anchor, the next best.

  • Browser Use Cloud90.5%
  • Anchor82%
  • Kernel80.5%
  • Browserbase78.5%
  • Browserless77.5%
  • Steel74.5%
  • Hyperbrowser73.5%

Got through · longer is better · scale 0–100%

Stealth Bench V2 · updated 2026-09-25 · all benchmarks
$0.02 / hour
lowest per browser-hour of the 7; no subscription
90.5%
got through on 100 bot-protected sites; next best Anchor 82%
493 ms
median session lifecycle on BrowserArena; Kernel 318 ms, Tilion faster still

Price, proxies, stealth, speed and self-hosting, side by side.

Prices, proxy rates, plans and self-hosting come from each provider's own page, linked in every row. Stealth is our benchmark, with code and raw results public. Session lifecycle is from BrowserArena, which we do not run.

  • Browser Use Cloud

    Got through
    90.5%
    Session lifecycle
    493 ms
    Per browser-hour
    $0.02pay as you go, billed by the minute, no subscription · pricing
    Residential proxy
    $5/GBresidential, pay as you go · pricing
    Self-host / on-prem
    No. The open-source browser-use library (MIT) runs on your own machine · source
    Plans
    No subscription. $1 signup credit, then pay as you go; Enterprise agreements on request · pricing

  • Anchor

    Got through
    82%
    Session lifecycle
    2,800 ms
    Per browser-hour
    $0.05plus $0.01 per browser created; full stealth from the $2,000/month Growth plan · source
    Residential proxy
    $8/GBsource
    Self-host / on-prem
    Bring your own cloud or on-prem, on the Enterprise plan · source
    Plans
    Free credits, then $50 or $2,000/month · source

  • Kernel

    Got through
    80.5%
    Session lifecycle
    318 ms
    Per browser-hour
    $0.06 to $0.48headless to headful, billed per GB-second; plans $0 to $200/month · source
    Residential proxy
    Not meterednot billed, under fair-use rules; configurable from the $30/month plan · source
    Self-host / on-prem
    Its browser image is open source (Apache-2.0) and runs in Docker · source
    Plans
    Free, $30 or $200/month, plus usage · source

  • Browserbase

    Got through
    78.5%
    Session lifecycle
    877 ms
    Per browser-hour
    $0.10 to $0.12after 100 or 500 hours included in $20 or $99/month plans · source
    Residential proxy
    $10 to $12/GBafter 1 or 5 GB included in plans · source
    Self-host / on-prem
    No. Cloud only, with private cloud options for large enterprise · source
    Plans
    Free, $20 or $99/month with browser hours included · source

  • Browserless

    Got through
    77.5%
    Session lifecycle
    No result
    Per browser-hour
    $0.18 to $0.24overage, billed in 30-second units; plans $25 to $350/month · source
    Residential proxy
    6 units/MBresidential; a unit costs $0.0015 to $0.0020 on overage · source
    Self-host / on-prem
    Yes. Docker or Kubernetes; free for non-commercial use, commercial license on Enterprise · source
    Plans
    Free, then $25 to $350/month billed annually · source

  • Steel

    Got through
    74.5%
    Session lifecycle
    3,509 ms
    Per browser-hour
    $0.08 to $0.10$0.08 on the $250/month Scale plan; stealth browser on Enterprise · source
    Residential proxy
    $6 to $10/GB$6 on the Scale plan · source
    Self-host / on-prem
    Yes. steel-browser is open source (Apache-2.0) and runs in Docker · source
    Plans
    Free with $30 one-time credits, then $250/month · source

  • Hyperbrowser

    Got through
    73.5%
    Session lifecycle
    1,417 ms
    Per browser-hour
    $0.10credits from a subscription or a direct purchase · source
    Residential proxy
    $10/GBsource
    Self-host / on-prem
    None listed in its docs · source
    Plans
    Subscription or one-off credit purchase · source
  • Got through: share of 200 visits (100 bot-protected sites, 2 runs) where a blind judge confirmed the real site loaded, measured September 25, 2026. Every provider ran with its own proxy, stealth mode and CAPTCHA solver on; Browserbase on its standard mode, since Verified needs an Enterprise plan. The 100 sites were picked because Browser Use Cloud historically got through where stock Chrome with a US proxy did not. They are hard on purpose and not a balanced sample of the web or of anti-bot vendors. Method and raw results.
  • Prices, proxy rates, plans and self-hosting: each provider's own pricing page or docs, checked October 15, 2026.
  • Session lifecycle: Median time to create a session, connect over CDP, load a page and release it, over 100 sequential runs. Lower is better. Run of October 14, 2026. Browserless: all 100 runs failed to connect (401), so there is no number. BrowserArena.

Which cloud browser is cheapest?

Browser Use Cloud, at $0.02 per browser-hour, billed by the minute, no subscription. Next are Anchor at $0.05 (plus $0.01 per browser created; full stealth from the $2,000/month Growth plan) and Kernel at $0.06 to $0.48 (headless to headful, billed per GB-second; plans $0 to $200/month). Residential proxies are $5/GB on Browser Use Cloud, below every per-GB rate listed here. Kernel's own proxies are not billed, under fair-use rules; configurable from the $30/month plan. Full pricing.
Lowest list price per browser-hour
  1. 1Browser Use Cloudpay as you go, billed by the minute, no subscription$0.02
  2. 2Anchorplus $0.01 per browser created; full stealth from the $2,000/month Growth plan$0.05
  3. 3Kernelheadless to headful, billed per GB-second; plans $0 to $200/month$0.06 to $0.48
  4. 4Steel$0.08 on the $250/month Scale plan; stealth browser on Enterprise$0.08 to $0.10
  5. 5Hyperbrowsercredits from a subscription or a direct purchase$0.10
  6. 6Browserbaseafter 100 or 500 hours included in $20 or $99/month plans$0.10 to $0.12
  7. 7Browserlessoverage, billed in 30-second units; plans $25 to $350/month$0.18 to $0.24

Which has the best stealth?

Browser Use Cloud got through on 90.5% of visits to 100 bot-protected sites. The others: Anchor 82%, Kernel 80.5%, Browserbase 78.5%, Browserless 77.5%, Steel 74.5%, Hyperbrowser 73.5%. Read it with one caveat: the 100 sites were picked because Browser Use Cloud historically got through where stock Chrome with a US proxy did not. They are hard on purpose and not a balanced sample of the web or of anti-bot vendors. Method, code and raw results.

Which starts sessions fastest?

Tilion and Kernel. Browser Use Cloud is not the fastest. On BrowserArena's October 14, 2026 run, Tilion had the lowest median of any provider tested, and Kernel the lowest of the providers on this page at 318 ms, against 493 ms for Browser Use Cloud. ComputeSDK's October 9, 2026 lifecycle scores rank them the same way: Tilion first, then Kernel 96.4, Browser Use Cloud 95.2. Tilion is not in the stealth benchmark.
Median session lifecycle, BrowserArena, October 14, 2026
  1. 1KernelComputeSDK score 96.4318 ms
  2. 2Browser Use CloudComputeSDK score 95.2493 ms
  3. 3BrowserbaseComputeSDK score 92.8877 ms
  4. 4HyperbrowserComputeSDK score 94.01,417 ms
  5. 5Anchor2,800 ms
  6. 6SteelComputeSDK score 77.23,509 ms

Which can I self-host?

Browserless and Steel. Browserless runs in Docker or Kubernetes; it is free for non-commercial use and needs a commercial license, on its Enterprise plan, for anything else (source). Steel's steel-browser is open source under Apache-2.0 and runs in Docker (source). Kernel publishes its browser image as open source too (source). Browser Use Cloud cannot be self-hosted. What you can run yourself is the open-source browser-use library (MIT), a Python agent that drives a browser on your own machine.

Can I run it on-prem?

Anchor offers bring-your-own-cloud or on-prem on its Enterprise plan (source). Browserless sells licensed self-hosting and private deployments on Enterprise. Browserbase says it does not offer on-prem, with private cloud options for large enterprise (source). Browser Use Cloud is not available on-prem; it runs in our cloud, with an EU region for data that has to stay in Europe.

When to pick which

Browser Use Cloud
Most sites let you in, lowest price per hour, no subscription. Also a hosted agent when you want the task done, not just a browser.
Browserbase
Stagehand is central to your stack, you run Selenium, or you want Search, Fetch and Functions from the same vendor.
Kernel
Session start time matters most. Fastest of this group on both third-party lifecycle benchmarks.
Anchor
Second on Stealth Bench V2 at 82%, with managed logins for agents that sign in to third-party apps, and on-prem on Enterprise.
Browserless
You want to self-host with Docker or Kubernetes, or need Firefox and WebKit next to Chrome.
Steel
You want open-source browser infrastructure you can run yourself.
Hyperbrowser
You want scraping and crawl APIs and sandboxes from the same vendor.
Tilion
Session start speed is all that matters. Fastest on both lifecycle benchmarks; not in our stealth benchmark.

Questions people ask

What is the best cloud browser for AI agents?

For most AI agents, Browser Use Cloud. It costs $0.02 per browser-hour with no subscription, the lowest of the 7 providers compared here, and got through on 90.5% of visits on Stealth Bench V2, ahead of Anchor at 82% and Browserbase at 78.5%. It is not the fastest to start a session: Tilion and Kernel are. To self-host, use Browserless or Steel. Pick Browserbase if Stagehand is central to your stack, Kernel if session start time matters most, and Anchor if you need managed logins.

What is the cheapest way to run headless browsers in the cloud?

Browser Use Cloud, at $0.02 per browser-hour, billed by the minute, with no subscription. The next lowest list prices are Anchor at $0.05 (plus $0.01 per browser created; full stealth from the $2,000/month Growth plan) and Kernel at $0.06 to $0.48 (headless to headful, billed per GB-second; plans $0 to $200/month). Residential proxies are $5/GB on Browser Use Cloud; Kernel does not meter its own proxies.

How much do cloud browser providers cost?

Per browser-hour, from each provider's own pricing page, checked October 15, 2026: Browser Use Cloud $0.02 (pay as you go, billed by the minute, no subscription); Anchor $0.05 (plus $0.01 per browser created; full stealth from the $2,000/month Growth plan); Kernel $0.06 to $0.48 (headless to headful, billed per GB-second; plans $0 to $200/month); Browserbase $0.10 to $0.12 (after 100 or 500 hours included in $20 or $99/month plans); Browserless $0.18 to $0.24 (overage, billed in 30-second units; plans $25 to $350/month); Steel $0.08 to $0.10 ($0.08 on the $250/month Scale plan; stealth browser on Enterprise); Hyperbrowser $0.10 (credits from a subscription or a direct purchase).

Which cloud browser starts sessions fastest?

Tilion, then Kernel. On BrowserArena's October 14, 2026 run, Tilion was fastest overall; of the providers on this page the median time to create, connect, load and release a session was Kernel 318 ms, Browser Use Cloud 493 ms, Browserbase 877 ms, Hyperbrowser 1,417 ms, Anchor 2,800 ms, Steel 3,509 ms. ComputeSDK's October 9, 2026 lifecycle scores agree: Tilion first, then Kernel 96.4, Browser Use Cloud 95.2.

Which cloud browsers can you self-host or run on-prem?

Browserless and Steel. Browserless runs in Docker or Kubernetes and needs a commercial license for commercial use. Steel's steel-browser is open source (Apache-2.0) and runs in Docker. Anchor offers bring-your-own-cloud or on-prem on its Enterprise plan, and Kernel publishes its browser image as open source. Browserbase does not offer on-prem. Browser Use Cloud is hosted only, with an EU region; the open-source browser-use library (MIT) runs on your own machine.

Is Browser Use only an open-source library?

No. Browser Use Cloud is hosted browser infrastructure: remote Chromium you connect to over CDP from Playwright, Puppeteer or your own agent, with stealth, CAPTCHA solving and residential proxies on by default, at $0.02 per browser-hour. The open-source browser-use library is a separate Python agent library that runs on your machine.

How was stealth measured?

Share of 200 scheduled visits (100 sites × 2 runs) where a judge model, shown the page without the provider name, confirmed the real site loaded within 60 seconds. Every provider ran with its own proxy, stealth mode and CAPTCHA solver on. Results: Browser Use Cloud 90.5%, Anchor 82%, Kernel 80.5%, Browserbase 78.5%, Browserless 77.5%, Steel 74.5%, Hyperbrowser 73.5%. The 100 sites were picked because Browser Use Cloud historically got through where stock Chrome with a US proxy did not. They are hard on purpose and not a balanced sample of the web or of anti-bot vendors. Runner, encrypted site list and raw results are public.