BROWSER USE

- Browser Use Agents: give Browser Use a task and receive completed work. API V4 is current for new integrations.
- Browser Infrastructure: connect your agent or automation to managed browsers through SDK, REST, or CDP. Starts at $0.02/browser-hour.
- Developer tools: Open Source, Browser Harness, SDK, and MCP support the two products above.

[Developer Index](https://browser-use.com/index.md)
[Product Map](https://browser-use.com/llms.txt)
[Full Product Context](https://browser-use.com/llms-full.txt)
[Pricing](https://browser-use.com/pricing.md)
[Cloud Docs](https://docs.browser-use.com/cloud/quickstart)
[Open Source Docs](https://docs.browser-use.com/open-source/introduction)

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# Best cloud browsers for AI agents (2026): Browser Use Cloud vs Browserbase, Browserless, Steel, Kernel, Hyperbrowser, Anchor

> 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.

[HTML page](https://browser-use.com/cloud-browsers) · [Stealth benchmark](https://browser-use.com/benchmarks/browsers) · [Pricing](https://browser-use.com/pricing.md) · [Browserbase alternatives](https://browser-use.com/alternatives/browserbase.md) · [Browserless alternatives](https://browser-use.com/alternatives/browserless.md) · [Steel alternatives](https://browser-use.com/alternatives/steel.md) · [Kernel alternatives](https://browser-use.com/alternatives/kernel.md)

## Comparison

| Provider | Got through (Stealth Bench V2) | Per browser-hour | Residential proxy | Session lifecycle (BrowserArena median) | Self-host / on-prem | Plans |
|---|---:|---|---|---:|---|---|
| Browser Use Cloud | 90.5% | $0.02 | $5/GB | 493 ms | No. The open-source browser-use library (MIT) runs on your own machine | No subscription. $1 signup credit, then pay as you go; Enterprise agreements on request |
| Anchor | 82% | $0.05 | $8/GB | 2,800 ms | Bring your own cloud or on-prem, on the Enterprise plan | Free credits, then $50 or $2,000/month |
| Kernel | 80.5% | $0.06 to $0.48 | Not metered | 318 ms | Its browser image is open source (Apache-2.0) and runs in Docker | Free, $30 or $200/month, plus usage |
| Browserbase | 78.5% | $0.10 to $0.12 | $10 to $12/GB | 877 ms | No. Cloud only, with private cloud options for large enterprise | Free, $20 or $99/month with browser hours included |
| Browserless | 77.5% | $0.18 to $0.24 | 6 units/MB | No result | Yes. Docker or Kubernetes; free for non-commercial use, commercial license on Enterprise | Free, then $25 to $350/month billed annually |
| Steel | 74.5% | $0.08 to $0.10 | $6 to $10/GB | 3,509 ms | Yes. steel-browser is open source (Apache-2.0) and runs in Docker | Free with $30 one-time credits, then $250/month |
| Hyperbrowser | 73.5% | $0.10 | $10/GB | 1,417 ms | None listed in its docs | Subscription or one-off credit purchase |

- Got through: share of 200 visits (100 bot-protected sites, 2 runs) where a judge model, shown the page without the provider name, confirmed the real site loaded within 60 seconds. Measured September 25, 2026. Every provider ran with its own proxy, stealth mode and CAPTCHA solver on; Browserbase ran on its standard mode, because its Verified mode needs an Enterprise plan. The sites were picked because Browser Use Cloud historically got through where stock Chrome with a US proxy did not, so they are hard on purpose and not a balanced sample of the web or of anti-bot vendors. [Method, code and raw results](https://browser-use.com/benchmarks/browsers)
- Session lifecycle: median time to create a session, connect over CDP, load a page and release it, over 100 sequential runs, BrowserArena run of October 14, 2026. Browserless: all 100 runs failed to connect (401), so there is no number. [BrowserArena](https://www.browserarena.ai/?percentile=median&sort=latency&date=2026-10-14)
- Prices, proxy rates, plans and self-hosting, checked October 15, 2026, from each provider's own page:
  - Browser Use Cloud: pay as you go, billed by the minute, no subscription. [Pricing](https://browser-use.com/pricing.md) · [Open-source library](https://docs.browser-use.com/open-source/introduction)
  - Anchor: plus $0.01 per browser created; full stealth from the $2,000/month Growth plan. [Source](https://docs.anchorbrowser.io/pricing)
  - Kernel: headless to headful, billed per GB-second. Its own proxies are not billed, under fair-use rules; configurable from the $30/month plan. [Pricing](https://www.kernel.sh/docs/info/pricing) · [Proxies](https://kernel.sh/docs/proxies/overview) · [Browser image](https://github.com/kernel/kernel-images)
  - Browserbase: after 100 or 500 hours included in $20 or $99/month plans; proxies after 1 or 5 GB included. [Source](https://www.browserbase.com/pricing)
  - Browserless: overage, billed in 30-second units; residential proxy is 6 units per MB, and a unit costs $0.0015 to $0.0020 on overage. [Pricing](https://www.browserless.io/pricing) · [Self-hosting](https://github.com/browserless/browserless)
  - Steel: $0.08 and $6/GB on the $250/month Scale plan; stealth browser on Enterprise. [Pricing](https://steel.dev/pricing) · [Self-hosting](https://docs.steel.dev/overview/self-hosting/docker)
  - Hyperbrowser: credits from a subscription or a direct purchase. [Pricing](https://hyperbrowser.ai/docs/pricing) · [Docs index](https://hyperbrowser.ai/docs/llms.txt)

## 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) and Kernel at $0.06 to $0.48 (headless to headful). 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.

## 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%. One caveat: the 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.

## 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. [ComputeSDK](https://www.computesdk.com/benchmarks/browsers/lifecycle)

## 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. Steel's steel-browser is open source under Apache-2.0 and runs in Docker. Kernel publishes its browser image as open source too. Browser Use Cloud cannot be self-hosted. What you can run yourself is the open-source [browser-use library](https://docs.browser-use.com/open-source/introduction) (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. 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. Browser Use Cloud is not available on-prem; it runs in our cloud, with an [EU region](https://docs.browser-use.com/cloud/eu-deployment) 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](https://browser-use.com/web-agents.md) 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, 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.

## 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. [Remote browser for Playwright](https://browser-use.com/playwright.md)