Browserbase alternatives for AI agents
Prices checked 2026-10-17 on each vendor's own pages.
Short answer: For a lower hourly rate, Browser Use cloud ($0.02/hour), Steel ($0.10, or $0.08 on Scale) or Hyperbrowser ($0.10). To self-host, Steel Browser (Apache-2.0). For free local automation, Playwright MCP or the Browser Use library.
For reference, Browserbase: free tier: Free: 3 concurrent browsers, 1 browser hour [source, checked 2026-10-17]; entry paid: Developer $20/month: 100 browser hours then $0.12/hour, 25 concurrent; Startup $99/month: 500 hours then $0.10/hour, 100 concurrent [source, checked 2026-10-17]
| Tool | Free tier | Entry paid price | Meter | MCP server | Open source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Browser Use | One-time $1 credit for eligible signups; the open-source library is free [source, checked 2026-10-17] | Pay as you go, top-ups from $5: browsers $0.02/hour, residential proxy $5/GB, agents at model cost + 20% [source, checked 2026-10-17] | Prepaid credits: browser time (per minute, 1-minute minimum), proxy data and model tokens [source] | MCP server documented [source] | MIT [source] |
| Steel | Launch $0: $30 one-time credits, 10 concurrent sessions, sessions up to 15 minutes, $0.10/browser hour [source, checked 2026-10-17] | Scale $250/month: $100 credits monthly, 100 concurrent sessions, $0.08/browser hour, sessions up to 1 hour [source, checked 2026-10-17] | Browser hours, proxy GB, captcha solves; credits included per plan [source] | Official MCP server [source] | Steel Browser: Apache-2.0, self-hostable [source] |
| Hyperbrowser | Free: 5,000 credits, 1 concurrent session [source, checked 2026-10-17] | Startup $30/month: $30 usage, 25 concurrent sessions; Scale $100/month: $100 usage, 100 concurrent sessions [source, checked 2026-10-17] | Credits: browser $0.10/hour, proxy $10/GB, fetch $0.001/page, search $0.005/query [source] | MCP server (MIT) [source] | not verified |
| Playwright MCP | Free, open source [source, checked 2026-10-17] | No paid plan [source, checked 2026-10-17] | No usage fees; runs on your machine [source] | It is an MCP server [source] | Apache-2.0 [source] |
FAQ
What is the open-source alternative to Browserbase?
Steel Browser (Apache-2.0) is a self-hostable browser API. Browser Use (MIT) and Playwright MCP (Apache-2.0) are open-source ways to let an agent drive a browser locally.
Which alternative is cheapest?
On listed rates, Browser Use's cloud at $0.02 per browser hour, plus proxy and model costs if you use them.
Which alternatives have MCP servers?
Steel, Hyperbrowser and Browser Use document MCP servers, and Playwright MCP is one.
Head-to-head
Other alternatives pages: Twilio alternatives · Twilio SendGrid alternatives · Lemon Squeezy alternatives