Browser automation tools for AI agents
Hosted browsers, open-source agent libraries and MCP servers that let an agent open pages, click, type and read.
5 tools, listed alphabetically. Prices and features checked 2026-10-17 on each vendor's own pages; “not verified” means we could not confirm it.
Short answer: To try it at no cost, Playwright MCP (Apache-2.0, from Microsoft) runs a browser on your machine, and Browser Use (MIT) is a free open-source library. For hosted browsers, Browser Use's cloud lists $0.02 per browser hour, Hyperbrowser and Steel $0.10, and Browserbase $0.12 after the 100 hours included in its $20 plan. Steel Browser is open source (Apache-2.0) and can be self-hosted.
| 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] |
| Browserbase | Free: 3 concurrent browsers, 1 browser hour [source, checked 2026-10-17] | 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] | Browser hours and concurrent browsers per plan [source] | Hosted MCP server; the older GitHub repo is archived [source] | Stagehand SDK is MIT; the browser platform is hosted [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] |
| 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] |
| Tool | Best for | Compliance | Data retention |
|---|---|---|---|
| Browser Use | Developers who want an open-source agent library and, optionally, cheap pay-as-you-go cloud browsers. | not verified | not verified |
| Browserbase | Production agents that need many hosted browsers at once, with automatic captcha solving. | SOC 2 (pricing FAQ) [source] | not verified |
| Hyperbrowser | Agents that mix browser sessions with page fetch, search and extraction under one credit balance. | not verified | 7 days (Free), 30 days (Startup and Scale) [source] |
| Playwright MCP | Coding agents and local workflows where a browser on your own machine is enough and you pay nothing. | not verified | not verified |
| Steel | Teams that want an open-source browser API they can self-host, with a hosted cloud for production. | HIPAA-ready BAA and SSO on Scale [source] | 7 days (Launch), 14 days (Scale) [source] |
What to check before you pick one
- Local or hosted: local (Playwright MCP, Browser Use library) is free but runs on your machine and IP; hosted browsers add concurrency, proxies and captcha handling.
- Rate per browser hour and what is included: Browserbase includes 100 hours on Developer; Steel includes credits; Browser Use is prepaid.
- Session length and concurrency: Steel's free plan caps sessions at 15 minutes.
- Retention: Steel keeps data 7 to 14 days, Hyperbrowser 7 to 30 days.
- Logins and site terms: let a human handle logins (Steel's MCP can hand control to a person) and respect each site's terms.
FAQ
What is the cheapest way to give an agent a browser?
Run Playwright MCP or the Browser Use library locally: both are free and open source. In the cloud, Browser Use lists $0.02 per browser hour.
What is Playwright MCP?
Microsoft's open-source MCP server that gives an LLM a Playwright-driven browser and describes pages as structured accessibility snapshots, so the model does not need to read screenshots.
Which hosted browser has SOC 2 or HIPAA?
Browserbase states SOC 2 in its pricing FAQ. Steel offers a HIPAA-ready BAA on its Scale plan.
Comparisons and alternatives
Other categories: Social posting · Email · Payments · Phone, SMS and voice · Web search and scraping