# Anchor Browser vs Browser Use

> Browser Use scores 77.9 (BB) on agent readiness against Anchor Browser's 67.3 (B), and leads in every scored category. Both do browser automation. Browser Use accepts x402. Anchor Browser doesn't. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-browser-use
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-browser-use.md (~2,600 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-browser-use.min.md (~830 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-browser-use.json (this page as data, same URL with Accept: application/json)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (full text: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- Updated: 2026-10-08

Browser Use scores 77.9 (BB) on agent readiness against Anchor Browser's 67.3 (B), and leads in every scored category. Both do browser automation. Browser Use accepts x402. Anchor Browser doesn't.

- Anchor Browser: grade B, 67.3/100, rank #211 of 722. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/anchor-browser.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/anchor-browser.json
- Browser Use: grade BB, 77.9/100, rank #16 of 722. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/browser-use.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/browser-use.json

## Which one, for what

### Anchor Browser (B)

Good for: Agents that must work inside signed-in accounts, with managed identities, MFA handling and a human sign-in link, and agents that need to start with no human signup.

Watch for: No service agreement or API terms found. anchorbrowser.io/terms is a website terms of use dated 16 March 2025

### Browser Use (BB)

Good for: An agent that wants to hand a whole browser task to a hosted agent and get a result back, or that needs a low-cost cloud browser over CDP, and for unattended agents that can pay by x402.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 87 against 80
- Schema & documentation, 85 against 80
- Agent ergonomics, 78 against 73
- Security & auth, 59 against 54
- Payments & pricing, 90 against 60
- Maintenance & community, 77 against 57
- Transparency & trust, 65 against 51

Also in its favour:
- Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better
- An agent can pay per call over x402, with no account
- Runs on your own machine
- Open source

Watch for: The privacy policy says inputs are used to train Browser Use's AI models, with no opt-out described outside Enterprise zero data retention


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Anchor Browser | Browser Use | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 80 | 87 | Browser Use +7 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 80 | 85 | Browser Use +5 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 73 | 78 | Browser Use +5 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 54 | 59 | Browser Use +5 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 60 | 90 | Browser Use +30 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 57 | 77 | Browser Use +20 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 51 | 65 | Browser Use +14 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **67.3 · B** | **77.9 · BB** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Anchor Browser | Browser Use |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Anchor Forge Inc. | Browser Use |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.anchorbrowser.io` | `https://api.browser-use.com/api/v4` |
| Transports | HTTP | HTTP, Streamable HTTP, stdio |
| Auth | OAuth or key | API key |
| Pricing | Freemium | Pay per use |
| x402 | no | yes |
| Licence | Proprietary cloud service. No service agreement was found, only a website terms of use. The TypeScript and Python SDKs and the self-hosted MCP server are Apache-2.0 | MIT for the open-source library and the SDK. Browser Use Cloud is a proprietary service under Browser Use's terms of service |
| Tools exposed | none | 7 |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| MCP registry | not listed | `com.browser-use/browser-use` |
| Last release | 2026-07-28 | 2026-10-07 |
| Terms last updated | no document linked | 2026-07-15 |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-02-24 | no date given |
| Customer content may train models |  | yes |
| Terms restrict automated access |  | yes |
| Terms restrict benchmarking |  | yes |
| Terms or service can change without notice |  | yes |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver |  | yes |
| Popularity | 43k npm/wk, 10k PyPI/wk | 117k stars, 107k npm/wk, 2.1M PyPI/wk |

## Verdicts

**Anchor Browser.** The API has a public OpenAPI 3.1 document, per-unit prices and Agent Access, an unauthenticated flow that issues a trial API key without a dashboard account. No service agreement is published, only a website terms of use, and the documented CDP connection puts the API key in the URL.

**Browser Use.** The hosted cloud accepts x402 top-ups in USDC on Base with no account or API key, and publishes prices, rate limits and three OpenAPI documents. The privacy policy says inputs are used to train Browser Use's models, API keys have no documented scopes, and no prompt-injection guidance was found in the docs.

## Before you call either

### Anchor Browser

1. Send the key in the `anchor-api-key` header. For CDP, build `wss://connect.anchorbrowser.io?apiKey=<key>&sessionId=<id>` and keep that URL out of logs
2. Set `session.timeout.idle_timeout` and `max_duration` and end sessions with DELETE. The default maximum is 180 minutes, and browser time bills by the minute
3. Session creation is capped at 5 a minute on Free, 25 on Starter and 100 on Growth. On 429, wait for the `Retry-After` seconds
4. Connect the `Anchor` MCP server or `Anchor (all)`, not both, because the docs say the pair duplicates tool names
5. Authenticated browsers, CAPTCHA solving and proxies by country need the Starter plan or higher. The Free plan and Agent Access keys run plain sessions and web tasks

### Browser Use

1. Send the key as `X-Browser-Use-API-Key` with no Bearer prefix. A Bearer header returns 401
2. Stop browsers with `PATCH /api/v4/browsers/{id}` and `{"action":"stop"}`. Closing CDP or the SDK client leaves the browser billing
3. Poll `GET /runs/{id}/status`, not the full run, and wait for the returned Retry-After on 429, which can be 300 seconds at the edge
4. Before resubmitting after a timeout, read the existing run's status. The server keeps running and may already have submitted a form
5. With a wallet and no key, call x402.api.browser-use.com on `/api/v2` or `/api/v3` routes. A task stops with INSUFFICIENT_CREDITS if credit runs out mid-run

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Anchor Browser or Browser Use?

Browser Use scores 77.9 (BB) on agent readiness against Anchor Browser's 67.3 (B), and leads in every scored category.

### Do Anchor Browser and Browser Use need an API key?

Anchor Browser takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in. Browser Use needs an API key. An agent can also pay Browser Use per call over x402, with no account.

### Can an agent call Anchor Browser and Browser Use without installing anything?

Yes. Anchor Browser has a hosted endpoint at https://api.anchorbrowser.io and Browser Use at https://api.browser-use.com/api/v4.

### Are Anchor Browser and Browser Use open source?

No open-source release is listed for Anchor Browser. Browser Use is open source (MIT for the open-source library and the SDK. Browser Use Cloud is a proprietary service under Browser Use's terms of service).


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-browser-use.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-browser-use.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "anchor-browser", "b": "browser-use"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare anchor-browser browser-use`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/anchor-browser.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/browser-use.json

## Other comparisons with Anchor Browser or Browser Use

- [Airtop vs Anchor Browser](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-anchor-browser.md)
- [Airtop vs Browser Use](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-browser-use.md)
- [Anchor Browser vs Browserbase](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-browserbase.md)
- [Anchor Browser vs Browserless](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-browserless.md)
- [Anchor Browser vs Chrome DevTools MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-chrome-devtools-mcp.md)
- [Anchor Browser vs Hyperbrowser](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-hyperbrowser.md)
- [Anchor Browser vs Notte](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-notte.md)
- [Anchor Browser vs Playwright MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-playwright-mcp.md)
- [Anchor Browser vs Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-puppeteer-reference-server-archived.md)
- [Anchor Browser vs Skyvern](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-skyvern.md)
- [Anchor Browser vs Steel](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-steel.md)
- [Browser Use vs Browserbase](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browser-use-vs-browserbase.md)
- [Browser Use vs Browserless](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browser-use-vs-browserless.md)
- [Browser Use vs Chrome DevTools MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browser-use-vs-chrome-devtools-mcp.md)
- [Browser Use vs Hyperbrowser](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browser-use-vs-hyperbrowser.md)
- [Browser Use vs Notte](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browser-use-vs-notte.md)
- [Browser Use vs Playwright MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browser-use-vs-playwright-mcp.md)
- [Browser Use vs Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browser-use-vs-puppeteer-reference-server-archived.md)
- [Browser Use vs Skyvern](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browser-use-vs-skyvern.md)
- [Browser Use vs Steel](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browser-use-vs-steel.md)