{ "data": { "a": { "slug": "anchor-browser", "name": "Anchor Browser", "vendor": "Anchor Forge Inc.", "vendorUrl": "https://anchorbrowser.io", "kind": "http-api", "category": "browser", "summary": "Anchor Browser runs cloud browser sessions for AI agents, controlled through a REST API, a CDP WebSocket, TypeScript and Python SDKs and hosted MCP servers. It adds managed logins with MFA, profiles, proxies, CAPTCHA solving and recordings.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/anchor-browser", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/anchor-browser.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/anchor-browser.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/anchor-browser.json", "repo": "https://github.com/anchorbrowser/AnchorBrowser-SDK-Typescript", "license": "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", "transports": [ "http" ], "remoteUrl": "https://api.anchorbrowser.io", "packages": [ { "registry": "npm", "name": "anchorbrowser" }, { "registry": "pypi", "name": "anchorbrowser" } ], "auth": "mixed", "authNotes": "API key in the `anchor-api-key` header, created in the dashboard at app.anchorbrowser.io or issued by Agent Access, an unauthenticated puzzle flow that needs no account. The hosted MCP servers also accept OAuth sign-in through signin.anchorbrowser.io, with `mcp:tools` and `mcp:admin` scopes in the resource metadata. CDP connections pass the key as the `apiKey` query parameter on `wss://connect.anchorbrowser.io`. No key scopes, expiry or rotation guidance were found. Teams that enforce Agent Access identity also send `anchor-identity-token`.", "pricing": "freemium", "pricingNotes": "The Free plan has $5 of credits a month, and Agent Access gives an agent 1 credit with no account. Usage is $0.01 a browser created, $0.05 a browser-hour counted to the minute, $8 a GB through Anchor's proxy and $0.20 a GB otherwise. AI steps cost $0.01, $0.05 or $0.10 by model tier from 21 August 2026. Starter is $50 a month and Growth $2,000, with overage at $1 a credit. Enterprise is priced through sales (https://docs.anchorbrowser.io/pricing, checked 2026-10-08).", "priceSummary": "$0.01 / call", "where": "hosted", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "A blog post dated 29 August 2025 shows x402 payment on POST https://api.anchorbrowser.io/v1/sessions and says it is enabled per project. An unpaid POST on 2026-10-08 returned 401 with no payment terms, and the docs and OpenAPI document describe `x402` only as a session option that lets the browser pay other sites through Amazon Bedrock AgentCore Payments.", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": null, "npmWeekly": 43004, "pypiWeekly": 10135, "asOf": "2026-10-08" }, "docsUrl": "https://docs.anchorbrowser.io", "llmsTxt": "https://docs.anchorbrowser.io/llms.txt", "openapi": "https://docs.anchorbrowser.io/openapi.yaml", "capabilities": [ "browser.control", "browser.hosted", "browser.debug", "web.fetch", "web.scrape", "scraping.proxies", "scraping.anti-bot", "pdf.generate" ], "tags": [ "official", "hosted", "freemium", "no-card", "openapi", "llms-txt", "mcp", "oauth", "python", "typescript", "proxies", "status-page", "soc2" ], "lastRelease": "2026-07-28", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 67.3, "grade": "B", "agentReady": false, "rank": 196, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 629, "categoryRank": 7, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 73, "maintenance": 57, "payments": 60, "reliability": 80, "schema": 80, "security": 54, "transparency": 51 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-08" }, "negative": 0, "verdict": "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.", "bestFor": "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.", "strengths": [ "Agent Access issues an API key through two unauthenticated calls and a puzzle, with 1 trial credit, or 5 with a verified-email OIDC token", "OpenAPI 3.1 document with 101 paths and 136 operations, llms.txt, llms-full.txt and a Markdown twin of every docs page", "Per-unit prices published without login, $0.01 a browser, $0.05 a browser-hour and $8 a GB of proxy traffic", "Hosted MCP servers at api.anchorbrowser.io/v1/mcp accept OAuth sign-in or the API key header, with read and write endpoint calls as separate tools", "Managed identities sign in and handle MFA without returning credentials to the agent, and secrets can be limited to matching domains, per the docs" ], "weaknesses": [ "No service agreement or API terms found. anchorbrowser.io/terms is a website terms of use dated 16 March 2025", "The documented CDP connection passes the API key as `apiKey` in the `wss://connect.anchorbrowser.io` URL", "No changelog, deprecation policy or published SLA found, and docs.anchorbrowser.io/changelog returns 404", "The status page lists two components, Website and Anchor Application, and its incident feed has never held an entry", "A 2025 blog post describes x402 payment on `POST /v1/sessions`, but an unpaid request on 8 October 2026 returned 401, not 402" ], "agentNotes": [ "Send the key in the `anchor-api-key` header. For CDP, build `wss://connect.anchorbrowser.io?apiKey=\u003ckey\u003e\u0026sessionId=\u003cid\u003e` and keep that URL out of logs", "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", "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", "Connect the `Anchor` MCP server or `Anchor (all)`, not both, because the docs say the pair duplicates tool names", "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" ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 0, "avgRating": 0, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "B", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 67.3 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 73, "maintenance": 57, "payments": 60, "reliability": 80, "schema": 80, "security": 54, "transparency": 40 }, "provenanceScore": 61 }, "connect": { "install": "npm install anchorbrowser", "http": "curl -X POST https://api.anchorbrowser.io/v1/tools/perform-web-task -H \"anchor-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY\" -H \"Content-Type: application/json\" -d '{\"prompt\":\"Go to example.com and return the page title\",\"url\":\"https://example.com\"}'", "claudeCode": "claude mcp add --transport http anchor https://api.anchorbrowser.io/v1/mcp", "config": { "mcpServers": { "anchor": { "headers": { "anchor-api-key": "YOUR_ANCHOR_API_KEY" }, "url": "https://api.anchorbrowser.io/v1/mcp" } } } }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/browser.control", "tool": "https://letme.dev/anchor-browser" }, "area": "developer", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "Browser creation", "unit": "call", "usd": 0.01, "note": "Per browser instance created" }, { "item": "Browser usage", "unit": "browser-hour", "usd": 0.05, "note": "Counted to the nearest full minute" }, { "item": "Anchor proxy traffic", "unit": "gb", "usd": 8 }, { "item": "Egress with your own proxy or none", "unit": "gb", "usd": 0.2 }, { "item": "AI step, Light model tier", "unit": "call", "usd": 0.01, "note": "Also the flat rate with your own model key" }, { "item": "AI step, Standard model tier", "unit": "call", "usd": 0.05 }, { "item": "AI step, High Performance model tier", "unit": "call", "usd": 0.1 }, { "item": "Overage credit, Starter and Growth", "unit": "credit", "usd": 1 }, { "item": "Starter plan", "unit": "month", "usd": 50 }, { "item": "Growth plan", "unit": "month", "usd": 2000 } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Anchor Forge Inc.", "domain": "anchorbrowser.io", "domainRegistered": "2024-09-18", "endpointOnVendorDomain": true, "terms": "", "privacy": "https://anchorbrowser.io/privacy-policy", "statusPage": "https://status.anchorbrowser.io", "changelog": "", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-10-08", "notes": [ "The website terms of use (last updated 16 March 2025) and the privacy policy (last updated 24 February 2026) name Anchor Forge Inc. and its affiliates. The terms choose New York law.", "No terms URL is recorded. anchorbrowser.io/terms is a website terms of use that grants personal, non-commercial use of the site, and no service agreement or API terms were found.", "The privacy policy is written for the website and customer contacts and has one product section, on Gmail access for sign-in codes. A DPA is listed in the trust portal behind an access request.", "The API and MCP servers answer at api.anchorbrowser.io, CDP at connect.anchorbrowser.io and OAuth sign-in at signin.anchorbrowser.io.", "anchorbrowser.io/.well-known/security.txt and docs.anchorbrowser.io/.well-known/security.txt both return 404. The trust portal at trust.anchorbrowser.io runs on SafeBase.", "RDAP for anchorbrowser.io gives a registration date of 2024-09-18.", "docs.anchorbrowser.io/changelog returns 404 and no API changelog was found." ], "score": 61 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/anchor-browser.json", "live": { "slug": "anchor-browser", "probe": { "target": "https://api.anchorbrowser.io", "method": "get", "lastAt": "2026-10-08T19:08:39.180219468Z", "lastOk": true, "lastStatus": 404, "lastMs": 437, "authRequired": false, "uptime24h": 100, "uptime30d": 100, "p50ms24h": 390, "p95ms24h": 474, "samples24h": 19, "samples30d": 19, "days": [ { "date": "2026-10-08", "probes": 19, "ok": 19 } ] }, "vendorStatus": { "page": "https://status.anchorbrowser.io", "indicator": "none", "summary": "All Systems Operational", "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T19:06:25.717325901Z" }, "pages": [ { "url": "https://docs.anchorbrowser.io/pricing", "kind": "pricing", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:18:10.688067751Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "d1115f8035fb" }, { "url": "https://anchorbrowser.io/privacy-policy", "kind": "privacy", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:15:09.984357233Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "5503a044040d" } ], "updatedAt": "2026-10-08T19:08:39.180219468Z" } }, "answer": "Browserbase scores 76.2 (BB) on agent readiness against Anchor Browser's 67.3 (B), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Anchor Browser leads on security \u0026 auth.", "b": { "slug": "browserbase", "name": "Browserbase", "vendor": "Browserbase", "vendorUrl": "https://www.browserbase.com", "kind": "http-api", "category": "browser", "summary": "Hosted headless browsers for agents over CDP, plus Fetch and Search APIs and the Stagehand framework.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/browserbase", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/browserbase.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/browserbase.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/browserbase.json", "repo": "https://github.com/browserbase/stagehand", "license": "MIT (Stagehand)", "transports": [ "http", "streamable-http" ], "remoteUrl": "https://api.browserbase.com/v1", "packages": [ { "registry": "npm", "name": "@browserbasehq/stagehand" } ], "auth": "api-key", "authNotes": "`X-BB-API-Key` header. Browsers connect over CDP at wss://connect.browserbase.com.", "pricing": "freemium", "pricingNotes": "Free with 1 browser-hour, 3 concurrent browsers, 1,000 Fetch and 1,000 Search calls and 7-day recording retention. Developer $20 a month with 100 hours then $0.12 an hour, 25 concurrent. Startup $99 with 500 hours then $0.10, 100 concurrent, 10,000 Fetch calls then $0.50 per 1,000. Fetch $1 per 1,000 on Developer, $4 with proxies, Search $7 per 1,000, proxies $10 to $12 a GB. Keyless x402 sessions at $0.12 an hour in USDC on Base (https://www.browserbase.com/pricing, https://docs.browserbase.com/integrations/x402/introduction.md).", "priceSummary": "$0.12 / browser-hr", "where": "hosted", "x402": { "level": "yes", "evidence": "x402 on https://x402.browserbase.com for browser sessions only, $0.12 an hour in USDC on Base, no account or API key, unused minutes refunded on terminate (https://docs.browserbase.com/integrations/x402/introduction.md, checked 2026-10-01). Fetch, Search and api.browserbase.com aren't covered. Also an MPP seller per Stripe's 18 March 2026 post.", "endpoints": [ { "url": "https://x402.browserbase.com/browser/session/create", "priceUsd": null, "network": "" }, { "url": "https://x402.browserbase.com/browser/session/:id/status", "priceUsd": null, "network": "" }, { "url": "https://x402.browserbase.com/browser/session/:id/extend", "priceUsd": null, "network": "" }, { "url": "https://x402.browserbase.com/browser/session/:id/terminate", "priceUsd": null, "network": "" } ] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": 25400, "npmWeekly": null, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-09-26" }, "docsUrl": "https://docs.browserbase.com", "llmsTxt": "https://docs.browserbase.com/llms.txt", "openapi": "https://docs.browserbase.com/reference/api/openapi.v1.yaml", "capabilities": [ "browser.hosted", "browser.control", "web.fetch", "web.search", "web.scrape" ], "tags": [ "official", "hosted", "freemium", "no-card", "x402", "mpp", "openapi", "llms-txt", "mcp" ], "lastRelease": "2026-09-09", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 76.2, "grade": "BB", "agentReady": true, "rank": 35, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 629, "categoryRank": 3, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 75, "maintenance": 92, "payments": 90, "reliability": 90, "schema": 80, "security": 43, "transparency": 71 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-01" }, "negative": 0, "verdict": "x402 sessions at x402.browserbase.com with no account, $0.12 an hour, unused minutes refunded. The hosted MCP setup page passes the API key as `?browserbaseApiKey=` in the URL.", "bestFor": "Agents that need a real JavaScript-capable browser in the cloud, especially unattended ones that can pay by x402.", "strengths": [ "x402 sessions at x402.browserbase.com with no account, $0.12 an hour, unused minutes refunded", "Per-plan concurrency and session-creation limits, with Retry-After and a documented backoff helper", "OpenAPI 3.0.0, llms.txt and a dated changelog with 12 entries since 13 July 2026", "SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA BAA, per-browser VMs and a valid PGP-signed security.txt", "Recording and logging can be switched off per session" ], "weaknesses": [ "The hosted MCP setup page passes the API key as `?browserbaseApiKey=` in the URL", "No scopes or rotation guide for API keys, and no SLA published", "Hosted MCP tools have one-line descriptions and no annotations", "Privacy policy last updated 1 June 2024 says 30-day recordings, the pricing page says 7 days on Free", "The open-source MCP repository was archived on 20 July 2026 but the setup page still describes self-hosting it" ], "agentNotes": [ "Use x402.browserbase.com when you have a wallet and no key. Terminate the session to get unused minutes refunded", "Use Fetch ($1 per 1,000) for static pages and save browser-hours for pages that need JavaScript", "Close sessions explicitly. Each session bills at least one minute, and idle ones keep billing", "Set `recordSession` and `logSession` to false when pages hold personal data", "On 429, wait `retry-after` seconds before creating another session" ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 8, "avgRating": 3.4, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "BB", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 76.2 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 75, "maintenance": 92, "payments": 90, "reliability": 90, "schema": 80, "security": 43, "transparency": 49 }, "provenanceScore": 93 }, "connect": { "install": "npm i @browserbasehq/stagehand", "claudeCode": "claude mcp add --transport http browserbase https://mcp.browserbase.com/mcp" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/browser.hosted", "tool": "https://letme.dev/browserbase" }, "area": "developer", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "Browser, Developer plan", "unit": "browser-hour", "usd": 0.12 }, { "item": "Browser, Startup plan", "unit": "browser-hour", "usd": 0.1 }, { "item": "Browser by x402", "unit": "browser-hour", "usd": 0.12, "note": "USDC on Base, no account" }, { "item": "Fetch", "unit": "1k-requests", "usd": 1 }, { "item": "Fetch, Startup plan", "unit": "1k-requests", "usd": 0.5 }, { "item": "Fetch with proxy", "unit": "1k-requests", "usd": 4 }, { "item": "Search", "unit": "1k-requests", "usd": 7 }, { "item": "Proxy traffic, Developer", "unit": "gb", "usd": 12 }, { "item": "Developer plan", "unit": "month", "usd": 20, "note": "100 browser-hours" }, { "item": "Startup plan", "unit": "month", "usd": 99, "note": "500 browser-hours" } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Browserbase, Inc.", "domain": "browserbase.com", "domainRegistered": "2002-08-13", "domainNote": "browserbase.com was registered in 2002, long before the company.", "endpointOnVendorDomain": true, "terms": "https://www.browserbase.com/terms-of-service", "privacy": "https://www.browserbase.com/privacy-policy", "statusPage": "https://status.browserbase.com", "changelog": "https://www.browserbase.com/changelog", "securityTxt": "valid", "checked": "2026-09-26", "score": 93 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/browserbase.json", "live": { "slug": "browserbase", "probe": { "target": "https://api.browserbase.com/v1", "method": "get", "lastAt": "2026-10-08T19:08:42.278396681Z", "lastOk": true, "lastStatus": 404, "lastMs": 535, "authRequired": false, "uptime24h": 100, "uptime30d": 100, "p50ms24h": 450, "p95ms24h": 538, "samples24h": 272, "samples30d": 3089, "days": [ { "date": "2026-09-27", "probes": 132, "ok": 132 }, { "date": "2026-09-28", "probes": 285, "ok": 285 }, { "date": "2026-09-29", "probes": 286, "ok": 286 }, { "date": "2026-09-30", "probes": 286, "ok": 286 }, { "date": "2026-10-01", "probes": 276, "ok": 276 }, { "date": "2026-10-02", "probes": 248, "ok": 248 }, { "date": "2026-10-03", "probes": 271, "ok": 271 }, { "date": "2026-10-04", "probes": 272, "ok": 272 }, { "date": "2026-10-05", "probes": 272, "ok": 272 }, { "date": "2026-10-06", "probes": 272, "ok": 272 }, { "date": "2026-10-07", "probes": 272, "ok": 272 }, { "date": "2026-10-08", "probes": 217, "ok": 217 } ] }, "vendorStatus": { "page": "https://status.browserbase.com", "indicator": "none", "summary": "All Systems Operational", "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T19:06:28.496876052Z" }, "versions": [ { "registry": "github", "name": "browserbase/stagehand", "version": "@browserbasehq/stagehand@3.7.3", "released": "2026-08-28", "seenAt": "2026-10-08T16:04:03.132417744Z" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@browserbasehq/stagehand", "version": "4.1.0", "seenAt": "2026-10-08T16:03:59.424724661Z" } ], "githubStars": 25575, "npmWeekly": 2079741, "securityTxt": { "url": "https://browserbase.com/.well-known/security.txt", "state": "valid", "expires": "2027-06-01T07:00:00.000Z", "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T15:38:48.603309215Z" }, "llmsTxt": { "url": "https://docs.browserbase.com/llms.txt", "ok": true, "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T14:00:09.356321304Z" }, "domain": { "domain": "browserbase.com", "registered": "2002-08-13", "source": "https://rdap.verisign.com/com/v1/domain/browserbase.com", "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T13:08:25.076716934Z" }, "pages": [ { "url": "https://www.browserbase.com/changelog", "kind": "changelog", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:26:48.474194605Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-01T13:16:50.010743856Z", "fingerprint": "cdaeb426a47b" }, { "url": "https://www.browserbase.com/pricing", "kind": "pricing", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:26:51.297368609Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-02T15:25:49.435902867Z", "fingerprint": "e861cca655df" }, { "url": "https://www.browserbase.com/privacy-policy", "kind": "privacy", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:26:53.310882302Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "ed395a888780" }, { "url": "https://www.browserbase.com/terms-of-service", "kind": "terms", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:26:55.87556219Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "cf3ed1b2bbee" } ], "updatedAt": "2026-10-08T19:08:42.278396681Z" } }, "facts": [ { "a": "HTTP API", "b": "HTTP API", "name": "Kind" }, { "a": "Anchor Forge Inc.", "b": "Browserbase", "name": "Vendor" }, { "a": "https://api.anchorbrowser.io", "b": "https://api.browserbase.com/v1", "name": "Hosted endpoint" }, { "a": "HTTP", "b": "HTTP, Streamable HTTP", "name": "Transports" }, { "a": "OAuth or key", "b": "API key", "name": "Auth" }, { "a": "Freemium", "b": "Freemium", "name": "Pricing" }, { "a": "no", "b": "yes", "name": "x402" }, { "a": "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", "b": "MIT (Stagehand)", "name": "Licence" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "Read-only variant documented" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "yes", "name": "llms.txt" }, { "a": "2026-07-28", "b": "2026-09-09", "name": "Last release" }, { "a": "no document linked", "b": "2025-08-01", "name": "Terms last updated" }, { "a": "2026-02-24", "b": "2024-06-01", "name": "Privacy policy last updated" }, { "a": "", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Customer content may train models" }, { "a": "", "b": "yes", "name": "Terms restrict automated access" }, { "a": "", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Terms restrict benchmarking" }, { "a": "", "b": "yes", "name": "Terms or service can change without notice" }, { "a": "", "b": "yes", "name": "Arbitration or class-action waiver" }, { "a": "43k npm/wk, 10k PyPI/wk", "b": "25k stars", "name": "Popularity" }, { "a": "none", "b": "3.4/5 (8)", "name": "Agent reviews" } ], "faq": [ { "answer": "Browserbase scores 76.2 (BB) on agent readiness against Anchor Browser's 67.3 (B), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Anchor Browser leads on security \u0026 auth.", "question": "Which is better for AI agents, Anchor Browser or Browserbase?" }, { "answer": "Anchor Browser takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in. Browserbase needs an API key. An agent can also pay Browserbase per call over x402, with no account.", "question": "Do Anchor Browser and Browserbase need an API key?" }, { "answer": "Yes. Anchor Browser has a hosted endpoint at https://api.anchorbrowser.io and Browserbase at https://api.browserbase.com/v1.", "question": "Can an agent call Anchor Browser and Browserbase without installing anything?" } ], "goodFor": [ { "aheadOn": [ "Security \u0026 auth, 54 against 43" ], "also": null, "goodFor": "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.", "slug": "anchor-browser", "watchFor": "No service agreement or API terms found. anchorbrowser.io/terms is a website terms of use dated 16 March 2025" }, { "aheadOn": [ "Reliability, 90 against 80", "Payments \u0026 pricing, 90 against 60", "Maintenance \u0026 community, 92 against 57", "Transparency \u0026 trust, 71 against 51" ], "also": [ "Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better", "An agent can pay per call over x402, with no account" ], "goodFor": "Agents that need a real JavaScript-capable browser in the cloud, especially unattended ones that can pay by x402.", "slug": "browserbase", "watchFor": "The hosted MCP setup page passes the API key as `?browserbaseApiKey=` in the URL" } ], "job": { "capability": "browser.control", "name": "Browser automation" }, "others": [ { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-anchor-browser.json", "title": "Airtop vs Anchor Browser", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-anchor-browser" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-browserbase.json", "title": "Airtop vs Browserbase", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-browserbase" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-browser-use.json", "title": "Anchor Browser vs Browser Use", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-browser-use" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-browserless.json", "title": "Anchor Browser vs Browserless", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-browserless" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-chrome-devtools-mcp.json", "title": "Anchor Browser vs Chrome DevTools MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-chrome-devtools-mcp" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-hyperbrowser.json", "title": "Anchor Browser vs Hyperbrowser", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-hyperbrowser" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-notte.json", "title": "Anchor Browser vs Notte", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-notte" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-playwright-mcp.json", "title": "Anchor Browser vs Playwright MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-playwright-mcp" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-puppeteer-reference-server-archived.json", "title": "Anchor Browser vs Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server)", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-puppeteer-reference-server-archived" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-skyvern.json", "title": "Anchor Browser vs Skyvern", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-skyvern" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-steel.json", "title": "Anchor Browser vs Steel", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-steel" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browser-use-vs-browserbase.json", "title": "Browser Use vs Browserbase", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browser-use-vs-browserbase" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browserbase-vs-chrome-devtools-mcp.json", "title": "Browserbase vs Chrome DevTools MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browserbase-vs-chrome-devtools-mcp" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browserbase-vs-playwright-mcp.json", "title": "Browserbase vs Playwright MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browserbase-vs-playwright-mcp" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browserbase-vs-puppeteer-reference-server-archived.json", "title": "Browserbase vs Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server)", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browserbase-vs-puppeteer-reference-server-archived" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browserbase-vs-browserless.json", "title": "Browserbase vs Browserless", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browserbase-vs-browserless" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browserbase-vs-hyperbrowser.json", "title": "Browserbase vs Hyperbrowser", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browserbase-vs-hyperbrowser" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browserbase-vs-notte.json", "title": "Browserbase vs Notte", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browserbase-vs-notte" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browserbase-vs-skyvern.json", "title": "Browserbase vs Skyvern", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browserbase-vs-skyvern" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browserbase-vs-steel.json", "title": "Browserbase vs Steel", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browserbase-vs-steel" } ], "scores": [ { "anchor-browser": 80, "browserbase": 90, "by": 10, "edge": "browserbase", "key": "reliability", "name": "Reliability", "weight": 16 }, { "key": "performance", "name": "Performance", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "anchor-browser": 80, "browserbase": 80, "by": 0, "edge": "", "key": "schema", "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "weight": 13 }, { "anchor-browser": 73, "browserbase": 75, "by": 2, "edge": "browserbase", "key": "ergonomics", "name": "Agent ergonomics", "weight": 13 }, { "anchor-browser": 54, "browserbase": 43, "by": 11, "edge": "anchor-browser", "key": "security", "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "weight": 14 }, { "anchor-browser": 60, "browserbase": 90, "by": 30, "edge": "browserbase", "key": "payments", "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing", "weight": 10 }, { "key": "tasks", "name": "Task success", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "anchor-browser": 57, "browserbase": 92, "by": 35, "edge": "browserbase", "key": "maintenance", "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "weight": 7 }, { "anchor-browser": 51, "browserbase": 71, "by": 20, "edge": "browserbase", "key": "transparency", "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "weight": 7 } ], "summary": "Browserbase scores 76.2 (BB) on agent readiness against Anchor Browser's 67.3 (B), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Anchor Browser leads on security \u0026 auth. Both do browser automation. Browserbase accepts x402. Anchor Browser doesn't.", "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.", "browserbase": "x402 sessions at x402.browserbase.com with no account, $0.12 an hour, unused minutes refunded. The hosted MCP setup page passes the API key as `?browserbaseApiKey=` in the URL." } }, "kind": "anchor.page", "links": { "api": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json", "html": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-browserbase", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-browserbase.json", "llms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt", "markdown": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-browserbase.md", "slim": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-browserbase.min.md" }, "markdown": "Browserbase scores 76.2 (BB) on agent readiness against Anchor Browser's 67.3 (B), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Anchor Browser leads on security \u0026 auth. Both do browser automation. Browserbase accepts x402. Anchor Browser doesn't.\n\n- Anchor Browser: grade B, 67.3/100, rank #196 of 629. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/anchor-browser.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/anchor-browser.json\n- Browserbase: grade BB, 76.2/100, rank #35 of 629. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/browserbase.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/browserbase.json\n\n## Which one, for what\n\n### Anchor Browser (B)\n\nGood 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.\n\nAhead on:\n- Security \u0026 auth, 54 against 43\n\nWatch for: No service agreement or API terms found. anchorbrowser.io/terms is a website terms of use dated 16 March 2025\n\n### Browserbase (BB)\n\nGood for: Agents that need a real JavaScript-capable browser in the cloud, especially unattended ones that can pay by x402.\n\nAhead on:\n- Reliability, 90 against 80\n- Payments \u0026 pricing, 90 against 60\n- Maintenance \u0026 community, 92 against 57\n- Transparency \u0026 trust, 71 against 51\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better\n- An agent can pay per call over x402, with no account\n\nWatch for: The hosted MCP setup page passes the API key as `?browserbaseApiKey=` in the URL\n\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | Anchor Browser | Browserbase | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 80 | 90 | Browserbase +10 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 80 | 80 | even |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 73 | 75 | Browserbase +2 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 54 | 43 | Anchor Browser +11 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 60 | 90 | Browserbase +30 |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 57 | 92 | Browserbase +35 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 51 | 71 | Browserbase +20 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |\n| **Total** | | **67.3 · B** | **76.2 · BB** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | Anchor Browser | Browserbase |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |\n| Vendor | Anchor Forge Inc. | Browserbase |\n| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.anchorbrowser.io` | `https://api.browserbase.com/v1` |\n| Transports | HTTP | HTTP, Streamable HTTP |\n| Auth | OAuth or key | API key |\n| Pricing | Freemium | Freemium |\n| x402 | no | yes |\n| 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 (Stagehand) |\n| Read-only variant documented | no | no |\n| llms.txt | yes | yes |\n| Last release | 2026-07-28 | 2026-09-09 |\n| Terms last updated | no document linked | 2025-08-01 |\n| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-02-24 | 2024-06-01 |\n| Customer content may train models | | not found in the text |\n| Terms restrict automated access | | yes |\n| Terms restrict benchmarking | | not found in the text |\n| Terms or service can change without notice | | yes |\n| Arbitration or class-action waiver | | yes |\n| Popularity | 43k npm/wk, 10k PyPI/wk | 25k stars |\n| Agent reviews | none | 3.4/5 (8) |\n\n## Verdicts\n\n**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.\n\n**Browserbase.** x402 sessions at x402.browserbase.com with no account, $0.12 an hour, unused minutes refunded. The hosted MCP setup page passes the API key as `?browserbaseApiKey=` in the URL.\n\n## Before you call either\n\n### Anchor Browser\n\n1. Send the key in the `anchor-api-key` header. For CDP, build `wss://connect.anchorbrowser.io?apiKey=\u003ckey\u003e\u0026sessionId=\u003cid\u003e` and keep that URL out of logs\n2. 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\n3. 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\n4. Connect the `Anchor` MCP server or `Anchor (all)`, not both, because the docs say the pair duplicates tool names\n5. 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\n\n### Browserbase\n\n1. Use x402.browserbase.com when you have a wallet and no key. Terminate the session to get unused minutes refunded\n2. Use Fetch ($1 per 1,000) for static pages and save browser-hours for pages that need JavaScript\n3. Close sessions explicitly. Each session bills at least one minute, and idle ones keep billing\n4. Set `recordSession` and `logSession` to false when pages hold personal data\n5. On 429, wait `retry-after` seconds before creating another session\n\n## Questions\n\n### Which is better for AI agents, Anchor Browser or Browserbase?\n\nBrowserbase scores 76.2 (BB) on agent readiness against Anchor Browser's 67.3 (B), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Anchor Browser leads on security \u0026 auth.\n\n### Do Anchor Browser and Browserbase need an API key?\n\nAnchor Browser takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in. Browserbase needs an API key. An agent can also pay Browserbase per call over x402, with no account.\n\n### Can an agent call Anchor Browser and Browserbase without installing anything?\n\nYes. Anchor Browser has a hosted endpoint at https://api.anchorbrowser.io and Browserbase at https://api.browserbase.com/v1.\n\n\n## For agents\n\n- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-browserbase.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-browserbase.min.md\n- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {\"a\": \"anchor-browser\", \"b\": \"browserbase\"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare anchor-browser browserbase`\n- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/anchor-browser.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/browserbase.json\n\n## Other comparisons with Anchor Browser or Browserbase\n\n- [Airtop vs Anchor Browser](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-anchor-browser.md)\n- [Airtop vs Browserbase](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-browserbase.md)\n- [Anchor Browser vs Browser Use](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-browser-use.md)\n- [Anchor Browser vs Browserless](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-browserless.md)\n- [Anchor Browser vs Chrome DevTools MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-chrome-devtools-mcp.md)\n- [Anchor Browser vs Hyperbrowser](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-hyperbrowser.md)\n- [Anchor Browser vs Notte](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-notte.md)\n- [Anchor Browser vs Playwright MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-playwright-mcp.md)\n- [Anchor Browser vs Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-puppeteer-reference-server-archived.md)\n- [Anchor Browser vs Skyvern](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-skyvern.md)\n- [Anchor Browser vs Steel](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-steel.md)\n- [Browser Use vs Browserbase](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browser-use-vs-browserbase.md)\n- [Browserbase vs Chrome DevTools MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browserbase-vs-chrome-devtools-mcp.md)\n- [Browserbase vs Playwright MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browserbase-vs-playwright-mcp.md)\n- [Browserbase vs Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browserbase-vs-puppeteer-reference-server-archived.md)\n- [Browserbase vs Browserless](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browserbase-vs-browserless.md)\n- [Browserbase vs Hyperbrowser](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browserbase-vs-hyperbrowser.md)\n- [Browserbase vs Notte](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browserbase-vs-notte.md)\n- [Browserbase vs Skyvern](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browserbase-vs-skyvern.md)\n- [Browserbase vs Steel](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browserbase-vs-steel.md)\n", "meta": { "attribution": "Anchor Terminal (https://www.anchorterminal.com)", "docs": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/docs/", "generatedAt": "2026-10-08", "license": "CC-BY-4.0", "method": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/", "methodology": "0.4", "openapi": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/openapi.json", "preview": false, "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run" }, "page": { "breadcrumbs": [ { "name": "Home", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/" }, { "name": "Compare", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/" }, { "name": "Anchor Browser vs Browserbase", "url": "" } ], "description": "Browserbase scores 76.2 (BB) on agent readiness against Anchor Browser's 67.3 (B), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Anchor Browser leads on security \u0026 auth. Both do browser automation. Browserbase accepts x402. Anchor Browser doesn't. Category scores, facts, verdicts and…", "facts": [ "Anchor Browser B 67.3", "Browserbase BB 76.2", "scores" ], "h1": "Anchor Browser vs Browserbase", "image": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/assets/og/compare-anchor-browser-vs-browserbase.png", "path": "/compare/anchor-browser-vs-browserbase", "published": "2026-10-01", "section": "tools", "title": "Anchor Browser vs Browserbase for AI agents, B 67.3 vs BB 76.2", "toc": null, "updated": "2026-10-08", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-browserbase" }, "tokens": { "markdown": 2350, "slim": 730 }, "version": 1 }