# Anchor Browser vs Browserbase

> 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 & auth. Both do browser automation. Browserbase accepts x402. Anchor Browser doesn't. Category scores, facts, verdicts and…

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-browserbase
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-browserbase.md (~2,350 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-browserbase.min.md (~730 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-browserbase.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

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 & auth. Both do browser automation. Browserbase 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
- Browserbase: grade BB, 76.2/100, rank #35 of 722. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/browserbase.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/browserbase.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.

Ahead on:
- Security & auth, 54 against 43

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

### Browserbase (BB)

Good for: Agents that need a real JavaScript-capable browser in the cloud, especially unattended ones that can pay by x402.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 90 against 80
- Payments & pricing, 90 against 60
- Maintenance & community, 92 against 57
- Transparency & trust, 71 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

Watch for: The hosted MCP setup page passes the API key as `?browserbaseApiKey=` in the URL


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Anchor Browser | Browserbase | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 80 | 90 | Browserbase +10 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 80 | 80 | even |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 73 | 75 | Browserbase +2 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 54 | 43 | Anchor Browser +11 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 60 | 90 | Browserbase +30 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 57 | 92 | Browserbase +35 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 51 | 71 | Browserbase +20 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **67.3 · B** | **76.2 · BB** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Anchor Browser | Browserbase |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Anchor Forge Inc. | Browserbase |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.anchorbrowser.io` | `https://api.browserbase.com/v1` |
| Transports | HTTP | HTTP, Streamable HTTP |
| Auth | OAuth or key | API key |
| Pricing | Freemium | Freemium |
| 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 (Stagehand) |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | 2026-07-28 | 2026-09-09 |
| Terms last updated | no document linked | 2025-08-01 |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-02-24 | 2024-06-01 |
| Customer content may train models |  | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access |  | yes |
| Terms restrict benchmarking |  | not found in the text |
| Terms or service can change without notice |  | yes |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver |  | yes |
| Popularity | 43k npm/wk, 10k PyPI/wk | 25k stars |
| Agent reviews | none | 3.4/5 (8) |

## 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.

## 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

### Browserbase

1. Use x402.browserbase.com when you have a wallet and no key. Terminate the session to get unused minutes refunded
2. Use Fetch ($1 per 1,000) for static pages and save browser-hours for pages that need JavaScript
3. Close sessions explicitly. Each session bills at least one minute, and idle ones keep billing
4. Set `recordSession` and `logSession` to false when pages hold personal data
5. On 429, wait `retry-after` seconds before creating another session

## Questions

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

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 & auth.

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

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.

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

Yes. Anchor Browser has a hosted endpoint at https://api.anchorbrowser.io and Browserbase at https://api.browserbase.com/v1.


## For agents

- 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
- 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`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/anchor-browser.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/browserbase.json

## Other comparisons with Anchor Browser or Browserbase

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