# AutoCua vs Kernel (slim)

> Kernel scores 66.9 (B) to AutoCua's 44.3 (E) for browser automation. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/autocua-vs-kernel.md (~4,400 tokens) · this version ~2,330 tokens · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/autocua-vs-kernel.json · canonical https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/autocua-vs-kernel
- Index: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt · API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json · MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp · Updated: 2026-11-07
- Licence: CC BY 4.0, credit Anchor Terminal and link this page (https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data)

Kernel scores 66.9 (B) on agent readiness against AutoCua's 44.3 (E), and leads in every scored category. Both do browser automation.

- AutoCua: E 44.3, rank #1210 of 1486 · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/autocua.min.md
- Kernel: B 66.9, rank #351 of 1486 · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/kernel.min.md
- AutoCua, good for Developers who want a local agent to operate desktop apps, their own browser or phones across platforms, on a machine they control. Also No key needed to call it; Open source; No incidents deducted, where Kernel loses 8 points for them.
- Kernel, good for Agents that need hosted, logged-in browsers at scale with stealth and proxies. browserbase, steel, hyperbrowser and anchor-browser are the nearest listings. Ahead on Reliability, 53 against 25; Schema & documentation, 93 against 42; Agent ergonomics, 84 against 55; Security & auth, 81 against 38; Payments & pricing, 65 against 60; Maintenance & community, 90 against 65; Transparency & trust, 61 against 42. Also A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install.

| Category | AutoCua | Kernel |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability (16%) | 25 | 53 |
| Performance (10%) | pending | pending |
| Schema & documentation (13%) | 42 | 93 |
| Agent ergonomics (13%) | 55 | 84 |
| Security & auth (14%) | 38 | 81 |
| Payments & pricing (10%) | 60 | 65 |
| Task success (10%) | pending | pending |
| Maintenance & community (7%) | 65 | 90 |
| Transparency & trust (7%) | 42 | 61 |

| Fact (where they differ) | AutoCua | Kernel |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | Agent framework | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Ashish Yadav and contributors (ComputerUseAgent on GitHub) | Kernel Technologies, Inc. |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | `https://mcp.onkernel.com/mcp` |
| Transports |  | Streamable HTTP |
| Auth | None | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Free | Pay per use |
| Licence | MIT | none |
| Tools exposed | none | 32 |
| llms.txt | no | yes |
| MCP registry | not listed | `com.onkernel/kernel-mcp-server` |
| Last release | 2026-11-04 | 2026-11-06 |
| Terms last updated | no document linked | 2026-09-01 |
| Privacy policy last updated | no document linked | 2026-09-15 |
| Customer content may train models | not read yet | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access | not read yet | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | not read yet | not found in the text |
| Terms or service can change without notice | not read yet | not found in the text |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not read yet | not found in the text |

Why the edge:
- Schema & documentation, Kernel +51: AutoCua 42 (Framework reading. No API reference or typed interface beyond run_agent's documented arguments (5 of 25). No llms.txt (0). The README says what each mode drives and where it runs, and agent_capabilities.md lists what it can do (16 of 20). Modes and device are documented strings (6 of 15). Many examples, no documented errors (10 of 15). Tags without a changelog (5 of 15). 5 + 0 + 16 + 6 + 10 + 5 = 42.); Kernel 93 (OpenAPI at kernel.sh/openapi.json and per-endpoint Markdown reference (25). llms.txt with 423 entries and a Markdown twin for each page (10). Endpoint descriptions say when to use alternatives ("For interactive browsing, use GET /audit-logs", pools for bursty traffic) (17). Typed parameters with enums and limits such as memory sizes and timeout maximums (13). Code samples in TypeScript, Python and Go, and documented status codes such as 409 and 204 on pool acquire (13). A dated public changelog and SDK changelogs (15). 25 + 10 + 17 + 13 + 13 + 15 = 93.)
- Security & auth, Kernel +43: AutoCua 38 (Framework reading (telemetry, approvals, guardrails, sandboxing). Provider keys stored in a local folder with Chrome profiles (10 of 30). The worker tools are an allow-list with no write tool, unseen ids are refused, downloads need a yes, but on Windows the model answers UAC elevation prompts itself through a kernel driver, with no person asked (6 of 20). The scraping ruleset has a prompt-injection instruction to log page text that gives instructions (10 of 15). Runs are logged in the app, with no audit log (7 of 15). No security policy, disclosure route or advisories found (5 of 20, for the vault and certificate handling). 10 + 6 + 10 + 7 + 5 = 38.); Kernel 81 (Scoped API keys with resource and action policies, project scoping and expiry, and OAuth 2.1 for MCP with project-limited tokens (30). Least privilege through scoped keys, a payment cap for cards through the MCP server and vault writes that need their own action (16). Pages an agent browses are untrusted, and we found no prompt-injection guidance in the docs read (4). Audit log search and export on Start-Up and above (13). SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA, PCI DSS and ISO 27001 on the security page and a HackerOne bounty (18). 30 + 16 + 4 + 13 + 18 = 81, before the deduction for the November 2026 incident.)
- Agent ergonomics, Kernel +29: AutoCua 55 (Framework reading. One call with a mode, provider, model and task runs a whole agent (20 of 25). A separate compression agent splices handoff summaries in, and runs are capped and stoppable (15 of 20). Permission and blocked-input errors are reported specifically, with no error reference (8 of 20). No resume or retry semantics described (2 of 20). Sensible defaults (simulators unless device is set), Python only (10 of 15). 20 + 15 + 8 + 2 + 10 = 55.); Kernel 84 (Graded mainly on the API, with the MCP server noted. Responses are scoped per resource and the MCP server groups actions into about 32 tools (18). List endpoints page with limit and offset and filter by status (18). Typed SDK errors and documented 409 on concurrent changes, 204 on a pool timeout and 429 (17). Retrying an MPP purchase with the same credential returns the same browser, and the MCP tools carry readOnlyHint where read-only (16). SDKs in TypeScript, Python and Go plus a CLI, with defaults such as a 60-second timeout (15). 18 + 18 + 17 + 16 + 15 = 84.)
- Reliability, Kernel +28: AutoCua 25 (Local package. Installs from PyPI as AutoCua with Python 3.10 or later and the supported platforms stated (20). No CI runs the tests; the only workflow, use_case_label.yml, labels issues (0). GitHub issues weren't read, so the open-issue line is scored absent (0). Four tags in a week with no changelog file (5). Version 0.1.9 (0). 20 + 0 + 0 + 5 + 0 = 25.); Kernel 53 (Hosted reading. status.kernel.sh on incident.io with a public incident feed (20). In the 90 days from 8 August it lists browser connection failures on 10 September (54 minutes, major), frozen popups on 1 October (71 minutes, major), elevated API errors on 19 October (4 minutes, critical), proxy failures on 23 October (65 minutes, major) and browser creation errors on 4 November (29 minutes, major), plus minor ones. Several majors, two of them an hour or more (0). Rate limits are per organisation with headers on every response, and concurrency is published per plan, but the create-rate numbers aren't (8). 429 with Retry-After, SDK retries with a typed error, safe retry with the same MPP credential and 409 on concurrent pool changes (15). The terms mention service levels in an order form but no public SLA was found (0). The API and MCP server carry no beta label (10). 20 + 0 + 8 + 15 + 0 + 10 = 53.)
- Maintenance & community, Kernel +25: AutoCua 65 (v0.1.9 tagged on 4 November 2026 (30). Four tags in 90 days (20). Issues and pull requests weren't read (0 of 25). The PyPI wheel is current (15). No CI; dependencies pinned per OS in requirements files (0 of 10). 30 + 20 + 0 + 15 + 0 = 65.); Kernel 90 (The changelog's latest entry is 16 October 2026 and the MCP server repository has commits on 6 November (30). More than three dated changes in 90 days, scoped keys, memory tiers, GPU tier and card payments among them (20). A closed service with a public changelog, Discord, email support and an open-source MCP server with 210 commits since 8 August (15). Official SDKs in three languages, and the MCP server in the registry as com.onkernel/kernel-mcp-server 1.1.0 (15). CI and tests in the MCP repository (10). 30 + 20 + 15 + 15 + 10 = 90.)
- Transparency & trust, Kernel +19: AutoCua 42 (MIT (30). Says it sends data only to the chosen model provider and keeps everything else locally, and the source agrees (20 of 30). No deprecation policy (0). States no telemetry, and none was found (20). 30 + 20 + 0 + 20 = 70.); Kernel 61 (The platform is closed under a published master services agreement; the MCP server is MIT (20). The privacy policy names Stripe and Google Analytics and an advertising cookie, and states retention as long as needed, with replay retention per plan and zero data retention on Enterprise (18). Deprecated MCP inputs stay as aliases and the changelog notes removals, but no deprecation policy (10). No sub-processor list found; compliance reports sit behind the trust centre (10). 20 + 18 + 10 + 10 = 58.)