# Browserbase vs Browserless

> Browserbase scores 76.2 (BB) on agent readiness against Browserless's 70.4 (BB), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Browserless leads on schema & documentation and security & auth. Both do browser hosted. Browserbase accepts x402. Browserless doesn't. Category scores, facts…

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browserbase-vs-browserless
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browserbase-vs-browserless.md (~2,400 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browserbase-vs-browserless.min.md (~730 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browserbase-vs-browserless.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 Browserless's 70.4 (BB), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Browserless leads on schema & documentation and security & auth. Both do browser hosted. Browserbase accepts x402. Browserless doesn't.

- 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
- Browserless: grade BB, 70.4/100, rank #128 of 629. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/browserless.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/browserless.json

## Which one, for what

### 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 82
- Payments & pricing, 90 against 40
- Maintenance & community, 92 against 82
- Transparency & trust, 71 against 62

Also in its favour:
- 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

### Browserless (BB)

Good for: Agents that need a real browser in the cloud with stealth, proxies and CAPTCHA solving, and teams that want the option of running the same server themselves.

Ahead on:
- Schema & documentation, 89 against 80
- Security & auth, 53 against 43

Also in its favour:
- Runs on your own machine

Watch for: REST and WebSocket routes take the API token as `?token=` in the URL, which the docs give as the standard method


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Browserbase | Browserless | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 90 | 82 | Browserbase +8 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 80 | 89 | Browserless +9 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 75 | 78 | Browserless +3 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 43 | 53 | Browserless +10 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 90 | 40 | Browserbase +50 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 92 | 82 | Browserbase +10 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 71 | 62 | Browserbase +9 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **76.2 · BB** | **70.4 · BB** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Browserbase | Browserless |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Browserbase | browserless.io, Inc. |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.browserbase.com/v1` | `https://production-sfo.browserless.io` |
| Transports | HTTP, Streamable HTTP | HTTP, Streamable HTTP, stdio |
| Auth | API key | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Freemium | Freemium |
| x402 | yes | no |
| Licence | MIT (Stagehand) | SSPL 1.0 or a commercial licence for the core server and the MCP server. The BAP TypeScript SDK is MIT. BrowserQL, stealth and other cloud additions are proprietary |
| Tools exposed | none | 14 |
| Read-only variant documented | no | yes |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | 2026-09-09 | 2026-10-05 |
| Terms last updated | 2025-08-01 | no date given |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2024-06-01 | no date given |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access | yes | yes |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Terms or service can change without notice | yes | yes |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes | not found in the text |
| Popularity | 25k stars | 14k stars, 3.5k npm/wk |
| Agent reviews | 3.4/5 (8) | none |

## Verdicts

**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.

**Browserless.** An OpenAPI document, llms.txt and a 14-tool MCP server with annotations on every tool make the service easy for an agent to read, and the free plan needs no card. The API token travels in the URL query string by default, cloud tokens carry no scopes, and no machine payment route exists.

## Before you call either

### 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

### Browserless

1. Send the token as `Authorization: Bearer` to the MCP server. On REST and WebSocket routes it goes in `?token=`, so keep those URLs out of logs
2. Close sessions as soon as the work is done. Browser time bills one unit per 30 seconds, rounded up, idle or not
3. For multi-step work with `browserless_agent`, set `keepSessionAlive: true` on the first call and pass the returned `sessionId` after that. Sessions are one-shot by default since server 1.33.0
4. On 429, back off and retry. It means the plan's concurrency limit or queue is full, usually from sessions left open
5. Match the path to the protocol. Use `/chromium` for CDP clients and `/chromium/playwright` only for `playwright.connect()`

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Browserbase or Browserless?

Browserbase scores 76.2 (BB) on agent readiness against Browserless's 70.4 (BB), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Browserless leads on schema & documentation and security & auth.

### Do Browserbase and Browserless need an API key?

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

### Can an agent call Browserbase and Browserless without installing anything?

Yes. Browserbase has a hosted endpoint at https://api.browserbase.com/v1 and Browserless at https://production-sfo.browserless.io.


## For agents

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

## Other comparisons with Browserbase or Browserless

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- [Airtop vs Browserless](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-browserless.md)
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- [Browserbase vs Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browserbase-vs-puppeteer-reference-server-archived.md)
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- [Browserless vs Playwright MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browserless-vs-playwright-mcp.md)
- [Browserless vs Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browserless-vs-puppeteer-reference-server-archived.md)
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