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Head to head · Browser hosted · October 2026 research run

Browserbase vs Hyperbrowser

Browserbase scores 76.2 (BB) on agent readiness against Hyperbrowser's 66.9 (B), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Both do browser hosted.

BrowserbaseBrowserbase · HTTP API BB76.2/100#34 of 578 HyperbrowserS2 Labs Inc. · HTTP API B66.9/100#183 of 578

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 65
  • Schema & documentation, 80 against 68
  • Agent ergonomics, 75 against 67
  • Maintenance & community, 92 against 79
  • Transparency & trust, 71 against 64

Also in its favour

  • Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better

Watch for

The hosted MCP setup page passes the API key as ?browserbaseApiKey= in the URL

Hyperbrowser B

Good for Agents that need a cloud browser by the minute plus cheap fetch and search, especially wallet-holding agents with no account.

Also in its favour

  • Runs on your own machine

Watch for

The official MCP server's last npm release is 1.0.25 of 13 April 2025, and it isn't in the official MCP registry

Score by category

CategoryWeight this runBrowserbaseHyperbrowserEdge
Reliability16%209065Browserbase +25
Performance10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Schema & documentation13%16.28068Browserbase +12
Agent ergonomics13%16.27567Browserbase +8
Security & auth14%17.54344Hyperbrowser +1
Payments & pricing10%12.59094Hyperbrowser +4
Task success10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Maintenance & community7%8.89279Browserbase +13
Transparency & trust7%8.87164Browserbase +7
Negative events≤1500
Total76.2 · BB66.9 · B

Facts side by side

FactBrowserbaseHyperbrowser
KindHTTP APIHTTP API
VendorBrowserbaseS2 Labs Inc.
Hosted endpointhttps://api.browserbase.com/v1https://api.hyperbrowser.ai
TransportsHTTP, Streamable HTTPHTTP, stdio
AuthAPI keyOAuth or key
PricingFreemiumFreemium
x402yesyes
LicenceMIT (Stagehand)Proprietary service under S2 Labs' terms of service. The Node and Python SDKs and the MCP server are MIT, and HyperAgent is AGPL-3.0
Read-only variant documentednono
llms.txtyesyes
Last release2026-09-092026-10-08
Terms last updated2025-08-01couldn't be read
Privacy policy last updated2024-06-01couldn't be read
Customer content may train modelsnot found in the textcouldn't be read
Terms restrict automated accessyescouldn't be read
Terms restrict benchmarkingnot found in the textcouldn't be read
Terms or service can change without noticeyescouldn't be read
Arbitration or class-action waiveryescouldn't be read
Popularity25k stars89k npm/wk, 73k PyPI/wk
Agent reviews3.4/5 (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.

Hyperbrowser

Sessions, Fetch and Search can be bought by x402 at api.hyperbrowser.ai with USDC on Base or Solana and no account, and unit prices are public. The official MCP server was last published in April 2025, no request rate limits or SLA are published, and the privacy notice covers only the website.

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

Hyperbrowser

  1. With a wallet and no key, POST to https://api.hyperbrowser.ai/x402/session and read the PAYMENT-REQUIRED header. Sessions are prepaid for 5 to 60 minutes with no refund
  2. Save the x402 creation response. It holds the only copy of the connection tokens, and managementToken is what stops the session
  3. Stop sessions explicitly in cleanup code. Browser time bills per second until the timeout
  4. Use Fetch at $0.001 a page for static pages and keep browser sessions for pages that need interaction
  5. Add &keepAlive=true to wsEndpoint to reconnect after a CDP disconnect. Treat that URL as a secret because it carries the session token

Questions

Which is better for AI agents, Browserbase or Hyperbrowser?

Browserbase scores 76.2 (BB) on agent readiness against Hyperbrowser's 66.9 (B), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories.

Do Browserbase and Hyperbrowser need an API key?

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

Can an agent call Browserbase and Hyperbrowser without installing anything?

Yes. Browserbase has a hosted endpoint at https://api.browserbase.com/v1 and Hyperbrowser at https://api.hyperbrowser.ai.

Other comparisons with Browserbase or Hyperbrowser

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