How much does cloud browser time cost for agents?

Browser time clusters around $0.08–$0.12 per hour: Steel charges $0.10/hour on its free Launch plan and $0.08/hour on Scale ($250/month); Hyperbrowser charges $0.10/hour in credits on every plan; Browserbase includes 100 hours in its $20/month plan, then $0.12/hour. The browser hour is rarely the whole bill — proxies run $5–$12 per GB and CAPTCHA solving $1–$3 per 1,000 on top.

Which browser automation API has the best free tier?

Steel: its Launch plan is free and includes $30 of one-time usage credits (about 300 browser hours at its $0.10/hour rate, valid 90 days). Browserbase's free plan includes 1 browser hour plus Search and Fetch calls; Hyperbrowser's includes 5,000 credits ($5 of usage); Browser Use Cloud gives a one-time $1 credit.

Can I self-host browser automation for agents?

Yes with Steel — its browser core is open source and self-hostable, with the cloud as the managed option. The Browser Use agent library is also open source and can drive your own browsers; its cloud is the hosted version. Browserbase's framework (Stagehand) is open source, but its browser cloud is managed-only, as are Hyperbrowser and Anchor Browser.

What else gets metered besides browser hours?

Proxy bandwidth is the big one: $5/GB for residential proxies at Browser Use Cloud, $10/GB at Steel and Hyperbrowser, $10–$12/GB at Browserbase, usually metered separately from browser time. CAPTCHA solving is a second meter at Steel ($3 per 1,000 on Launch, $1 on Scale). Browser Use Cloud adds a 20% service fee on model tokens — including bring-your-own-key usage.

Browser Automation APIs for AI Agents

Q: What is the best browser automation API for AI agents?

Browserbase, for most teams: managed cloud browsers with a real free tier, a $20/month Developer plan including 100 browser hours, published overage rates ($0.12/hour), and Stagehand, its open-source agent framework. Steel is the value pick — $0.10 per browser hour on a free plan with an open-source, self-hostable core. Hyperbrowser is simplest to reason about: 1,000 credits always equal $1.

The best browser automation API for most AI agents is Browserbase: managed cloud browsers from $20/month with 100 browser hours included, published overage rates, and the open-source Stagehand framework for driving them. Steel is the value and open-source pick — $0.10 per browser hour on a free plan — and Hyperbrowser has the simplest pricing in the category: 1,000 credits always equal $1. Every figure below was read on the vendor's official pricing or documentation page.

Last checked: October 2026 · Researched from official documentation — hands-on API tests rolling out (methodology)

Best overall Browserbase
Best value Steel
Simplest pricing Hyperbrowser
Best with open-source agents Browser Use Cloud

#	Tool	What it is	Starting price (as published)	Free tier	Notable strength / limit
1	Browserbase	Cloud browser infrastructure for AI agents — managed headless browsers with session APIs, plus Fetch and Search APIs, a model gateway, and Stagehand, its open-source framework for controlling browsers with natural language.	Developer $20/mo (100 browser hours included, then $0.12/hr; 25 concurrent browsers; 1 GB proxy data included, then $12/GB; 15 agent runs; automatic CAPTCHA solving). Startup $99/mo (500 hours, then $0.10/hr; 100 concurrent; 5 GB proxies, then $10/GB; 50 agent runs; 10,000 Fetch calls). Scale custom (250+ concurrent, usage-based, HIPAA BAA and SSO)	Yes — $0 plan: 1 browser hour, 3 concurrent browsers, 15-minute sessions, 3 agent runs, 1,000 Search + 1,000 Fetch calls, $5 of model tokens	The most complete platform here: browsers, fetch/search, and the framework in one account, with every overage rate printed. Watch the proxy meter — at $10–$12/GB, data-heavy scraping can cost more than the browser hours themselves.
2	Steel	Browser API for AI agents built on an open-source, self-hostable browser core: cloud sessions, stealth and proxy options, CAPTCHA solving, and Browser Tools endpoints for scrape, screenshot, and PDF.	Launch $0 + usage ($0.10 per browser hour; proxies $10/GB; CAPTCHA solving $3 per 1,000; Browser Tools $5 per 1,000 calls; 10 concurrent sessions, 15-minute max). Scale $250/mo + usage ($100/month of usage credits included; $0.08/hr; proxies $6/GB; CAPTCHA $1 per 1,000; 100 concurrent; dedicated IPs $5/IP/month; SSO and BAA). Enterprise custom (1,000+ concurrent, sessions up to 24 hours, Stealth Browser included)	Yes — the Launch plan is free and includes $30 of one-time usage credits (valid 90 days, roughly 300 browser hours at the Launch rate). Note: CAPTCHA solving and proxies on Launch require a $10 paid-balance deposit	The best unit economics in the category and the only fully open-source core: if the cloud pricing ever stops working for you, self-hosting is a real exit. The free plan's 15-minute session cap is the constraint to design around.
3	Hyperbrowser	Cloud browsers for AI agents with a single credit currency across browsing, proxies, fetch, search, and its own agent runtimes (HyperAgent and Browser Use hosting).	Startup $30/mo (30,000 credits included, 25 concurrent sessions, CAPTCHA solving, basic stealth, residential proxies). Scale $100/mo (100,000 credits, 100 concurrent, premium residential proxies). Enterprise custom (1,000+ concurrent). Unit rates are identical on all plans: 1,000 credits = $1; browser time $0.10/hr; proxy data $10/GB; Fetch $0.001/page; Search $0.005/query; agent runs $0.02/step	Yes — $0 plan with 5,000 credits included (about $5 of usage), 1 concurrent session, 7-day data retention	The most legible pricing in the category: one credit price, published unit rates, no per-tier rate games. The trade-off is a younger platform than the two above it, and agent runs metered per step can add up on long tasks.
4	Browser Use Cloud	The hosted cloud behind Browser Use, the popular open-source browser-agent library: pay-as-you-go agent runs and browser sessions with managed models, proxies, and concurrency that scales with your account's lifetime spend.	No subscription plans (its pricing page says so explicitly; legacy subscribers are grandfathered). Pay as you go: $5 minimum top-up unlocks every model; credits never expire. Model tokens are billed at published per-model rates plus a 20% service fee — including on bring-your-own-key usage. Residential proxies $5/GB (on by default); direct or own-proxy traffic $0.20/GB. Concurrency scales with lifetime spend: 10 sessions at $0, up to 1,000 at $25,000	One-time $1 free credit (eligible Google/GitHub/Microsoft signups, no card required) — there is no recurring free tier	The natural choice if your agents already run on the Browser Use library: same agent model, hosted infrastructure. Read the fee stack carefully — the 20% service fee applies even when you bring your own model keys, and residential proxies are on by default at $5/GB.
5	Anchor Browser	Security- and authentication-first browser infrastructure for computer-use agents: managed identity and auth (OmniConnect), a built-in Anchor VPN instead of third-party proxies, and deterministic task execution with AI as fallback.	Starter $50/mo (plus $1.00 per credit of overage). Enterprise custom (500+ concurrent browsers, implementation support, dedicated Slack, unique fingerprinting, BAA/HIPAA/DPA, SSO/RBAC, zero data retention, bring-your-own-cloud or on-prem). Team and Growth tiers are listed on its pricing page, but their prices did not render during our check — unverified	Yes — free plan with 5 credits/month (0.1 credits per completed task), up to 5 concurrent browsers and up to 500 browser sessions	A genuinely different bet: authenticated, enterprise workflows where identity and compliance matter more than raw session price — the only vendor here leading with BAA/HIPAA/DPA and zero-data-retention options. General-purpose builders will find the four platforms above cheaper and simpler.

Verdicts

1. Browserbase Best overall

The category's default: a complete stack (browsers, Stagehand, Fetch/Search APIs, model gateway) with the most straightforward plan math — $20/month buys 100 browser hours and 25 concurrent sessions, and overage is a published $0.12/hour rather than a sales call. Its free tier is thin (1 browser hour) but real, and Scale adds the compliance pieces (HIPAA BAA, SSO) without changing the model. Proxy pricing is the line item to model before committing.

2. Steel Best value

The builder's pick: start free with $30 of credits, pay $0.10/browser hour, and know that the core is open source if you ever want to self-host. Scale's $250/month sounds steep until you price the included $100 of usage credits, $0.08 hours, and $1-per-1,000 CAPTCHA solving against high-volume alternatives. Two Launch-plan quirks to know up front: 15-minute maximum sessions, and a $10 deposit before CAPTCHA solving and proxies unlock.

3. Hyperbrowser Simplest pricing

One currency, one rate card, no tier arbitrage: 1,000 credits are $1 on every plan, and a browser hour costs $0.10 whether you are free or enterprise. The $30 Startup plan (30,000 credits, 25 concurrent) is easy to budget, and its agent runtimes are metered transparently at $0.02/step. Ranked third on track record and ecosystem, not on pricing design — on pricing design it wins.

4. Browser Use Cloud Best with open-source agents

If your team already writes Browser Use agents, this is the path of least resistance: no subscription, a $5 top-up unlocks everything, and concurrency grows automatically with spend. Go in with eyes open on the two meters other vendors don't have — a 20% service fee on model tokens even with your own keys, and residential proxies enabled by default at $5/GB. The one-time $1 credit is a trial token, not a free tier.

5. Anchor Browser Best for auth-heavy work

A specialist: identity, authentication, and compliance are the product — OmniConnect auth, a built-in VPN rather than rented proxies, deterministic tasks with AI as the fallback, and an Enterprise tier advertising BAA/HIPAA/DPA, SSO/RBAC, zero data retention, and bring-your-own-cloud. Its $50 Starter and credit-based tasks are reasonable, but the two middle tiers' prices didn't render on its pricing page during our check, so they are marked unverified rather than quoted from elsewhere.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best browser automation API for AI agents?

Browserbase for most teams (complete platform, $20/month with 100 hours included). Steel for value and open source ($0.10/hour, self-hostable core). Hyperbrowser for the simplest pricing (1,000 credits = $1, flat unit rates).

How much does cloud browser time cost?

Roughly $0.08–$0.12 per browser hour across this category — Steel $0.10 (Launch) / $0.08 (Scale), Hyperbrowser $0.10, Browserbase $0.12 past its included hours. Budget separately for proxies ($5–$12/GB) and CAPTCHA solving ($1–$3 per 1,000) — both can exceed the browser bill.

Which browser API has the best free tier?

Steel: free Launch plan plus $30 of one-time usage credits (about 300 browser hours, 90-day validity). Hyperbrowser gives 5,000 credits ($5) free; Browserbase gives 1 browser hour plus Search/Fetch calls; Browser Use Cloud gives a one-time $1 credit.

Can I self-host browser automation?

Yes: Steel's browser core is open source and self-hostable, and the Browser Use library is open source for driving your own browsers. Browserbase's Stagehand framework is open source, but its browser cloud — like Hyperbrowser and Anchor — is managed-only.

What hidden costs should I watch for?

Proxy bandwidth (the most common surprise, $5–$12/GB), CAPTCHA-solving fees, and fee stacks like Browser Use Cloud's 20% service fee on model tokens — which applies even to bring-your-own-key usage. Anchor Browser's middle tiers are the transparency gap here: listed, but priced nowhere our reader could see.

Sources (official pages, checked October 14, 2026): browserbase.com/pricing · docs.steel.dev (pricing & limits page) · hyperbrowser.ai/pricing · browser-use.com/pricing · anchorbrowser.io/pricing (Team and Growth prices did not render and are flagged unverified above). No third-party sources were used for any figure on this page.