Agentic Index
Browser Use vs Browserbase (2026)
Browser Use and Browserbase are the two names every agent builder weighs, and they solve different layers: Browser Use is the open source agent library that decides what to do on a page, with a cloud that runs sessions around six cents an hour plus proxy fees, while Browserbase is hosted browser infrastructure with the Stagehand SDK, running whatever agent logic you bring, from 20 dollars a month with a free tier. Many teams use both together. Choose Browser Use when you want the agent brain, Browserbase when you want production browser plumbing.
| At a glance | Browser Use | Browserbase |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Browser / computer-use agent | Browser / computer-use agent |
| Entry price | Usage-based (~$0.06/hr sessions, $10/GB proxy) · OSS free · $10 credits | From $20/mo · free tier |
| Free / trial | Free tier | Free (no card required) |
| Pricing confidence | public partial | public partial |
| Feature | ||
|---|---|---|
| Action & orchestration | ||
|
Integrations & Tool Calling Ability to connect agents to real systems through native integrations, OAuth-authenticated actions, custom tools, APIs, webhooks, or MCP-compatible tools. |
Full / Explicit | Full / Explicit |
|
Workflow Orchestration Ability to sequence, branch, retry, route, and combine deterministic workflow nodes with autonomous agent steps. |
Full / Explicit | Full / Explicit |
|
Triggers & Channel Coverage How agents wake up and where they work: schedules, webhooks, message events, CRM events, inbox events, chat, email, voice, and collaboration tools. |
Partial | Partial |
| Knowledge & context | ||
|
Knowledge Grounding & RAG Ability to ground agent behavior in company data through document ingestion, retrieval, external knowledge APIs, semantic search, or RAG layers. |
No / Not documented | No / Not documented |
|
Memory & State Persistence Ability to persist context across a run, conversation, workflow, user, team, or longer-term memory layer. |
Partial | Partial |
| Control & trust | ||
|
Human Oversight & Guardrails Approval steps, consent checkpoints, escalation rules, structured guardrails, policy constraints, and pause/resume controls. |
Full / Explicit | Full / Explicit |
|
Security, Identity & Governance RBAC, SSO, auditability, encryption, least-privilege tool access, compliance posture, and data handling policy. |
Partial | Full / Explicit |
|
Observability & Auditability Traces, logs, execution histories, metrics, audit events, and debugging detail for production agent behavior. |
Full / Explicit | Full / Explicit |
|
Deployment & Data Residency Deployment modes and options, including SaaS, dedicated cloud, VPC, on-prem, hybrid, local runtime, and self-hosting. |
Full / Explicit | Full / Explicit |
| Solution readiness | ||
|
Prebuilt Agents, Templates & Packs Ready-made workflows, packaged employees, templates, blueprints, industry solutions, and role-specific agents that reduce time-to-value. |
Full / Explicit | Full / Explicit |
| Platform extensibility | ||
|
Model Flexibility & Routing Ability to work across multiple foundation models, route tasks to different models, or let buyers bring their own providers and keys. |
Full / Explicit | Full / Explicit |
|
APIs, SDKs & MCP Extensibility Composability layer: stable APIs, SDKs, MCP tool consumption/serving, custom tools, and integration into internal systems. |
Full / Explicit | Full / Explicit |
|
Testing, Debugging & Optimization Testing, debugging, scoring, retries, fallbacks, quality gates, and optimization loops for improving agent workflows before and after deployment. |
Partial | Full / Explicit |
| Specialist automation | ||
|
Browser & Computer Use Browser, desktop, or remote/local computer control for workflows that cannot be handled through stable APIs alone. |
Full / Explicit | Full / Explicit |
Pricing snapshot
Sourced from the Index pricing dataset · open each vendor's profile for full detail.
| Pricing | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Entry price Lowest public entry point |
Usage-based (~$0.06/hr sessions, $10/GB proxy) · OSS free · $10 credits | From $20/mo · free tier |
|
Pricing confidence How public the numbers are |
Public — partial | Public — partial |
|
Billing Primary billing axis |
usage | hybrid |
|
Variable cost Workload / overage exposure |
High variable cost | High variable cost |
|
Free tier / trial Try before you buy |
Free tierTrial
|
Free tier
|
|
Buying motion Self-serve vs sales call |
Mixed | Mixed |
Choose Browser Use if
- You want an open source agent framework you can inspect, extend, and self host for free.
- The agent logic layer (deciding actions on a page) is what you are buying, not just browsers.
- Usage priced cloud sessions around six cents an hour fit spiky workloads.
Choose Browserbase if
- You already have agent logic and need reliable hosted browsers with session persistence and stealth.
- The Stagehand SDK's act, extract, and observe primitives fit how your team builds.
- Production concerns (scaling, proxies, captchas, session recording) are your bottleneck.