Agentic Index
Browser Use vs Skyvern (2026)
Browser Use and Skyvern are the two prominent open source browser agents, split by paradigm: Browser Use parses the DOM into structured elements for LLM decision making, while Skyvern leans on computer vision and language models instead of brittle selectors, with route memorization for deterministic replays of learned workflows. That verdict is the Agentic Index coverage score, graded from each vendor's own published materials.
Browser Use cloud bills about two cents a browser hour plus model tokens; Skyvern has a free tier of 5,000 credits a month, then Hobby at 29 dollars and Pro at 149 dollars a month. Both are genuinely open source; pilot both on your hardest target site.
This comparison is published by Agentic Index, an independent agentic AI vendor research platform. Browser Use and Skyvern are each graded against the same 14 capability Agentic Index taxonomy, from the vendor's own public materials under the Agentic Index verification standard, alongside 956 researched vendors. No vendor pays for placement and no vendor has reviewed this page. How this evidence is graded
Choose Browser Use if
- DOM structured extraction fits your target sites and keeps token costs down.
- The larger community and integration ecosystem matter to your team.
- You want the option of fully self hosted agent logic with a cheap cloud escape valve.
Choose Skyvern if
- Your target sites break selector based automation, so vision based resilience wins.
- Route memorization (learn once, replay deterministically) matches your repeated workflows.
- A generous free tier at 5,000 credits a month lets you validate before paying.
| At a glance | Browser Use | Skyvern |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Browser / computer-use agent | Browser / computer-use agent |
| Entry price | Usage based: $0.02 per browser hour plus traffic and model tokens · one time $15 credit | Free (5,000 credits/mo); Hobby $29/mo, Pro $149/mo; Enterprise custom |
| Free / trial | One time $15 credit for eligible Google, GitHub or Microsoft signups; open source library free | — |
| Pricing confidence | public exact | public exact |
| Feature | B Browser Use |
S Skyvern |
|---|---|---|
| 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. |
Full / Explicit | Full / Explicit |
| 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. |
Partial | Partial |
| 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. |
Full / Explicit | Partial |
| 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 | B Browser Use |
S Skyvern |
|---|---|---|
|
Entry price Lowest public entry point |
Usage based: $0.02 per browser hour plus traffic and model tokens · one time $15 credit | Free (5,000 credits/mo); Hobby $29/mo, Pro $149/mo; Enterprise custom |
|
Pricing confidence How public the numbers are |
Public, exact | Public, exact |
|
Billing Primary billing axis |
usage | — |
|
Variable cost Workload / overage exposure |
High variable cost | Medium variable cost |
|
Free tier / trial Try before you buy |
Free tier
|
No free tier
|
|
Buying motion Self-serve vs sales call |
Mixed | — |
More comparisons with Browser Use or Skyvern
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