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Browserbase

Answer in brief

Hosted headless Chromium sessions for web agents, driven over CDP with Playwright, Puppeteer, Selenium or the Stagehand SDK, with Contexts for persisted logins and four regions. A mature managed-Chromium service for web agents, with strong SDK and framework coverage but an undocumented isolation boundary.

By the Agent Sandboxes editors · Updated

Overview

Browserbase is a hosted browser platform from the company of the same name. You create a session through the REST API or the Node.js and Python SDKs and drive it over the Chrome DevTools Protocol with Playwright, Puppeteer or Selenium, or with Stagehand, Browserbase's own agent SDK. Each session is an isolated Chromium instance with its own user data directory, fingerprint and network identity; the documentation does not name the container or VM boundary underneath. Sessions can be placed in one of four regions and come with live view, logs and session replay.

Sessions are fresh by default and end on disconnect or timeout (6 hours maximum); Contexts persist cookies, auth and site storage between sessions. Pricing is a monthly plan plus browser hours and proxy gigabytes. The platform is closed source; the Stagehand SDK and MCP server are open. The company reports 35 million-plus sessions a month across 10,000-plus customers and is SOC 2 Type II audited with HIPAA BAAs on request.

Notable

  • $40M Series B led by Notable Capital, announced June 2025 (company blog), alongside the Director tool and Stagehand for Python
  • Homepage states 35M+ browser sessions a month and 10,000+ customers
  • Four regions: us-west-2, us-east-1, eu-central-1 and ap-southeast-1

Browserbase specifications

AttributeDetails
IsolationEach session is an isolated Chromium instance with its own user data directory, fingerprint and network identity; the container or VM boundary is not named
DeploymentHosted platform
Open sourceNo
SDKs and interfacesPython, JavaScript/TypeScript, REST API, MCP server
Cold start (vendor claim)Vendor blog claims a session is ready to be driven in under 2 seconds
Max session lengthMaximum 6 hours per session; Free plan sessions are limited to 15 minutes; keepAlive (paid plans) keeps a session running after disconnect until its timeout or explicit release
PersistenceSessions start fresh by default; Contexts persist cookies, auth, localStorage, IndexedDB and other profile data across sessions (not the HTTP cache) and are encrypted at rest
GPUNo — not offered
NetworkingManaged proxies with rotation and geo-targeting or bring your own proxy; allowed-domains setting; captcha solving on by default; automatic fingerprinting
PricingFree $0: 1 browser hour, 3 concurrent, 15-minute sessions. Developer $20/month: 100 hours, 25 concurrent, $0.12 per extra hour, 1 GB proxy then $12/GB. Startup $99/month: 500 hours, 100 concurrent, $0.10 per extra hour, 5 GB proxy then $10/GB. Scale: custom, 250+ concurrent, usage-based
Free tierFree plan: 1 browser hour, 3 concurrent browsers, 15-minute sessions, 7-day data retention
ComplianceSOC 2 Type II; HIPAA BAA and DPA available on request; SSO/SAML
Regionsus-west-2 (default), us-east-1, eu-central-1, ap-southeast-1

Facts from Browserbase’s public documentation, verified November 9, 2026. Performance numbers are vendor claims.

Strengths and trade-offs

Strengths

  • You want a managed Chromium that works with your existing Playwright, Puppeteer or Selenium code
  • You need persisted logins across runs via Contexts
  • You want EU or Asia-Pacific placement and audited compliance (SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA BAA)
  • You are building with Stagehand or an MCP client and want the hosted server

Trade-offs

  • The isolation boundary (container or VM) is not documented
  • Sessions are capped at 6 hours, and 15 minutes on the Free plan
  • No self-hosting or BYOC option; the platform itself is closed source
  • Browser-only: there is no filesystem or shell for a coding agent

Good fit for: Web agents that need managed Chromium at scale with persisted logins and stealth.

Use cases Browserbase fits

  • Computer use: Managed Chromium at scale with persisted logins, stealth and the Stagehand SDK.

How Browserbase compares

SandboxIsolationOpen sourceSelf-host / BYOCCold start (vendor)Max sessionSnapshots / pauseGPUSDKs
BrowserbaseIsolated Chromium sessionNoNo / No<2 s (claim)6 h (15 min Free)No / NoNoPython, JavaScript/TypeScript, REST API, MCP server
SteelIsolated Chromium sessionYesYes / NoNot documented15 min / 1 h / 24 hNo / NoNoPython, JavaScript/TypeScript, Go, Rust, CLI, REST API, MCP server
HyperbrowserIsolated browser instanceNoNo / No<500 ms (claim)Up to 12 hNo / NoNoPython, JavaScript/TypeScript, CLI, REST API, MCP server
Anchor BrowserDedicated VM per browserNoNo / YesNot documented3 h default, configurableNo / NoNoPython, JavaScript/TypeScript, REST API, MCP server
KernelUnikernel VM per browserYesYes / No~30 ms p50 (claim)Up to 72 hYes / YesYesJavaScript/TypeScript, Python, Go, CLI, REST API, MCP server
Browser Use CloudIsolated browser per runNoNo / NoNot documented1 h default, 4 h maxNo / NoNoPython, JavaScript/TypeScript, REST API
BrowserlessNot documentedYesYes / NoNot documented2 min to 60 min by planNo / NoYesJavaScript/TypeScript, Python, CLI, REST API, MCP server

See all Browserbase alternatives →

Frequently asked questions

What is Browserbase?
Hosted headless Chromium sessions for web agents, driven over CDP with Playwright, Puppeteer, Selenium or the Stagehand SDK, with Contexts for persisted logins and four regions. A mature managed-Chromium service for web agents, with strong SDK and framework coverage but an undocumented isolation boundary.
How does Browserbase isolate code?
Browserbase documents its isolation as: Each session is an isolated Chromium instance with its own user data directory, fingerprint and network identity; the container or VM boundary is not named.
Is Browserbase open source?
No, Browserbase is not open source.
How much does Browserbase cost?
Free $0: 1 browser hour, 3 concurrent, 15-minute sessions. Developer $20/month: 100 hours, 25 concurrent, $0.12 per extra hour, 1 GB proxy then $12/GB. Startup $99/month: 500 hours, 100 concurrent, $0.10 per extra hour, 5 GB proxy then $10/GB. Scale: custom, 250+ concurrent, usage-based Check the official pricing page for current rates.
What are the alternatives to Browserbase?
Common alternatives include Steel, Hyperbrowser, Anchor Browser, Kernel, Browser Use Cloud, Browserless. See Browserbase alternatives for a full comparison.

Sources

  1. browserbase.com
  2. browserbase.com/pricing
  3. browserbase.com/enterprise
  4. docs.browserbase.com/introduction
  5. docs.browserbase.com/fundamentals/create-browser-session
  6. docs.browserbase.com/guides/long-running-sessions
  7. docs.browserbase.com/features/contexts
  8. docs.browserbase.com/guides/multi-region
  9. docs.browserbase.com/reference/sdk/nodejs
  10. docs.browserbase.com/reference/sdk/python
  11. docs.browserbase.com/integrations/mcp/introduction
  12. browserbase.com/blog/what-is-a-browserbase-browser
  13. browserbase.com/blog/series-b-and-beyond

Cite this page

Agent Sandboxes. (2026). Browserbase. agentsandboxes.org. Last reviewed November 9, 2026. https://agentsandboxes.org/sandboxes/browserbase/

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