Browserbase: Cloud Browsers for AI Agents, Explained
Browserbase runs web browsers in the cloud for AI agents and automation scripts. When an agent needs to do something on a website that has no API, such as filling in a form, checking a portal or completing a checkout, it can open a Browserbase browser, act on the page like a person would, and close it, without the developer managing any browser servers. Around that core, Browserbase now offers Stagehand, a popular open-source framework for browser agents, plus search, page fetching, verified agent identity, a place to run code and access to AI models under one API key. It says more than 10,000 companies use it, including Ramp, Vercel, Commure and Lovable.
The quick answer: Browserbase is the best-known platform for running browser agents in production, with Stagehand, which it calls the most popular AI browser automation framework, strong debugging tools and a growing set of services around the browser. It suits developers whose agents need to use real websites that APIs don’t cover. Its notable recent bet is on verified identity, letting agents prove who they are to websites instead of trying to slip past bot detection. Everything below comes from Browserbase’s site, pricing and developer summary, its Identity page and press coverage.
Browserbase at a glance
Checked against Browserbase’s site, pricing page, developer summary and Identity page on November 13, 2026.
| Browserbase | |
|---|---|
| What it is | Cloud browsers and supporting services for AI agents and automation |
| Products | Browsers, Stagehand, Search, Fetch, Agent Identity, Functions, Model Gateway, Agents |
| Works with | Stagehand, Playwright, Puppeteer, Selenium; MCP server; LangChain, CrewAI, Mastra |
| Open source | Stagehand (MIT, about 26,000 GitHub stars), Director, browse CLI |
| Pricing | Free plan; Developer $20 a month; Startup $99 a month; Scale custom |
| Security | SOC 2 Type II; isolated sessions |
| Company | Browserbase Inc., San Francisco; founded by Paul Klein IV (CEO) |
What Browserbase does
Browserbase’s developer summary calls it “the complete platform to build and deploy agents that browse and interact with the web like humans.” Its argument is that “APIs see ~15% of the web; agents need the other 85%,” which sits behind logins, bot checks and interfaces built for people.
The core product is a fleet of headless browsers, meaning browsers without a visible window, controlled by code. Developers can spin up many sessions at once around the world, each isolated from the others. Persistent contexts keep cookies and login state between runs, so an agent only has to sign in once. Session replays, live views and detailed logs show exactly what an agent did, which matters when something goes wrong on a page you don’t control.
Stagehand
Stagehand is Browserbase’s open-source framework for browser agents and one of the main reasons developers come to the platform. It combines precise, code-level control in the style of Playwright with three AI commands, act, extract and observe, so a developer can describe an action in plain language, like clicking the checkout button, instead of writing brittle selectors that break when a page changes. Stagehand caches actions it has already worked out, which Browserbase says makes repeated runs up to twice as fast and about 30% cheaper. It works with major agent frameworks like LangChain, CrewAI and Mastra, and has about 26,000 stars on GitHub.
SiliconANGLE’s coverage of the company’s Series B described the idea well: Stagehand lets developers mix reliable scripts and adaptable AI in one workflow, using the AI only where a page needs flexibility.
Agent Identity: a passport, not a disguise
Much of the browser automation industry has competed on evading bot detection. Browserbase is moving the other way. Its Identity page is headlined “Your agent needs a passport, not a disguise,” and describes three layers:
- Web Bot Auth, an open standard for cryptographic identity, adopted by Cloudflare, Stytch and others, so an agent can prove “it’s legitimate, not just that it’s trying to look like it is.”
- 1Password integration, so agents can use credentials from an existing vault rather than hardcoded passwords.
- Contexts, which reuse logged-in sessions across runs.
Browserbase’s developer summary frames this as “moving from sneaky/undetected to upfront and credential-first,” backed by partnerships with Cloudflare, Stytch, Fingerprint and Vercel. Paid plans still include automatic CAPTCHA solving. For businesses deploying agents on sites they don’t own, the identity approach is likely to age better than stealth.
The rest of the platform
Browserbase has added services so teams don’t have to stitch together several vendors:
- Search and Fetch return web results and agent-ready page content when a full browser isn’t needed.
- Functions run an agent’s code next to the browser with under 5 milliseconds of latency, deployed with one command.
- Model Gateway gives access to major AI models through the same API key, with one bill.
- Agents run fully managed browser agents from simple prompts.
- Director, launched in 2025, is an open-source reference agent that lets non-developers describe a task, like checking a package’s status, in plain language.
- An MCP server and the browse CLI connect Browserbase browsers to AI tools and coding agents.
Pricing
Browserbase’s pricing has four plans:
| Plan | Price | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 3 concurrent browsers, 1 browser hour, 15-minute sessions, 1,000 searches and fetches, $5 in model tokens |
| Developer | $20 a month | 25 concurrent browsers, 100 browser hours (then $0.12 an hour), 1 GB of proxies, CAPTCHA solving |
| Startup | $99 a month | 100 concurrent browsers, 500 browser hours (then $0.10 an hour), 10,000 fetches, 5 GB of proxies |
| Scale | Custom | 250+ concurrent browsers and custom terms |
Search costs $5 per 1,000 calls beyond the included amount, and proxies cost $10 to $12 per GB depending on plan.
The company
Browserbase was founded by Paul Klein IV, its CEO. In June 2025, it raised a $40 million Series B led by Notable Capital, with Kleiner Perkins and CRV participating, at a reported $300 million valuation, and launched Director the same day. At the time, Klein wrote: “If Browserbase can become the rails of this new era, we’ll be enabling an entirely new category of applications.”
Browserbase says more than 10,000 companies use its infrastructure. We didn’t find independent customer reviews on review sites; its reputation comes mostly from developer adoption of Stagehand and customer stories on its site.
How Browserbase compares
Browserbase’s closest competitors are Browserless, a longer-running hosted browser service with a self-hosting option, and Notte, a newer browser platform. Computer-use sandboxes like E2B and Orgo cover full desktops rather than just browsers. For reading pages rather than acting on them, search and scraping APIs like Firecrawl, Exa and Context.dev are cheaper and simpler. Browserbase’s distinguishing traits are Stagehand’s popularity, deep debugging tools, the breadth of services around the browser and its verified-identity approach.
Many everyday tasks don’t need a browser agent at all. Carly connects to thousands of apps directly, so from ChatGPT, Claude or a text message it can update your CRM, schedule meetings or label your email without clicking through a website.
Who Browserbase suits
Browserbase is a good fit if:
- Your agents need to use websites that have no API, including ones behind logins.
- You want Stagehand’s mix of code and natural-language actions.
- You need many browsers at once, with replays and logs for debugging.
- You want agents to identify themselves to websites rather than hide.
Look elsewhere if:
- You only need to read page content; a scraping or search API is simpler and cheaper.
- You need to self-host the browser infrastructure.
- You want a finished assistant rather than infrastructure.
FAQ
What is Browserbase?
Browserbase is a platform that runs headless web browsers in the cloud for AI agents and automation. It also offers Stagehand, search, fetch, agent identity, code hosting and model access under one API key.
What is Stagehand?
Stagehand is Browserbase’s open-source framework for browser agents. It combines Playwright-style code with AI commands (act, extract and observe) that adapt when web pages change.
How much does Browserbase cost?
Browserbase has a free plan with one browser hour, a Developer plan at $20 a month with 100 browser hours, a Startup plan at $99 a month with 500 browser hours, and custom Scale plans.
Does Browserbase solve CAPTCHAs?
Paid plans include automatic CAPTCHA solving. Browserbase is also building verified agent identity with partners like Cloudflare, so agents can prove who they are to websites.
Who founded Browserbase?
Paul Klein IV founded Browserbase. It raised a $40 million Series B led by Notable Capital in June 2025.
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