Browserless: Hosted Headless Browsers for AI Agents
Browserless is one of the longest-running services for headless browsers, the code-controlled browsers developers use for scraping, testing, screenshots, PDFs and, increasingly, AI agents. Developers point their existing Puppeteer, Playwright or Selenium scripts at Browserless’s cloud instead of running browsers themselves, or use its own BrowserQL language and simple HTTP APIs. It handles bot detection, CAPTCHAs, proxies and logins, and it can also run on a company’s own servers through Docker. Its open-source repository dates back to 2017 and has about 13,900 GitHub stars.
The quick answer: Browserless is a mature, practical choice for teams that want hosted browsers that work with the automation code they already have, with the unusual option to self-host. It has adapted to AI agents with an MCP server, a ChatGPT and Claude connector and a built-in browser agent, but its roots are in scraping, testing and document generation. It suits engineering teams more than AI-first startups looking for an all-in-one agent platform. Everything below comes from Browserless’s site, pricing, developer summary, GitHub repository and about page.
Browserless at a glance
Checked against Browserless’s site, pricing page, developer summary and GitHub repository on November 13, 2026.
| Browserless | |
|---|---|
| What it is | Managed headless browsers for automation, scraping, testing and AI agents |
| Ways to use it | Browsers as a Service, BrowserQL, REST APIs, MCP server |
| Browsers | Chrome, Firefox and WebKit |
| Works with | Puppeteer, Playwright, Selenium, Browser Use, Stagehand, LangChain, n8n, Make, Zapier |
| Self-hosting | Docker image for running on your own infrastructure |
| Pricing | Free 1,000 units a month; paid plans from $25 a month billed annually |
| Company | Browserless, founded by Joel Griffith (CEO); open source since 2017 |
What Browserless does
Browserless’s developer summary describes it as “a cloud browser automation platform” where you can “Connect Puppeteer, Playwright, or Selenium to managed headless browsers over WebSocket, or use BrowserQL, REST APIs, and MCP for scraping, screenshots, PDFs, and AI-driven browsing.”
It offers four ways in:
- Browsers as a Service. Swap your script’s browser launch for a connection to Browserless, and the rest of your automation code stays the same. Browserless calls this a one-line change.
- BrowserQL. A GraphQL-based language for browser automation with stealth, conditional logic and structured data extraction built in, plus an editor for writing it.
- REST APIs. One-shot HTTP endpoints for screenshots, PDFs, scraping, search and more, with no browser code at all.
- MCP server. Gives AI tools like Claude and Cursor search, scrape, map and crawl tools, and Browserless also offers a connector for ChatGPT and Claude.
For AI work, its homepage pitches “Stealth, CAPTCHA, residential proxies, and authenticated profiles that persist and scale to thousands.” Authenticated profiles let an agent log in once and reuse that session on every run, with no credentials in the code. Browserless also offers its own browser agent that drives a real browser through multi-step tasks, for teams that would rather not build one.
Why it exists
Browserless’s founder and CEO, Joel Griffith, explains on its about page that he started it after working on a feature that turned dashboards into PDFs with headless Chrome. Getting it running was easy, but supporting it wasn’t: his team spent much of its time troubleshooting browsers and patching vulnerabilities, leaving “as little as 5-10% of our time” for new features. Browserless is meant to take that maintenance off engineering teams.
That history shows in the product. Beyond AI agents, Browserless serves headless testing and Lighthouse performance audits, pixel-perfect screenshots and PDFs, and large-scale data extraction. Its homepage diagnosis of failing AI automation follows the same theme: “Your model reasons just fine. It’s the browser underneath that gets blocked, loses the login, and stalls three steps into the task.”
Self-hosting and licensing
Browserless’s biggest difference from newer rivals is that you can run it yourself. Its Enterprise offering includes a Docker image for your own infrastructure, plus dedicated deployments. The open-source code is dual-licensed: under the Server Side Public License or a commercial license. Its repository says that using Browserless in closed-source commercial products or continuous-integration systems requires buying a commercial license, while non-commercial use is free.
Pricing
Browserless bills in units, where one unit covers up to 30 seconds of browser time. Residential proxy bandwidth costs 6 units per MB, datacenter proxies 2 units per MB, and each successful CAPTCHA solve 10 units.
| Plan | Monthly billing | Annual billing (per month) | Units per month | Concurrent browsers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 | 1,000 | 2 |
| Prototyping | $35 | $25 | 20,000 | 5 (10 annual) |
| Starter | $200 | $140 | 180,000 | 30 (40 annual) |
| Scale | $500 | $350 | 500,000 | 80 (100 annual) |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom | Custom | Custom |
Even the free plan includes BrowserQL, proxies, automatic CAPTCHA solving, Chrome extensions, and endpoints in San Francisco, London and Amsterdam, though free sessions are capped at two minutes. Paid plans add longer sessions, overage billing, longer replay storage and bring-your-own proxies. Browserless says it’s SOC 2 Type II compliant and GDPR-ready.
How Browserless compares
Browserless competes most directly with Browserbase and Notte. Browserbase has become the best-known AI browser platform, with the Stagehand framework, search, model access and a verified-identity strategy. Notte offers cheap browser hours plus digital personas and serverless functions. Browserless’s distinguishing traits are its long track record, support for Chrome, Firefox and WebKit, its BrowserQL language and simple REST APIs, and, above all, the option to self-host. For reading web content rather than automating it, scraping APIs like Firecrawl and Context.dev are simpler.
Many tasks people automate through browsers already have a direct route. Carly connects to thousands of apps, so from ChatGPT, Claude or a text message it can update your CRM, schedule meetings and sort your email without a browser in the loop.
Who Browserless suits
Browserless is a good fit if:
- You have existing Puppeteer, Playwright or Selenium scripts and want hosted browsers without rewrites.
- You need to self-host browser infrastructure for security or compliance.
- You generate screenshots or PDFs, run headless tests, or scrape at scale.
- You want AI agents to use logged-in sessions that persist across runs.
Look elsewhere if:
- You want an all-in-one AI agent platform with search, models and code hosting.
- You plan to use the open-source version in a closed-source commercial product without a commercial license.
- You want a finished assistant rather than infrastructure.
FAQ
What is Browserless?
Browserless is a service that runs headless browsers in the cloud or on your own servers. Developers connect Puppeteer, Playwright or Selenium scripts to it, or use its BrowserQL language, REST APIs or MCP server, for automation, scraping, testing and AI agents.
Is Browserless free?
Browserless’s free plan includes 1,000 units a month, where a unit is up to 30 seconds of browser time, with two concurrent browsers and no card required. Paid plans start at $35 a month, or $25 a month billed annually.
Can you self-host Browserless?
Yes. Browserless offers a Docker image for running on your own infrastructure. Commercial, closed-source use of the open-source code requires a commercial license.
What is BrowserQL?
BrowserQL is Browserless’s GraphQL-based language for browser automation, with built-in stealth, conditional logic and structured data extraction.
Who founded Browserless?
Joel Griffith founded Browserless and is its CEO. Its open-source repository dates to 2017.
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