Cloudbrowser is worth evaluating when you bring your own agent and want to manage persistent Chrome workspaces. Browserless fits rendering APIs and self-hosting needs; Steel fits an open-source runtime; Browser Use offers both hosted agents and browser infrastructure. Browserbase itself remains relevant if you want its broader platform.
A hosted agent, or cloud browsers for your own code
Choose the browser infrastructure or hosted-agent product first.
Browser infrastructure and hosted-agent usage
All four options address related needs, but a hosted agent, a rendering endpoint and a managed browser are different products. Follow each source before selecting a plan.
Four alternatives, with their tradeoffs
Cloudbrowser
Our product
A browser workspace your agent returns to
Create an isolated Chrome, sign in through the full desktop Live View, and connect your own agent over CDP. Pause between tasks and resume with the saved profile. Fork a paused browser when tasks need a shared starting point and independent future writes.
Consider the tradeoff. Resume restarts Chrome; page memory is not guaranteed to survive. Fork requires a paused source. Cloudbrowser is hosted browser infrastructure: it does not supply an autonomous agent, self-hosted distribution, or a promised anti-bot bypass.
Browserless combines remote browser connections with APIs for screenshots, PDFs and rendered pages. Its published plans include session reconnects and persisted sessions, with plan-specific session and retention limits. It also offers licensed self-hosting.
Consider the tradeoff. Check connection duration, reconnect charges, proxy traffic and CAPTCHA units together. A browser-time allowance alone does not describe the whole workload cost.
Developers who need a self-hostable browser runtime
Steel offers an open-source browser runtime and a managed browser API. Its documented profile model reuses authentication and browser state. Consider it when deployment control and the ability to inspect the runtime are central to your decision.
Consider the tradeoff. Self-hosting means operating the infrastructure yourself. Evaluate the managed offering separately from the open-source runtime, including the features and support you need.
A hosted agent, or cloud browsers for your own code
Browser Use offers two distinct Cloud paths: submit a task to its hosted agent, or create a cloud browser and connect your own code over CDP. Its open-source local agent library is another product surface. Decide which layer you want to replace before comparing.
Consider the tradeoff. Switching browser infrastructure does not replace an agent's planning or task-execution API. Compare hosted-agent costs separately from the cost of a browser connection.
At $20 per month, Cloudbrowser Basic includes 250 browser-hours and 10 running browsers; Browserbase Developer includes 100 browser-hours and 25 concurrent browsers. Extra time is $0.08/hour and $0.12/hour respectively. The larger time allowance and the larger concurrency allowance solve different needs.
Monthly USD subtotal, using these two $20 plans and exact billable hours.
Billable hours
Cloudbrowser Basic
Browserbase Developer
100 hours
$20
$20
250 hours
$20
$38
500 hours
$40
$68
Illustration assumes at most 10 running browsers, no plan changes and no taxes or additional service charges. Proxy traffic, agent runs and other services are excluded; included features differ. Actual billable hours can depend on session rounding. This is not an equivalent-feature total-cost benchmark. Browserbase pricing.
Browserbase already supports persistent Contexts. Switch only if the workspace, lifecycle or cost model improves your actual workflow. Existing Contexts do not import automatically.
Test the exact client you use.Keep your current service while validating one task. Review Cloudbrowser's CDP connection model; vendor resource and authentication APIs still differ.
Prepare a fresh, authorized profile.Sign in through the desktop Live View using a test account. Pause and resume, then check saved state. Websites can expire sessions; unsent forms and in-memory page state may not survive. See what a persistent profile keeps.
Separate parallel tasks deliberately.Use independent browsers. Cloudbrowser forks require a paused source and retain saved profile data with isolated future writes. Copied logins can still be affected by the website's own session rules. Read the fork and lifecycle guide.
Check who can connect, and when compute stops.CDP grants full browser control. Shared Live View access has its own permissions. Auto-pause defaults to five minutes without actual CDP or desktop connections; closing a link alone is not an immediate pause. Review access boundaries before using real accounts.
Browserbase alternatives: common questions
Does Browserbase support persistent login state?
Yes. Browserbase Contexts reuse cookies and application data across sessions. Persistence alone is not a reason to switch. Compare when state is saved, how parallel sessions use it, and the lifecycle your workflow needs.
Is there a free Browserbase alternative?
Cloudbrowser Free includes one browser-hour per UTC month and one running browser. It pauses when the allowance is exhausted. This is a small trial allowance, not unlimited free automation. Self-hostable software also has infrastructure and operating costs.
Can Cloudbrowser replace Stagehand or a hosted agent?
Cloudbrowser supplies the Chrome browser and CDP access. Your code or agent still decides what to do. Browser infrastructure does not replace an agent framework, its model calls, or its task API; validate the specific client you use.
Can I transfer my existing Browserbase login state?
Cloudbrowser does not provide a one-click Browserbase Context importer. Plan to sign in through Cloudbrowser's desktop Live View and verify state after pause and resume. A site's own session policies can still require authentication.
Sources and comparison method
Published by Cloudbrowser, which is included in this guide. We compared documented workflows, deployment options and billing models on . Competitor descriptions are based on their public materials; we did not run a cross-vendor performance or anti-bot benchmark.
Cloudbrowser's pause/resume profile persistence and paused-fork write isolation have been exercised with real Chrome browsers. Those checks do not establish that every site's login will remain valid. Product plans and limits can change; verify the linked sources before purchasing.
