Choose a Browserbase alternative by the problem you need solved: running browsers in the cloud, getting past anti-bot systems, or avoiding automation code altogether. Pure browser hosts leave the scripting to you, unblocker bundles add proxies and block handling, and ready-made scrapers skip the code, so name your pain before you compare.
Browserbase describes itself as a platform for agents that browse the web like humans. Its homepage bundles cloud browsers with Search, Fetch, an Agent Identity feature aimed at anti-bot systems, and observability through logs, live view and session replay. When a team starts looking around, it's usually because one of those pieces matters far more to them than the rest.
The ten options below are in no particular order, none is ranked and none is linked. They share a label, cloud browser, but they don't share a job, and that's the first thing to get straight.
One label, four different jobs
Browser hosts. Steel, Hyperbrowser, Browserless and BrowserCat run the browser for you while you write the automation yourself, in Puppeteer, Playwright or an agent library. You keep full control of the script, and you also keep the work of fixing it when a site changes.
Browsers with unblocking built in. Scrapeless, ZenRows and Bright Data add proxies and anti-bot handling around the browser. If your scripts work but keep getting blocked, this is the group that's aimed at that pain.
Finished scrapers. Apify sells ready-to-run tools rather than one browser API, so for common jobs you may not need to write browser code at all.
Agent frameworks and platform browsers. Notte is an agent framework with a browser attached, which changes how you build rather than just where the browser runs. Cloudflare Browser Run is a different case again: headless browsers inside a developer platform you may already be using.
One naming trap is worth knowing in that second group. The vendor's page says its Scraping Browser is now called Browser, so older docs, tutorials and comparisons use the old name. If you're reading a guide and it doesn't match what you see, that's probably why.
My advice: start from the failure you keep hitting
Look at your recent failed runs before you look at any vendor. If browsers crashed, ran out of memory or took too long to start, you need a better host and your scripts are fine. If pages loaded but returned a block or a challenge, you need unblocking, and a faster host won't help. If the real problem is that nobody wants to own the scripts, a ready-made scraper may beat any browser.
Then check the boring parts Browserbase gave you: logs, live view and replays. When a run fails at three in the morning, being able to watch what the browser saw is what turns a guess into a fix. Make sure whatever you move to gives you something similar, or plan to build it.
My guide to the best headless browsers goes deeper on the hosting side, and my list of AI browser agents covers tools where the agent does the clicking for you, which helps if your team is moving from scripts to agents.
Ten browser services and who they serve
Apify
Best for: Teams who'd rather pick a ready-to-run tool for web data or automation, and plug it into their AI agents, than drive a browser themselves.
Bright Data Browser API
Best for: Scraping jobs that need a GUI browser driven through Puppeteer or Playwright, backed by one of the big proxy and data networks.
BrowserCat
Best for: Developers wanting a small, focused headless browser API for browser automation, with nothing bundled around it.
Browserless
Best for: Agent builders connecting over MCP, Puppeteer or Playwright who want stealth and Authenticated Profiles built in, per the vendor.
Cloudflare Browser Run
Best for: Developers whose projects already live on that developer platform and want headless browsers controlled from the same place.
Hyperbrowser
Best for: AI agents that need cloud browsers, isolated sandboxes and web data APIs, with Chrome sessions and microVMs started in one call.
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Notte
Best for: LLM web tasks where you want the agent framework and the browser in one platform, with CAPTCHA handling and developer tools included.
Scrapeless
Best for: Data teams wanting an agent browser, AI scraper, web unlocker and scraping API from a single vendor.
Steel
Best for: Engineers who want open source browser infrastructure for AI agents, controlling fleets of cloud browsers through one API.
ZenRows Browser
Best for: Scrapers that connect to a hosted browser over WebSocket and want it run by a company that specialises in scraping.
Cloud browsers at a glance
| Tool | Kind of service | Reach for it when you want |
|---|---|---|
| Apify | Ready-made scraper catalogue | Skipping browser code altogether |
| Bright Data Browser API | Scraping browser | Large proxy and data network behind it |
| BrowserCat | Headless browser API | A small, focused automation API |
| Browserless | Cloud browser | Logged-in sessions and stealth |
| Cloudflare Browser Run | Platform headless browsers | Teams already building on that platform |
| Hyperbrowser | Cloud browsers and sandboxes | Browsers and microVMs started together |
| Notte | Agent browser framework | Agent logic and browser in one place |
| Scrapeless | Browser plus unblocker | One vendor for browser, unblocker and scraper |
| Steel | Open source cloud browsers | Open source browser infrastructure |
| ZenRows Browser | Hosted scraping browser | WebSocket access to a hosted browser |
Questions to put to any cloud browser vendor
Demos tend to show a clean page loading fast. Your workload won't look like that, so ask about the messy parts before you commit.
- Which libraries connect without changes: Puppeteer, Playwright, MCP or your agent framework?
- How do logged-in sessions survive between runs, and where are the cookies kept?
- Can you watch a session live or replay one that failed?
- When a site blocks a request, does the service retry, rotate proxies, or leave it to you?
- Can you run the same setup on your own servers if you ever need to?
- How are browser versions updated, and can you pin one while you test?
A vendor that answers those plainly, in writing, is usually one you can live with. A vendor that answers with a demo is telling you something too.
Do you make a cloud browser or scraping browser? Tool makers can ask to be considered for a featured place on this list.
Want your tool on this list? Featured spots and reviews here are paid partnerships. Here's how to partner with me.
Frequently asked questions
What is a cloud browser?
It's a real web browser running on someone else's servers that your code or AI agent controls remotely, so you don't have to run and scale browsers yourself.
What's the difference between a headless browser API and a scraping browser?
A headless browser API gives you a browser to control. A scraping browser usually adds proxies and anti-bot handling so pages that block automated traffic still load.
Why do some guides use different product names?
Vendors rename products. One tool on this list now calls its Scraping Browser simply Browser, so older tutorials and comparisons still use the previous name.
Do I still need proxies with a cloud browser?
It depends on the sites you visit. Plain hosts may leave proxies to you, while unblocker bundles include them. If you're getting blocked, that's the group to look at.
Can AI agents use these browsers directly?
Most of them say so. Several connect over MCP or common automation libraries, and some are built around agents from the start.
Is an open source browser service better than a hosted one?
Open source gives you the option to self-host and inspect the code. Hosted saves you the upkeep. Many teams start hosted and keep self-hosting as a fallback.
