Browserless

Active

Country: United States (US)
Founded: 2018
Developer: Browserless.io (Joel Griffith)
Pricing: Freemium with usage-based and enterprise plans
Open source: Yes
Platforms: Web, Linux

Indexes

APIs & MCP Servers

Overview

Browserless provides a cloud-based API for browser automation, enabling screenshots, PDFs, scraping, and WebSocket access for Puppeteer and Playwright. It targets developers and teams handling large-scale automation, offering session management, proxy integration, and captcha solving. The service builds on an open-source Docker image with added features like multi-browser support and custom extensions.

Key Features

REST API Endpoints - Supports screenshots, PDFs, and scraping via HTTP requests.
WebSocket Automation - Connects Puppeteer and Playwright scripts to remote browsers.
Session Management - Handles connect, reconnect, kill, and limits on browser sessions.
Residential Proxies - Integrates proxies for bypassing geo-fences and bot detection.
Captcha Solving - Built-in tools to solve captchas during automation.
User Data Directory - Persists cookies, localStorage, and sessions across runs.
Custom Extensions - Uploads and runs user-provided browser extensions.
Multi-Browser Support - Runs Chrome and other browsers with shared capabilities.

Pricing

Plan	Price	Includes
Free Tier	Free	Limited usage for testing API and basic features.
Usage-Based	Pay-per-use	Scalable billing for functions and automation tasks.
Enterprise	Custom	Premium features, SSO, video support, tailored infrastructure.

Platforms & Requirements

Operates as a web API and self-hosted Docker image on Linux servers. Requires Docker for on-premises deployment with sufficient CPU/RAM for browser pools. Cloud version has no local install needs but depends on internet connectivity.

Integrations & Ecosystem

Puppeteer
Playwright
Chrome DevTools Protocol
Residential proxies
BrowserQL
RESTful APIs
WebSockets

Alternatives

App	Difference
Puppeteer (Google)	Open-source library for local Node.js browser control, lacks cloud scaling and proxy features.
Playwright (Microsoft)	Multi-browser local automation framework, requires self-managed infrastructure.
ScrapingBee	Scraping-focused API with JS rendering, less emphasis on interactive sessions.
Bright Data	Proxy and data collection platform, broader scope beyond browser automation.

Reputation

Browserless is recognized for reliable scaling of headless Chrome tasks and strong integration with Puppeteer/Playwright. Users praise proxy support and session persistence for production scraping. Some note higher costs for heavy usage compared to self-hosting and occasional ephemeral session limits in free tiers.

Sources (8)