Browserless.io established the browser-as-a-service category. But it’s not the only option anymore, and for many use cases, it’s not the best one. Here’s what else exists in 2025.

Why Look for Alternatives?

Common reasons developers switch from Browserless:

• Pricing: Browserless charges per browser session. At scale, costs add up fast.
• Concurrency limits: Lower tiers cap simultaneous browsers aggressively.
• Geographic coverage: Limited proxy locations for some use cases.
• Anti-bot features: Basic stealth—not enough for protected sites.

The Alternatives

1. Pankobrowse

Focus: High-volume scraping with built-in anti-detection.

Pankobrowse runs patched Chromium instances that pass common bot detection. The main differentiator is fingerprint management—each session gets a unique, consistent browser fingerprint.

from playwright.sync_api import sync_playwright

# Connect via CDP
with sync_playwright() as p:
    browser = p.chromium.connect_over_cdp(
        "wss://api.pankolabs.com/browser?token=YOUR_TOKEN"
    )
    page = browser.new_page()
    page.goto("https://protected-site.com")  # Passes most anti-bot
    print(page.content())
    browser.close()

Pricing: Usage-based. No per-session fees—you pay for compute time.

Best for: Teams scraping sites with anti-bot protection who don’t want to manage stealth infrastructure.

2. Bright Data (Scraping Browser)

Focus: Enterprise-grade with massive proxy network.

Bright Data combines browser automation with their proxy infrastructure. You get residential IPs baked into every session.

# Bright Data uses their own SDK
from brightdata import Browser

browser = Browser(api_key="YOUR_KEY")
page = browser.new_page(
    proxy_type="residential",
    country="US"
)
page.goto("https://example.com")

Pricing: Starts around $500/month. Enterprise pricing for high volume.

Best for: Large enterprises with budget. Compliance-heavy industries.

Drawbacks: Expensive. Overkill for simple automation tasks.

3. Apify

Focus: Pre-built scrapers and actor ecosystem.

Apify isn’t just a browser service—it’s a platform with thousands of pre-built scrapers. You can run headless browsers, but the real value is the “Actor” marketplace.

// Apify uses their SDK (Node.js focused)
import { Actor } from 'apify';

await Actor.init();
const browser = await Actor.launchPlaywright();
const page = await browser.newPage();
await page.goto('https://example.com');
await Actor.exit();

Pricing: Free tier available. Pay-as-you-go for compute.

Best for: Teams who want pre-built solutions. Quick prototyping.

Drawbacks: Platform lock-in. Node.js ecosystem primarily.

4. ScrapingBee

Focus: Simple API, handles JavaScript rendering.

ScrapingBee abstracts the browser entirely. You make HTTP requests; they return rendered HTML.

import requests

response = requests.get(
    "https://app.scrapingbee.com/api/v1/",
    params={
        "api_key": "YOUR_KEY",
        "url": "https://example.com",
        "render_js": "true",
        "premium_proxy": "true"
    }
)
html = response.text

Pricing: Credit-based. Premium proxies cost more credits.

Best for: Simple scraping tasks. Teams who don’t need CDP access.

Drawbacks: No real-time browser control. Can’t handle complex interactions.

5. Steel (by Steel.dev)

Focus: Developer experience with session management.

Steel provides browser sessions with persistent state. You can pause and resume sessions, which is useful for workflows that span multiple requests.

from steel import Steel

client = Steel(api_key="YOUR_KEY")

# Create a persistent session
session = client.sessions.create(
    browser_settings={"fingerprint": True}
)

# Use the session across multiple operations
page = session.new_page()
page.goto("https://example.com/login")
# ... login flow ...

# Later: resume the same session
session = client.sessions.get(session.id)
page = session.pages[0]  # Same logged-in state

Pricing: Session-based with time limits.

Best for: Workflows requiring authentication persistence. Multi-step processes.

Comparison Table

Service	Anti-Bot	Proxy Network	CDP Access	Min Price	Best For
Browserless	Basic	BYO	Yes	$200/mo	Simple automation
Pankobrowse	Advanced	Built-in	Yes	Usage-based	Protected sites
Bright Data	Advanced	Massive	Custom	$500/mo	Enterprise
Apify	Basic	Optional	Yes	Free tier	Pre-built scrapers
ScrapingBee	Basic	Built-in	No	Credits	Simple rendering
Steel	Moderate	BYO	Yes	Session-based	Persistent sessions

How to Choose

You need anti-bot capabilities: Pankobrowse or Bright Data. Other services require you to handle stealth yourself.

You have a simple use case: ScrapingBee. No need to manage browsers if you just need rendered HTML.

You want pre-built scrapers: Apify. Don’t reinvent the wheel for common targets.

You need persistent sessions: Steel. Authentication flows across multiple operations.

You have enterprise budget: Bright Data. Maximum proxy coverage and support.

You’re cost-conscious at scale: Pankobrowse or self-hosted. Per-session pricing hurts at volume.

Self-Hosting: The Alternative Alternative

For teams with infrastructure experience, self-hosting remains viable:

# docker-compose.yml for local browser farm
services:
  chrome:
    image: browserless/chrome
    deploy:
      replicas: 5
    environment:
      - CONNECTION_TIMEOUT=60000
      - MAX_CONCURRENT_SESSIONS=10

Pros: Full control. No per-request costs after infrastructure.

Cons: You manage everything—updates, scaling, monitoring, anti-detection.

For most teams, the operational overhead exceeds the cost savings. But if you’re already running Kubernetes and have DevOps capacity, it’s worth considering.

The Bottom Line

Browserless works fine for basic automation. When you hit its limits—cost, concurrency, or anti-bot—alternatives exist.

Pick based on your specific constraint:

• Cost → Self-host or usage-based services
• Anti-detection → Pankobrowse, Bright Data
• Simplicity → ScrapingBee, Apify
• Enterprise compliance → Bright Data

Don’t over-engineer. Start with the simplest solution that meets your requirements, then migrate if needed.