Browser Use alternatives: 8 tools compared (October 2026)

Browserbase runs headless browsers in the cloud so AI agents and developers can automate websites, log in, fill forms and extract data at scale, with recordings of each session.

Key functions

• Stagehand SDK automates browser steps from natural-language instructions
• Fetch API converts URLs into HTML, JSON or Markdown
• Model Gateway and agent runs included in paid plans

Compared with Browser Use

• Can store data in the EU; Browser Use states no EU option.
• Strong in the same markets as Browser Use: United States.

Check before buying: Session recordings can capture personal data shown on pages; the terms require consent and a visible label when recording is active. SSO and a DPA are only part of the Scale plan. The tool offers features for bypassing CAPTCHAs and bot protection: CAPTCHA solving in paid plans, a stealth mode and Agent Identity, which Browserbase promotes for getting past anti-bot systems. Using them can breach the target sites' terms of use and is legally risky in Germany, for example under Section 202a of the German Criminal Code (StGB) or database rights. Have their use legally reviewed before deployment. Before processing EU data, confirm that your sessions run in the EU Central region.

Skyvern automates browser-based workflows with language models and computer vision, so teams can run form filling, data extraction and downloads on websites that change often. It is open source under AGPL-3.0 with a hosted cloud option.

Key functions

• Reads websites visually instead of relying on brittle XPath selectors and handles layout changes
• Fills in forms and extracts structured data with optional JSON schemas
• Chained workflows with browser tasks, extraction, validation, loops and file parsing

Compared with Browser Use

• Strong in the same markets as Browser Use: United States.

Check before buying: The AGPL-3.0 license requires publishing changes if you offer a modified version as a network service, so involve legal before embedding it in products. The tool offers features for getting around CAPTCHAs and bot protection: every Skyvern Cloud plan comes with a CAPTCHA solver, anti-bot mechanisms and proxies. Using them can breach the terms of use of the automated websites and is legally risky in Germany, so have it reviewed legally before use. Store portal credentials in a password manager, not in prompts. Self-hosting means your team runs updates and pays model costs.

Text Blaze is a Chrome extension that expands short shortcuts into full texts and forms in any web app, with an AI assistant for writing and editing. It suits support, sales and recruiting teams that send many similar messages.

Key functions

• AI Blaze writes and edits text directly inside web apps
• Snippets with form fields and formulas
• Autopilot automates clicks and keystrokes

Compared with Browser Use

• Strong in the same markets as Browser Use: United States.

Check before buying: Servers are in North America according to the vendor, so check whether snippets or AI inputs may contain personal data and request a data processing agreement. Text Blaze advises against storing health data in snippets and does not sign business associate agreements. The plans page does not state which plans include AI Blaze or how much AI usage is included, so clarify this before buying.

Playwright MCP is Microsoft's Model Context Protocol server for browser automation that lets AI agents and coding assistants navigate and operate web pages using Playwright's structured accessibility tree.

Key functions

• Browser control for agents via structured accessibility snapshots
• Support for Chrome, Firefox, WebKit and Edge, headless or headed
• Optional vision mode for coordinate-based interaction

Compared with Browser Use

• Strong in the same markets as Browser Use: United States.

Check before buying: According to the README, the allow and block lists for origins are not a security boundary, and by default the server uses a persistent browser profile like a regular browser. Use the isolated mode and never give agents access to logged-in sessions they should not use. Page content goes to the model provider of your AI client. Check the terms of websites you automate.

HARPA AI is a browser extension that brings AI chat and web automation into Chrome and other browsers. It summarizes pages and videos, extracts data, monitors websites and runs reusable commands, which suits research, marketing and sales work in small teams.

Key functions

• Summarizes web pages, YouTube videos and PDFs
• Extracts data from websites and monitors pages for changes
• Reusable AI commands and scheduled automations

Compared with Browser Use

• Can store data in the EU; Browser Use states no EU option.
• Headquartered in Finland, Browser Use in United States.
• Strongest elsewhere: Finland.

Check before buying: Automated scraping and page actions must respect the terms of the target websites. Data is processed on servers in the US and Germany; clarify which applies to your account. The privacy policy does not mention a data processing agreement, so request one, and ask for the ISO 27001 certificate if you require it. Token allowances run out faster with long outputs, since output tokens count three times.

Apify is a cloud platform for web scraping and browser automation. Teams use ready-made scrapers called Actors or build their own, and pass the data to AI applications or business systems.

Key functions

• Website Content Crawler outputs text and Markdown for LangChain, LlamaIndex and vector databases
• Optional AI summary per crawled page via OpenRouter, at extra cost
• Apify MCP server lets Claude and other clients call Actors directly

Compared with Browser Use

• Headquartered in Czechia, Browser Use in United States.
• Strongest elsewhere: Czechia.

Check before buying: Actors in the store come from Apify and third parties, so check the author, maintenance and terms of each one. The data processing addendum allows transfers to the United States and other subprocessor countries. Usage-based billing depends on compute units and proxies, so test real workloads before committing. Confirm that scraping the target sites is allowed, especially where personal data is involved. The tool offers features for bypassing bot protection, such as circumventing anti-scraping protections with browser fingerprinting and proxies. Using them can breach the target sites' terms of use and is legally risky in Germany, for example under Section 202a of the German Criminal Code (StGB) or database rights. Have their use legally reviewed before deployment.

OSWorld is an open benchmark that tests AI agents on real computer tasks in full operating systems. It shows how far computer-use agents are from handling office and web workflows on their own.

Key functions

• Execution-based checks with 134 evaluation functions
• Tests GUI grounding and multi-app workflows
• OSWorld-Verified results with trajectories published on Hugging Face

Compared with Browser Use

• Strongest elsewhere: Hong Kong.

Check before buying: Running OSWorld needs virtual machines with enough compute, or a cloud account on AWS or Azure. Results from the original version and OSWorld-Verified are not directly comparable. Scores describe general desktop tasks, so pilot agents on your own applications and data before deployment.

UI-TARS Desktop and Agent TARS are open-source agent projects from ByteDance that let a multimodal model operate a computer or browser by looking at the screen and using mouse and keyboard, for automating tasks in applications without an API.

Key functions

• Controls desktop and browser in natural language via a vision-language model
• Recognizes screen content through screenshot analysis and visual grounding
• Agent TARS with command line, web UI and MCP integration

Check before buying: An agent that controls mouse and keyboard can do anything the logged-in user can, so test it on isolated machines and with restricted accounts first. Screenshots may contain personal data and are sent to the chosen model provider unless you host the model yourself. Check the model license and the terms of each provider.