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Kernel alternative

The Kernel alternative you can self-host with eight years in production

Browserless covers AI agents plus scraping, automation, and testing, with self-hosted deployment and eight years in production. Kernel is built for web agents and only runs as a hosted platform.

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Browserless

Browser infrastructure for teams building at scale. Browserless handles web scraping, automation, testing, and AI agent workflows on one platform – with eight years of production reliability and the flexibility to deploy anywhere your stack demands.

vs
Kernel logo

Kernel

A browser infrastructure platform built for web agents and automations. Kernel runs each browser in its own VM, with fast spin-up, session persistence, managed auth, and live view. The platform is hosted: its open-source browser image runs in Docker, but without the platform features.

How Browserless and Kernel compare

Both tools give you managed headless browsers for AI agents and automation. Here's where they differ.

AI agent support
Browserless
Kernel
MCP server
Browserless
Kernel
Puppeteer and Playwright support
Browserless
Kernel
Bot detection and stealth mode
Browserless
Kernel
CAPTCHA solving
Browserless
Kernel
Self-hosted deployment
Browserless
Browserless Cloud, Private Deployment, or the Enterprise Docker image in your own VPC
Kernel
Hosted platform only (the open-source browser image runs in Docker without platform features)
Web scraping
Browserless
Kernel
Through your own Playwright or Puppeteer code, with no scraping API or query language
SOC 2 Type II compliance
Browserless
Kernel
Production history
Browserless
8 years, 175M+ Docker pulls
Kernel
Launched in 2025
Free tier
Browserless
Kernel
Purpose-built scraping query language
Browserless
Kernel
Single-request REST API
Browserless
Kernel

Everything that Browserless can do

When your use cases go beyond AI agents, Browserless scales with them.

Get past bot detection
Point your connection at a stealth route, and Browserless applies fingerprint mitigations, entropy injection, and tuned Chrome flags. Add residential proxies when required by a site.
Deploy on your own infrastructure
Run Browserless in your own VPC, on-premises, or in a Docker container. You choose the deployment option that suits you.
Scrape and automate
Browserless is built for web scraping, automation, testing, AI agents, and more, making it the perfect solution as you scale.
Solve CAPTCHAs automatically
Add solveCaptchas=true and Browserless detects and solves reCAPTCHA, Cloudflare Turnstile, GeeTest, DataDome, and more as they appear, so pipelines don't stall on protected sites.
Run any browser task over REST
The Browserless REST API covers screenshots, PDFs, content extraction, and script execution over simple HTTP – no persistent connection or framework required.
Automate with BAP
Browser Automation Protocol (BAP) gives you managed stealth, residential proxies, CAPTCHA solving, and live debugging URLs as typed methods in TypeScript and Python SDKs. Hand the session back to Puppeteer or Playwright any time.

Connect Browserless with your AI agents

Browserless Agent is a single MCP tool that gives any MCP-compatible AI client a production-grade browser – no harness code, no SDK, just one config block. Set keepSessionAlive on the first call and the same browser stays open across tool calls.

Powerful Browser Agent
The browserless_agent MCP tool allows any MCP-compatible AI client to use a browser. Opt in to a kept-alive session and login state, cookies, and page context carry across tool calls, so your model logs in once and keeps working on authenticated pages.
Faster task completion
Command batching collapses multi-field forms from 10+ tool calls into 3. In our six-task benchmark against Playwright MCP, Browser Use, Browserbase, ChatGPT, and the Claude Chrome extension, Browserless Agent finished fastest on every task.
Works with every MCP client
One config block in Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code, Windsurf, or Claude Code, and your AI client has a production-grade browser to work with. No proprietary harness or agent runtime required.

Read more about our AI tools:

Browser AgentMCP

Why teams trust Browserless at scale

Eight years of edge cases resolved, infrastructure hardened, and enterprise requirements met – that's what production reliability looks like.

175M+

Docker pulls

8 years

in production

99.9%

uptime

SOC 2

Type II

Stay compliant and keep your options open

Browserless gives you the deployment flexibility and compliance track record that enterprise procurement requires.

Deploy anywhere your stack demands
Run on Browserless Cloud, a Private Deployment we operate, or the Enterprise Docker image in your own VPC, with the same APIs everywhere. Self-host, and execution and stored data stay inside your network.
Meet enterprise compliance requirements
SOC 2 Type II, GDPR compliance, HIPAA-compatible Enterprise deployments with a BAA, and a DPA on Enterprise for deployments Browserless operates – all documented in the Trust Center.
Start free, scale without surprises
The free plan includes 1,000 units a month, no credit card required. One unit covers up to 30 seconds of browser time, and proxy data and CAPTCHA solves draw from the same monthly allowance. Paid plans add published overage rates.
No vendor lock-in
Browserless runs standard Puppeteer and Playwright APIs. Your automation logic isn't tied to a proprietary SDK or platform – if requirements change, your code moves with you.

Kernel alternative FAQs

Kernel alternative FAQs

Ready to try Browserless?

Start free. No credit card required. Run your agents, scrapers, and tests on one platform, in our cloud or yours.

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