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The best Browserbase alternative

Browserbase provisions remote browsers for your product. ego(lite) is the local browser connected to your own work. ego(lite) keeps the task in your authorized local browser, with no remote session to create or browser-minute meter. Compact Snapshots and batched actions reduce model turns and token use.

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ego(lite) vs Browserbase

Feature comparison between ego(lite) and Browserbase.
Featureego(lite)Browserbase
Where the browser runsLocally on your computer, as your daily browserBrowserbase cloud only; no self-hosted option
Logged-in sites (SSO, 2FA)One-click Chrome profile import; coding agent controls ego(lite) with real sessions via /ego-browserFresh user data by default; docs say 2FA and magic links need a human in the loop
How the agent connectsRun /ego-browser in Claude Code, Codex, or Cursor. No SDK, no API keyCreate a session over REST, then attach over CDP with Stagehand, Playwright, Puppeteer, or Selenium
Token cost per taskLower: Snapshot input plus batched JavaScript, measured per taskStagehand: a model call per act/observe/extract; plain Playwright/Puppeteer/Selenium scripts: none
PriceFree, no subscription, no accountFree tier, then $20/mo Developer / $99/mo Startup / custom Scale, plus overage
What gets meteredNothing. The browser is already on your machineBrowser minutes and proxy MB, with one-minute and one-MB minima per session
Parallel tasksUnlimited Spaces in one browser, bounded by your machinePlan caps: 3 free, 25 Developer, 100 Startup, 250+ Scale
Whose reputation the traffic carriesYour network and your logged-in browserShared cloud IP ranges
Where your data goesRuns on your computer, with no hosted browser in betweenPages transit Browserbase; recording is on by default unless you opt out
Reusable skills (coming soon)Distills successful runs into reusable skills for repeat tasks (limited beta)No built-in equivalent
Production browser fleets and complianceNo. One developer's machine and accountsYes: SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA BAA, DPA, SAML SSO, four data regions

Last updated Oct 22, 2026

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Why ego(lite) is better than Browserbase

Browserbase is infrastructure for sessions you run at a distance. ego(lite) is a complete local browser for work that depends on your accounts, network, and human oversight. Your agent can search, research, extract, fill, test, or operate a site in a Space without provisioning a remote session or moving browser state to the cloud.

47% to 63% faster on real tasks

Before your agent touches a page, you wait for a cloud session to spin up, and the meter starts immediately. Browser time bills by the minute with a one-minute minimum, so a twenty-second check still costs a full minute.Run /ego-browser and your coding agent controls ego(lite) on your machine. Every page arrives as a Snapshot with stable @N refs it can act on instantly. Across our published benchmark of 31 live-site jobs, ego(lite) finished tasks 47% to 63% faster than the four other tools measured.

Time to finish a task, shorter is better

  1. ego(lite)
    398 s
  2. agent browser
    605 s

Data source - Task: finish an average live-site job

Parallel multitasking, execute faster

How many Browserbase sessions you can run at once depends on your plan: 3 on the free tier, 25 on Developer, 100 on Startup. Go past that and work waits in a queue. To watch a run, you open Live View in a dashboard tab.In ego(lite) there's no cap on how many Spaces you open inside the same browser: each one runs its own task at the same time, controlled by a coding agent via /ego-browser on its own imported Chrome profile. None of them ever steals the tab you're using, and you can watch or take over any Space anytime.

No more back and forth Cost fewer tokens

Drive Browserbase with Stagehand and a simple checkout flow turns into a chain of model calls, each one waiting on a page read over the network before the next click.Run /ego-browser and your coding agent batches several actions in a few lines of JavaScript per turn to control ego(lite). Stacked with Snapshot input, the same task completes on far fewer tokens overall.

Claude Code · ego(lite)
>/ego-browser Add the first product to the cart, then check checkout loads
●Bash(
ego-browser nodejs <<'EOF' await openOrReuseTab('localhost:3000') await click('.product-card') await click('.add-to-cart') await click('a[href="/checkout"]') cliLog('checkout loaded') EOF
)
⎿Output:
[t=4480ms] checkout loaded
Done. Both steps work.
─── 1 tool call · ↑ 1.1k tokens ───
Stagehand · env: "BROWSERBASE"
>$ npx tsx run_task.ts const stagehand = new Stagehand({ env: "BROWSERBASE" }) await stagehand.init()
await page.goto("http://localhost:3000")
// page = stagehand.context.pages()[0]
navigated: http://localhost:3000
live view: https://www.browserbase.com/sessions/4f1c…
↑ 1.6k tokens sent so far
await stagehand.act("click the first product card")
// LLM call #1 · model: gpt-5.6-sol · cacheStatus: "MISS"
→ { success: true, message: "Action completed successfully",
actions: [{ selector: "/html/body/div[2]/main/div[1]/a",
method: "click", arguments: [] }] }
↑ 3.8k tokens sent so far
await stagehand.act("click add to cart")
// LLM call #2 · model: gpt-5.6-sol · cacheStatus: "MISS"
→ { success: true, message: "Action completed successfully",
actions: [{ selector: "/html/body/div[2]/main/button[1]",
method: "click", arguments: [] }] }
↑ 5.9k tokens sent so far
await stagehand.observe("find the checkout link")
// LLM call #3 · model: gpt-5.6-sol
→ [{ selector: "/html/body/nav/a[href='/checkout']",
description: "Checkout link", method: "click", arguments: [] }]
↑ 8.0k tokens sent so far
await stagehand.act(action)
// no LLM: Action from observe()
→ { success: true, message: "Action completed successfully",
actions: [{ method: "click", arguments: [] }] }
navigated: /checkout
↑ 9.1k tokens sent so far
await stagehand.extract("is the payment form present?", z.object({ present: z.boolean() }))
// LLM call #4 · model: gpt-5.6-sol
→ { present: true }
↑ 11.4k tokens sent so far
await stagehand.extract("list the payment fields", z.object({ fields: z.array(z.string()) }))
// LLM call #5 · model: gpt-5.6-sol
→ { fields: ["card", "expiry", "cvc", "zip"] }
↑ 13.6k tokens sent so far
─── 7 model calls · ↑ 13.6k tokens ───

The same task, the same model. Left: one batched JavaScript call in ego(lite), 1.1k tokens total. Right: Stagehand driving a remote Browserbase session, 7 calls, tokens climb to 13.6k.

Same Chrome, agent-native

Browserbase sessions start with a fresh profile unless you turn on persistence, and Browserbase's own docs say two-step verification and magic links usually need a human in the loop.Built on Chromium, ego(lite) imports your entire Chrome setup in one click. When your coding agent runs /ego-browser, it controls ego(lite) with your real sessions already in place, so it doesn't stall on SSO, 2FA, or captchas on accounts you already have.

Make it a seamless transition

Keep Browserbase for your product's cloud fleet. Move your own logged-in browser work to ego(lite) in a few minutes.

1

Download ego(lite)

Download ego(lite) and import your Chrome profile in one click. Logins, cookies, and extensions come with it.

2

Run your first task with /ego-browser

Paste one sentence into Claude Code, Codex, or Cursor and hit enter. No session to create, no API key, no SDK.

Paste into your agent

/ego-browser Open ego.app and join the waitlist

3

Watch it work

The task runs in its own Space, so your tabs stay untouched. Watch live or take over anytime. Results land back in your agent's CLI.

ego(lite) Spaces overview with four browser tasks running side by side: Claude Code tracking Apple stock on Yahoo Finance, Codex filtering cars by year on cars.com, Hermes finishing a SaaS back-office task, a user scraping X, and a hand tapping + to open another Space

Keep Browserbase for high concurrency, unattended runs, and anonymous targets that need proxies and captcha solving.

When to use each tool

Choose ego(lite) when

  • Your tasks touch logged-in sites: dashboards, admin panels, anything behind SSO or 2FA.
  • You want a free local loop with no session create step and no browser minutes to bill.
  • Pages and credentials should stay on your machine, not transit a cloud provider.
  • You want parallel Spaces you can watch or take over from Claude Code, Codex, or Cursor.

Choose Browserbase when

  • You need real cloud concurrency (100+ browsers). ego(lite) is one machine.
  • Work must keep running when your laptop is closed.
  • You're hitting anonymous targets at volume and want managed proxies, stealth, and captcha solving.
  • You need SOC 2, HIPAA, SAML, and session recording because your product runs browsers for customers.

Compare ego(lite) with other browser automation tools

Side-by-side comparisons with Puppeteer, Playwright MCP, Claude Chrome extension, Browser Harness, and 7 more.

FAQ

What is Browserbase?

Browserbase is a cloud browser platform with docs and SDKs on GitHub. You create sessions over REST, drive them over CDP with Playwright, Puppeteer, Selenium, or Stagehand, and pay for browser time plus proxy bandwidth. It handles the ops layer most teams would rather not build: proxies, stealth, captcha solving, session recording, and compliance. For products that need browsers at volume for their own users, it is the reference choice among browserbase competitors. It is cloud-only; there is no self-hosted option.

Is ego(lite) a good Browserbase alternative?

For your own logged-in browser work, yes: free, local, already signed in, driven via /ego-browser. For production cloud fleets that need 100+ concurrent browsers, managed proxies, captcha solving, and compliance paperwork, Browserbase is still the right category.

How much does Browserbase cost compared to ego(lite)?

Browserbase bills browser minutes and proxy bandwidth: a free tier, then Developer at $20/mo, Startup at $99/mo, and custom Scale plans, plus overage. ego(lite) is free. The browser is already on your machine, so there is nothing to meter.

Can Browserbase use my existing Chrome logins?

Not by default. Sessions start with fresh user data unless you persist a context and sign in by hand through Live View. Browserbase's docs say two-step verification and magic links usually need a human in the loop. ego(lite) imports your Chrome profile once locally, and every task starts signed in.

Where is Browserbase on GitHub?

Browserbase publishes product docs and open SDKs on GitHub, including Stagehand. That repo is the usual landing point for browserbase github searches. ego(lite) is separate: a Chromium browser on your computer, controlled through the MIT ego-browser shell, not a cloud session API.

Browserbase vs Browser Use: what's the difference, and where does ego(lite) fit?

They sit at different layers. Browser Use is a Python agent framework that decides what to do. Browserbase is the cloud browser infrastructure those agents often run on. ego(lite) is neither: run /ego-browser and your coding agent controls ego(lite) locally, with no session API and no per-minute billing.

What is operator.browserbase?

operator.browserbase is Browserbase's operator-style surface for driving cloud browser sessions from an agent. ego(lite) is not a hosted operator. It is local Chromium your coding agent controls with /ego-browser, already signed into your accounts.

What are the main Browserbase competitors?

Among browserbase competitors, the usual names are cloud browser platforms like Browserless, Steel, and hosted Playwright or Puppeteer fleets, plus agent stacks that bundle their own remote browsers. ego(lite) is a different category: a Chromium browser on your computer for your own agent work, not a fleet you operate for customers.

Can I use Browserbase with Claude Code or Codex?

Yes, but not directly from /ego-browser. You create a Browserbase session over REST, attach over CDP, and drive it with Stagehand, Playwright, Puppeteer, or Selenium from a script your agent runs. That path fits cloud automation. For logged-in work inside your own accounts, ego(lite) is simpler: run /ego-browser in Claude Code, Codex, or Cursor with no session create step.

Why do some sites block Browserbase?

Shared cloud IP ranges carry shared reputation, so some sites treat traffic as automated even when you mean well. Treat a login, rate-limit, WAF, or CAPTCHA response as a blocked state and use the site's documented API or a human-approved access path; do not add stealth or proxy rotation to defeat a control. With ego(lite), traffic comes from your own network and authorized browser context, but site terms still apply.

Can I self-host Browserbase or run it on-prem?

No. Browserbase's FAQ says there is no self-hosted option. ego(lite) runs entirely on your computer. Free on macOS and Windows, no account required.

Is ego(lite) cheaper for short or frequent browser sessions?

For local work, ego(lite) has no browser-minute meter or subscription: the browser is already on your computer. Browserbase charges by session minutes and proxy usage, so include its plan minimums and idle time when comparing short checks. For a cloud fleet that must run while your laptop is closed, Browserbase's operations and concurrency can justify the cost.

Can ego(lite) replace Browserbase for CAPTCHA handling?

No—and it should not promise CAPTCHA bypass. ego(lite) can show a challenge in a real local browser and pause for you, but it does not solve CAPTCHAs, rotate proxies, or spoof fingerprints. If a provider's terms explicitly authorize a human-assisted flow, complete it yourself; otherwise use an official API or stop the task.

How do I connect Supabase data to a Browserbase session?

Keep the data and browser layers separate: fetch the authorized Supabase rows through its SDK or API, pass only the fields needed for the task to a Browserbase session, and record a correlation ID. Stagehand, Playwright, or Puppeteer can drive the session over CDP. Never expose database service-role keys to page scripts or agent prompts, and redact personal data from session logs.

Can Gemini, Hermes, or another agent use Browserbase?

Yes, when the agent can run the script or MCP client that creates a Browserbase session and attaches over CDP. The model, client, and browser are separate layers, so verify the integration's tool permissions and data policy. ego(lite) is simpler for local agents: run /ego-browser in the agent you already use, with no cloud-session API.

What privacy difference matters most between Browserbase and ego(lite)?

Browserbase processes browser activity in hosted infrastructure, with provider retention, region, access, and compliance controls to review. ego(lite) keeps the browser profile and session data on your computer, while your chosen model or agent may still receive the fields you ask it to inspect. Review both policies, minimize sensitive data, and keep credentials out of prompts and logs.

Which is more reliable for a production agent fleet?

Browserbase is built for cloud concurrency, session lifecycle, proxy operations, and team-level observability. ego(lite) reduces network and session-management failure points for one developer's local, visible tasks, but it depends on your own computer staying on and is not a hosted fleet. Choose based on uptime, concurrency, compliance, and whether the task must continue when the laptop is offline.

Give your agent a real browser

Free, runs on your computer, imports your Chrome profile in one click. Works with Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, and any CLI agent that writes code.

Try ego(lite)Read the docs