Browser Use vs Skyvern

Two fact sheets from our own research, side by side — pricing, platforms, API access and status re-checked by us rather than quoted from the vendors.

The short answer

Free plan: Both have one
Public API: Both have one
Higher Trust score: Skyvern — 90 vs 78 for Browser Use
Best fit: Browser Use: Running web automation without maintaining your own browser infrastructure · Skyvern: Automating portals and vendor sites that have no API
Platforms: Browser Use: Web · Skyvern: Web, Linux

From our own records as of each tool's last check. Anything we have not confirmed is left out rather than guessed. How we verify

Browser UseManaged cloud browsers driven by AI agents, from a plain-language task or from Python and TypeScript code.

SkyvernOpen-source browser agent that drives websites by intent instead of CSS selectors.

Side by side

Fact	Browser Use	Skyvern
Category	Browser Automation Agents	Browser Automation Agents
Pricing model	Freemium	Freemium
Starts at	—	$29/mo
Public API	Yes	Yes
Trust score	78 / 100	90 / 100
Platforms	Web, API	Web, API, Linux
Company	Browser Use	Ikonomos Inc.
Launched	2024	2023
Last verified	Oct 16, 2026	Oct 15, 2026

What our research says

Browser Use

The MIT-licensed open-source library made the category legible, and the hosted service is the practical way to run it at scale without babysitting Chromium instances; CDP compatibility means existing Playwright or Puppeteer code points at it with a config change. Billing is now pure pay-as-you-go with no subscription, so light users pay cents while heavy proxy traffic or frontier models add up fast.

Pros

MIT-licensed open-source library underneath, so you are not locked into the hosted service
CDP-compatible endpoint works with existing Playwright, Puppeteer and Selenium code
No subscription: credits from $5 never expire, and new sign-ups get $1 free
Concurrency starts at 10 sessions and rises automatically with lifetime spend
Models from several providers, or your own key

Cons

Real cost depends on browser-minutes, proxy GB and model tokens, with a 20% fee on tokens
Residential proxy is on by default at $5/GB, which adds up quickly on media-heavy sites
Company founded only in 2024, so its operational track record is short

Skyvern

The strongest open-source option for agentic browser work, and the intent-based targeting really does survive UI changes that break Playwright scripts. Credits, not runs, are the unit you buy, and complex pages burn them fast - the ~170 free actions go in an afternoon. Self-hosting is a genuine escape hatch, but AGPL-3.0 has licensing consequences if you embed it in a product.

Pros

Vision-based element targeting survives layout changes that break selector scripts
Python and TypeScript SDKs plus webhooks for programmatic triggering
Self-hostable via Docker under AGPL-3.0, with the full engine open
Paid tiers cover CAPTCHA solving, stored credentials, 2FA/TOTP and 1Password

Cons

Credit pricing makes cost per workflow hard to predict before you run it
Free tier's 5,000 credits are one-time, not monthly
Advanced CAPTCHA solving and residential proxies only start at the $149 Pro tier

Which one fits

Choose Browser Use if you need

Running web automation without maintaining your own browser infrastructure
Teams already on Playwright, Puppeteer or Selenium via the CDP endpoint
Agent workflows needing session persistence, replay and human checkpoints

Choose Skyvern if you need

Automating portals and vendor sites that have no API
Teams that want to self-host browser agents rather than send credentials to a SaaS
Invoice retrieval, form submission and recurring data pulls at moderate volume