In 2026 the web is splitting into two kinds of automated traffic: crawlers that copy pages and agents that do work on them. Site owners have started to tell them apart, and Cloudflare now blocks AI crawlers by default on the sites it protects. An agent that signs in, fills a form or updates a record needs a browser it controls from start to finish.
That is why teams that started on Bright Data for web scraping now look at agent infrastructure. The best Bright Data alternative for AI agents is Solari: fast cloud browsers, logins that persist between runs, and sandboxes and desktops on the same account. Browserbase, Steel, Hyperbrowser and Kernel are the other strong options, and this guide covers what each costs and where each fits.
Key Takeaways
Choose Solari when your agents need fast browsers, saved logins and code execution from one API. It suits teams that run agents in production and review cost per session.
Choose Browserbase when you want browsers bundled with search and fetch APIs. It is the established name in the category, with a large ecosystem around it.
Choose Steel when you want an open-source browser you can self-host. The same code runs on your machines and on Steel's cloud.
Choose Hyperbrowser when you want browsers, sandboxes and web data APIs on one credit balance. It works well for small teams trying several tools at once.
Choose Kernel when your agents sit idle between steps. Its billing stops when the browser goes quiet, and managed authentication handles logins.
Why Look for a Bright Data Alternative?
Teams move off Bright Data when the job changes from collecting pages to running agents. Bright Data says its Browser API "is the only browser with built-in website unblocking capabilities", and it bills that browser by the gigabyte of traffic with no monthly commitment. That model fits bulk collection; three things push agent teams elsewhere:
The bill tracks bytes, not work. Per-gigabyte pricing suits scraping, where every page is a payload to download. An agent that stays inside one app for an hour, reading and clicking, maps better to a price per browser hour.
Agents need to stay signed in. Account-bound work, from a CRM to a supplier portal, needs the same cookies, and often the same IP, on every run. Scraping tools are built to fetch public pages, so persistent logins sit outside their core job.
The agent also runs code. Agents now write and execute scripts, parse files and operate desktop apps. That needs a sandbox or a full computer next to the browser, which sits outside a scraping product.
1. Solari
Solari runs cloud browsers, AI sandboxes and computer desktops for AI agents from one API. Your agent brings the model and the logic; Solari gives it a place to work.
Core capabilities. Solari browsers are ready in 8 ms, and you drive them with Playwright, Puppeteer or any client that speaks the Chrome DevTools Protocol. Moving an existing scraping script is a change to the connection URL, so your agent keeps its code and runs it on faster sessions.
Logins and blocked sites. A Solari profile saves your login, cookies and site data in Playwright's storageState format, so your agent signs in once and every later session opens already signed in. For sites with bot defenses, stealth mode makes the browser look like an ordinary person's, and proxies route it through residential, static ISP or mobile IPs in the country you choose. Give several sessions the same proxy label and they share one exit IP, so a multi-step login does not trip a security check.
Pricing and plans. Solari bills browsers by the hour, so an agent that works inside one app all morning costs the same however heavy the pages are. Paid plans start at $20 a month and browser hours drop to $0.05 as you grow. Proxy traffic runs from $6.00 down to $4.00 per GB, and you can block heavy video and images so they never cross the proxy.
Beyond the browser. Solari sandboxes give your agent an isolated Linux machine to run the code it writes, with pause, resume, snapshot and fork. Solari desktops give computer use models a full screen for apps that have no API. All three run on one account, one API key and one bill.
Who it's best for. Platform engineers running browser agents in production who also need code execution or desktops. Teams that need an audit trail can record any session and replay exactly what the agent read and clicked.
2. Browserbase
Browserbase is a cloud browser platform for agents that also sells search and fetch APIs.
Pricing and plans. Browserbase says its Developer plan costs $20 a month with 25 concurrent browsers and 100 browser hours, then $0.12 per browser hour, and its Startup plan costs $99 a month with 100 concurrent browsers and 500 browser hours, then $0.10 per hour. A team running a few hundred browser hours a month lands on Startup before overage starts.
Where it shines. One vendor covers finding a page and operating it, because search and fetch calls come with the browsers. CAPTCHA solving is included from the Developer plan, and the custom Scale plan adds HIPAA (BAA) and SSO.
Trade-off. The free plan is small and its sessions are short, so a real trial means paying early. Teams that only need browsers pay for a bundle built around search and fetch too.
3. Steel
Steel is an open-source browser for agents with a managed cloud on top.
Pricing and plans. Steel says its Launch plan is $0 a month plus usage with a $30 one-time credit, 10 concurrent sessions and $0.10 per browser hour, and its Scale plan is $250 a month plus usage with 100 concurrent sessions, $0.08 per browser hour and proxy bandwidth at $6 per GB. The monthly fee makes sense once a team runs enough hours to use the included credit.
Where it shines. Steel Browser is open source and can be self-hosted, so you can run the same code on your own machines and on Steel's cloud. That suits teams with data-residency rules or a preference for owning the stack.
Trade-off. Sessions on the self-serve plans are short, and day-long sessions and the stealth browser are Enterprise features. An agent that works inside an app all afternoon needs the top tier.
4. Hyperbrowser
Hyperbrowser sells browsers, sandboxes, web data APIs and hosted agents from one credit balance.
Pricing and plans. Hyperbrowser says its Startup plan is $30 a month with the same amount of usage included and 25 concurrent sessions, its Scale plan is $100 a month with matching usage and 100 concurrent sessions, and proxy data costs $10 per GB on every self-serve plan. Browsers bill at the same hourly rate as Steel's Launch plan.
Where it shines. A small team gets browsers, sandboxes, fetch and search, plus hosted agents such as Browser Use, on one bill. Automatic CAPTCHA solving and basic stealth start on Startup.
Trade-off. Plan credits reset at renewal and do not roll over, and ultra stealth mode is Enterprise only. Teams that need the hardest sites unblocked should plan for the top tier from the start.
5. Kernel
Kernel runs browsers for agents with billing tied to activity rather than wall-clock time.
Pricing and plans. Kernel says its Start-Up plan is $200 a month plus usage with 150 concurrent browsers, GPU acceleration and bring-your-own proxies, and its free Developer plan includes $5 a month in credits. Hobbyist sits between the two for smaller teams that want unlimited proxy usage.
Where it shines. Kernel says it bills active runtime only: a browser goes into standby seconds after its last activity and stops accruing usage cost. Managed Auth keeps agents signed in with no per-connection fee, which suits agents that wait on a model or a person between steps.
Trade-off. Per-second rates that differ for headless, headful and GPU browsers take more modelling than one hourly rate. HIPAA (BAA) is an Enterprise feature.
Where Are Agent Browsers Going Next?
Over the next year the line between scraping and agent work gets sharper:
From pages to accounts. More agent work will happen inside signed-in apps rather than on public pages. Saved logins and stable IPs will matter more than fresh fingerprints on every visit.
Identified agents. Site owners want to know who an agent works for and what it is doing. Agents that identify themselves will keep access that anonymous crawlers lose.
Browsers next to code. Agents that write code need a sandbox beside the browser. Buyers will favour vendors that provide both on one account.
Agents on any app. Computer-use models already operate software through a screen. Desktops will join browsers as a standard agent environment.
What stays human is the decision about what an agent may do under your name: which accounts it signs in to, which sites it visits and what it submits. The teams that win will set those rules and let agents run the rest.
Which Bright Data Alternative Should You Choose?
Choose Solari over Bright Data when your agents work inside accounts, need many sessions at once, or run code and desktop apps next to the browser. Solari gives you browsers priced by the hour, saved profiles, stealth and proxies when a site needs them, and sandboxes and desktops on the same bill.
Bright Data is the more established vendor with the larger proxy network; Solari is the younger company and moves faster on speed and price. Stay with Bright Data when the job is bulk collection of public pages behind heavy bot defenses and per-gigabyte pricing fits how you already budget.
Get Started With Solari
Start with one job, such as moving your most-blocked flow to a stealth session with a saved profile, then scale to the full list once it runs cleanly. Solari is the fastest and cheapest way to run cloud browsers and VMs for web agents. Get started with a free account and start running your agents today.
