The open-source Browser Use Cloud alternative

Describe a job in your own words. It drives a real browser and hands back structured data, on hardware you own.

MIT licensed · self-hosted · no platform or proxy fees

Install
v1.12.0
pipx, uv tool or pip install openbrowseopenbrowse start
One run of our benchmark task, at full speed. The agent works across parallel tabs on the left while the sandbox scripts it writes stream into the panel on the right.

Just change two lines.

OpenBrowse serves the same v3 REST surface that browser-use-sdk already speaks. Point the client at your own box and everything downstream stays put.

client.ts
 import { BrowserUse } from "browser-use-sdk/v3";   const client = new BrowserUse({-  apiKey: process.env.BROWSER_USE_API_KEY,+  apiKey: process.env.OPENBROWSE_API_KEY,+  baseUrl: "https://your-host/v3", });

Cheaper, faster, hallucination-resistant.

The same result for a fraction of the spend, in less time, with nothing in it the page did not say. Our extraction benchmark measures all three.

What it cost69% less
OpenBrowse$0.24
Browser Use Cloud$0.78
Tokens burned76% less
OpenBrowse202k
Browser Use Cloud859k
Time to finish31% faster
OpenBrowse1m 47s
Browser Use Cloud2m 36s

OpenBrowse on gpt-5.6-terra at reasoning none, against Browser Use Cloud on claude-sonnet-5 at high.

The runs behind those numbers
RuntimeModelReasoningTimeTokensLLM costRecords
Browser Use Cloudclaude-sonnet-5high2m 36s859k$0.7814/14invented fields
OpenBrowsegpt-5.6-terranone1m 47s202k$0.2414/14
OpenBrowseclaude-sonnet-5high4m 02s242k$0.4014/14

What it does that a cloud runner does not

  • Real tabs, not just code.

    The agent drives real tabs the way a person would, opening a whole listing in parallel waves of six and reading inside panels served from another domain.

  • Data completeness, guaranteed.

    Every write is checked against your schema as it discovers data, with coverage tracked field by field.

  • Separate "missing" from "failed".

    Values with no evidence on the page are refused at the boundary, so you genuinely know if something's not there to see.

  • See it work.

    Drop into any session for a live view of the browser, the model's reasoning as it arrives, and the sandbox scripts it writes streaming in.

FAQs

What is OpenBrowse?

A free, self-hosted alternative to Browser Use Cloud. Describe a job, an AI agent drives a real browser on hardware you own, and you get structured data back.

How does it compare to Browser Use Cloud?

Same v3 API, your hardware, your network, no per-task/platform/proxy fees. OpenBrowse does not currently support BU's v4 API though, nor does it have BU Cloud's recordings or workspaces features.

Full comparison
What does it cost to run?

Just LLM tokens: no platform fee, and maxCostUsd hard-caps any session. Our benchmark job cost $0.24 here against $0.78 on the cloud, though that pair changes model as well as runtime. Holding the model steady, claude-sonnet-5 at reasoning high cost $0.40 here against $0.78 there.

See the benchmark
How do I migrate from Browser Use Cloud?

Change two lines: your apiKey and your baseUrl. Everything downstream carries over untouched.

Migration guide
Can I bring my existing profiles?

Yes. Import your cloud profile export and existing profileId references keep working. Concurrent sessions can safely share that profile: each merges only its own cookie and storage changes back when it finishes.

Profiles
Which model should I use?

Whichever suits the job. Worth knowing: OpenAI models do better with less reasoning, Anthropic's with more.

Choosing a model
Does it solve CAPTCHAs?

Optionally, with your own CapSolver key. Most common types are solved; the rest are named rather than silently attempted.

Solving CAPTCHAs
Does it work with the Browser Use v4 API?

Not yet. OpenBrowse implements v3; v4 support is planned.

Is OpenBrowse affiliated with Browser Use, and how is it licensed?

No, it is independent, and built on Browser Use's own open-source SDK. MIT licensed, with a DOI so it can be cited.

How is this different from Firecrawl?

Firecrawl is a crawler: give it URLs, get clean page content back. OpenBrowse is an agent: give it an outcome and it works the site out for itself.

How does it compare to Browserbase?

Browserbase rents you a browser to drive. OpenBrowse is the driver, on your own hardware. No connect endpoint, so existing automation is a rewrite.

Full comparison