Browser platforms / Anchor Browser alternative

An Anchor Browser alternative for the persistent computer around browser automation

Anchor provides managed Chromium, authenticated browser identities, automation tasks and persistent file volumes. Its own sandbox integration separates the external code runtime from the Anchor browser. Evaluate whether you need to replace browser infrastructure, add a durable Linux agent computer, or use both together.

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Reviewed 2026-10-18 · Published by the Sandbox0 team

When Anchor Browser fits

Anchor fits workflows that need managed web authentication, MFA, browser identity and network controls, reusable volumes, live view and browser task automation. Those specialized capabilities do not follow automatically from selecting another Linux runtime.

When to consider Sandbox0

Consider Sandbox0 for compatible agent code that needs installed system tools, complete writable-RootFS durability, online expansion and supported paused file operations. Anchor can remain the remote browser; validate HTTPS/CDP connectivity, credential handling and lifecycle coordination.

Capabilities

Anchor Browser and Sandbox0: what persists?

Feature comparison with documentation and verification status
Environment and runtime lifetimeAnchor BrowserThe timeout guide allows idle timeout to be disabled and says maximum duration has no upper configurable limit; running-session charges still apply.View evidence ↗Sandbox0ttl and hard_ttl default to 0 (disabled). Configure idle pause and deletion policies for the same persistent sandbox identity; an idle running sandbox still accrues compute charges.Read documentation →
Persistent filesAnchor BrowserPersistent shared volumes outlive sessions and expose file APIs independently of browser execution.View evidence ↗Sandbox0The writable RootFS survives successful checkpoints, including software, system configuration, dependencies, and user data.Read documentation →
Whole RootFSAnchor BrowserA mounted volume preserves selected files; complete mutable browser-machine RootFS retention is not established.View evidence ↗Sandbox0Persistence extends beyond /workspace to paths such as /usr/local, /etc, and /home. Runtime tmpfs and virtual filesystems are excluded.Read documentation →
Release compute, keep stateAnchor BrowserConfigurable session lifetime and stored volumes/profiles do not establish a complete-machine compute-release pause.View evidence ↗Sandbox0Pause compute between tasks; resume on available capacity. Default resume starts fresh processes from the saved filesystem.Read documentation →
Memory and process stateAnchor BrowserBrowser authentication persistence does not establish arbitrary process-memory checkpoint/restore.View evidence ↗Sandbox0Experimental memory checkpoints can preserve compatible process state. Use memory: true on both pause and resume on a compatible deployment. A filesystem checkpoint alone does not preserve running processes.Read documentation →

Online RootFS growth

On growth-enabled images, Sandbox0 automatically expands the writable RootFS as free space runs low, within a configured sparse logical ceiling up to 64 TiB. Agent processes keep running. Growth is enabled in the qualified Cloud region; confirm activation for other regions. Existing images and snapshots retain their captured storage geometry. The ceiling is logical capacity, not preallocated host disk.

Anchor volumes preserve shared files and its session duration is configurable without a documented upper setting. Neither fact establishes automatic online expansion of a complete persistent agent RootFS; compare that machine requirement separately.

Files while compute is paused

Sandbox0's Files API reads persistent files without resuming compute. Filesystem-only pauses also permit edits; retained-memory pauses are read-only and reject mutations with 409. SSH, SFTP, file watching, and runtime-only mounts require running compute.

Anchor supports volume file access before and after browser sessions. A Sandbox0 comparison should acknowledge this existing compute-independent artifact access and explain the broader persistent RootFS scope.

See paused file operations →

Volumes already provide persistent files outside browser compute

Anchor volumes outlive sessions and support uploads and result reads through their own API. Multiple sessions can share one volume, while each session mounts at most one and teams can have up to ten. Session writes can take about a minute after writing stops to appear through the API; this is a shared artifact directory rather than the browser machine’s complete RootFS.

Source 1 ↗

Profiles, managed identities and timeouts are different controls

Profiles preserve browser cookies/storage but require manual reauthentication after website expiry. Managed identities can run authentication flows and MFA. Idle timeout starts after all supported connections disconnect, defaults to five minutes and can be disabled. Maximum duration defaults to three hours, but the guide states it has no upper configuration limit.

Source 1 ↗Source 2 ↗

Confirm pricing across task plans and infrastructure meters

Anchor’s current website lists a Team plan omitted from the pricing-doc plan table. Its calculator uses $0.09/browser-hour, while infrastructure docs quote $0.05/hour and $0.01 per creation. Task credits and per-step infrastructure pricing are separate descriptions. Confirm the effective commercial path and rates before using either source as an invoice estimate.

Source 1 ↗Source 2 ↗

Pricing

Compare billing models, then price your workload

CPU allocation, memory, billing minimums, disk, plan fees, and supported workload differ. These meters are not equal-performance machine quotes. Confirm region, resource units, and included allowances before estimating a total.

Anchor Browser

Pricing reviewed 2026-10-18

Starter task plan
$50/month
50 credits, then $1/credit; advertised task meter is 0.1 credits per completed task.
Rate source ↗
Team task plan
$500/month
500 credits and up to 50 concurrent browsers; not listed in the reviewed docs plan table.
Rate source ↗
Growth task plan
$2,000/month
2,000 credits and up to 200 concurrent browsers.
Rate source ↗
Infrastructure browser creation
$0.01/browser in the pricing docs
The website calculator has inconsistent initialization display; confirm effective billing.
Rate source ↗
Infrastructure browser time
$0.05/hour in docs; website calculator uses $0.09/hour
Unresolved public-source difference, not a single verified invoice rate.
Rate source ↗
Managed proxy / direct or customer-proxy egress
$8/GB / $0.20/GB
Rate source ↗
Infrastructure AI step
$0.01 / $0.05 / $0.10 by model tier
BYOK is $0.01/step in the guide; model-provider charges remain separate.
Rate source ↗
Enterprise
Custom terms
Rate source ↗

The quoted infrastructure schedule is described as usage without tasks. Do not add all task-plan and infrastructure meters as if every customer pays every line, or convert task credits into unlimited browser hours. Confirm volume retention/storage charges and effective rates with Anchor. No vendor performance or savings percentage is adopted as a Sandbox0 benchmark.

Check current Anchor Browser pricing ↗

Sandbox0

$0.015/GiB-hour compute (billed by the second at approximately $0.000004167/GiB-second), plus $0.02/GiB-month of retained incremental RootFS and memory checkpoint data. Shared base images and platform recovery retention are excluded; paused sandboxes accrue storage charges only.

Compute / GiB-hour
$0.015
Retained data / GiB-month
$0.02
Paused compute
$0.00

A 4 GiB agent, 100 running hours

$6.00 compute

4 GiB × 100 hours, billed by the second. Keeping 20 GiB of billable incremental data for a full billing month adds $0.40. CPU is derived from memory by the platform; choose a tier that fits your workload.

Understand storage billing →

Before migrating from Anchor Browser

  1. Inventory browser identities, profiles, shared volumes, task definitions, third-party sandbox code and account-effective billing.
  2. Run compatible agent code in Sandbox0 and retain Anchor over HTTPS/CDP where authentication, browser identity and managed browser operations remain required.
  3. Validate login/MFA, shared-file synchronization and cleanup separately from system persistence, online RootFS growth, paused files and actual combined charges.

Common questions

Is Sandbox0 a drop-in Anchor Browser replacement?

Evaluate API compatibility and product scope. These products serve different core workflows, so a change may require a different architecture.

Does keeping files also keep a running agent?

Filesystem state and volatile process state are separate. Sandbox0 requires explicit compatible memory checkpoints to preserve running processes; its default filesystem resume starts fresh processes.

Sources and review scope

The Boat team's Battleships directory is the discovery source. References below describe the product and plan discussed on this page. Check current availability, regional terms and billing units before migrating. Where the cited material does not establish a capability or price, the comparison identifies that uncertainty.

Battleships research record ↗docs.anchorbrowser.io/advanced/volumes.md ↗docs.anchorbrowser.io/essentials/managed-authentication.md ↗docs.anchorbrowser.io/advanced/session-timeout.md ↗anchorbrowser.io/pricing ↗docs.anchorbrowser.io/pricing.md ↗docs.anchorbrowser.io/integrations/sandboxes.md ↗Sandbox0 RootFS capacity →

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