Browser platforms / BrowserCloud alternative

BrowserCloud alternative

BrowserCloud.io manages browsers for Puppeteer, Playwright and HTTP-based scraping, screenshots and PDFs. It supports reusable browser contexts, but its current pricing table and API billing guide disagree on key credit meters. Resolve those rates before comparing total workload cost.

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

When BrowserCloud fits

BrowserCloud fits applications that want a managed browser fleet, familiar automation clients, live inspection and optional context reuse. This is the browsercloud.io service, distinct from CloudBrowser AI at cloudbrowser.ai.

When to consider Sandbox0

Consider Sandbox0 when the surrounding agent needs persistent Linux tools, system configuration and growing files across tasks, plus supported file access while compute stays paused. Keep a managed browser or install a compatible engine as the workflow requires.

Capabilities

BrowserCloud and Sandbox0: what persists?

Feature comparison with documentation and verification status
Environment and runtime lifetimeBrowserCloudThe launch guide defaults to a thirty-second session timeout; the Free plan separately advertises a fifteen-minute session maximum. Monthly credits do not set browser lifetime.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 filesBrowserCloudReusable browser contexts are documented; an independent durable Linux disk is not established.View evidence ↗Sandbox0The writable RootFS survives successful checkpoints, including software, system configuration, dependencies, and user data.Read documentation →
Whole RootFSBrowserCloudBrowser user-data persistence is not a whole writable Linux RootFS contract.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 stateBrowserCloudContext reuse and browser timeouts do not establish a compute-free arbitrary-machine checkpoint.View evidence ↗Sandbox0Pause compute between tasks; resume on available capacity. Default resume starts fresh processes from the saved filesystem.Read documentation →
Memory and process stateBrowserCloudArbitrary process-memory checkpoint/restore is not established.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.

BrowserCloud contexts save browser user data and cache options save a narrower subset. The reviewed sources do not establish automatic growth or retention of a full customer-controlled Linux RootFS. Sandbox0 addresses the agent’s broader system state and accumulated files.

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.

Context reuse is not a documented interface for reading or modifying a paused Linux filesystem. Store long-term outputs explicitly and close or reconnect browser work according to the service’s session contract.

See paused file operations →

Contexts retain more than the cache switch

The launch-options guide says an ordinary session starts with a fresh user-data directory. Contexts reuse browser data across sessions, whereas cache alone retains cached resources without cookies or session storage. Select the intended state policy explicitly; neither option establishes persistence of an entire Linux installation.

Source 1 ↗

A browser timeout is separate from a monthly allowance

The launch guide documents a 30-second default session timeout, configurable in milliseconds. The Free pricing card separately advertises up to 15 minutes per session. These are different defaults and limits, not proof that unused monthly credits keep a browser alive indefinitely.

Source 1 ↗Source 2 ↗

Public billing sources give different conversion rates

The current pricing table lists 1,000 credits per browser-hour and 80 credits per MB of residential traffic. The API billing guide instead lists one credit per browser-second and 110 credits per residential MB. Both list 12 credits per datacenter MB. Do not silently choose the cheaper meter or promise a fixed hour allowance until your account’s effective rates are confirmed.

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.

BrowserCloud

Pricing reviewed 2026-10-18

Free
$0/month including 1,000 credits
One concurrent browser; Free card advertises a 15-minute maximum session.
Rate source ↗
Hobby
$19/month including 120,000 credits
Five concurrent browsers; allowance is not independent full quotas for every product.
Rate source ↗
Startup
$99/month including 1,000,000 credits
50 concurrent browsers.
Rate source ↗
Website browser-time meter
1,000 credits per browser-hour
The API billing guide disagrees; verify actual billing before converting plan credits into time.
Rate source ↗
Documentation browser-time meter
1 credit per browser-second
Materially different from the current price card’s 1,000 credits/hour; effective account rate needs confirmation.
Rate source ↗

The pricing table also differs from the API guide on residential bandwidth: 80 versus 110 credits/MB. The guide says unused credits do not roll into the next subscription period. HTTP API calls and proxy traffic spend the same type of credits, so do not add all illustrative hour/request/bandwidth equivalents together as separate included allowances.

Check current BrowserCloud 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 BrowserCloud

  1. Record framework, timeout, context/cache identifiers, proxy traffic and actual billed meters; export essential browser results.
  2. Move compatible orchestration and durable files to Sandbox0 while retaining BrowserCloud as a remote tool or supplying a tested browser stack.
  3. Validate authentication reuse, session deadlines, retained Linux dependencies, RootFS growth, paused file edits and account-confirmed time/bandwidth costs.

Common questions

Is Sandbox0 a drop-in BrowserCloud 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 ↗browsercloud.io/docs/launch-options ↗browsercloud.io/pricing ↗browsercloud.io/docs/other/credits-cost ↗browsercloud.io/docs/start ↗Sandbox0 RootFS capacity →

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