Browser platforms / Zenrows Browser Sessions alternative

A ZenRows Browser Sessions alternative

ZenRows Browser Sessions is a remote browser interface in a wider web-data platform. Browser time and residential bandwidth draw from the same credit balance as its other primitives. Its browser lifetime and feature support matter separately from the plan’s monthly credit count.

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

When Zenrows Browser Sessions fits

ZenRows fits applications that want managed CDP browser sessions alongside fetch, extraction, crawling and batch interfaces. It can serve as a remote web tool while the broader agent and its files live in another runtime.

When to consider Sandbox0

Consider Sandbox0 when the agent needs a returning Linux environment with durable system changes and automatic RootFS expansion beyond one web session. Test browser dependencies and site compatibility, and budget any managed proxy/browser service separately.

Capabilities

Zenrows Browser Sessions and Sandbox0: what persists?

Feature comparison with documentation and verification status
Environment and runtime lifetimeZenrows Browser SessionsBrowser Sessions has a three-minute default and a 15-minute maximum TTL.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 filesZenrows Browser SessionsSession TTL does not establish a separately retained customer Linux disk.View evidence ↗Sandbox0The writable RootFS survives successful checkpoints, including software, system configuration, dependencies, and user data.Read documentation →
Whole RootFSZenrows Browser SessionsThe CDP browser interface does not establish whole writable Linux RootFS persistence.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 stateZenrows Browser SessionsTTL expiration and a new session are not arbitrary-machine checkpoint/restore.View evidence ↗Sandbox0Pause compute between tasks; resume on available capacity. Default resume starts fresh processes from the saved filesystem.Read documentation →
Memory and process stateZenrows Browser SessionsArbitrary process-memory snapshots are 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.

ZenRows browser time, bandwidth and concurrency limits do not describe expandable Linux disk. The reviewed Browser Sessions sources do not establish complete writable RootFS retention; Sandbox0’s retained environment is a separate layer for a growing agent toolchain.

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.

The reviewed Browser Sessions contract does not establish paused Linux filesystem access. Persist required downloads and outputs before the browser TTL ends; Sandbox0’s paused Files API concerns its own persistent RootFS.

See paused file operations →

Browser TTL is separate from available credits

Browser Sessions defaults to three minutes and allows a sessionTTL from one to 15 minutes. Expiration closes the session even when account credits remain. A longer job must preserve task progress outside the browser and safely establish new sessions; increasing a plan allowance does not remove this documented lifetime.

Source 1 ↗

Browser features differ from the broader web API

The Browser Sessions FAQ currently says CAPTCHA solving requires a third-party service and programmatic viewport resizing is unavailable. The broader web API advertises different capabilities. Verify the exact interface your workflow uses before assuming every platform feature applies to a CDP session.

Source 1 ↗

A browser consumes both elapsed time and bandwidth

The billing guide charges five credits per browser-minute and 25,000 credits per GB of residential bandwidth. Both draw from one shared balance. A table showing the maximum GB possible from an allowance assumes that balance is spent on bandwidth; it is not a second included bandwidth pool.

Source 1 ↗

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.

Zenrows Browser Sessions

Pricing reviewed 2026-10-18

Free
$0; 5,000 credits/month
Five concurrent requests; standalone Residential Proxies excluded.
Rate source ↗
Build, monthly billing
$19/month including 45,000 credits
20 concurrent requests. The annual selector displays a lower monthly equivalent.
Rate source ↗
Launch, monthly billing
$69/month including 250,000 credits
50 concurrent requests; shared balance across primitives.
Rate source ↗
Browser usage
5 credits/minute plus 25,000 credits/GB bandwidth
Time and bandwidth both consume the same account balance.
Rate source ↗

The quoted plan prices use monthly billing. Annual commitments display lower monthly equivalents. Monthly plan credits refresh without rollover; unused top-up credits roll one period. The pricing page counts valid 404/410 responses as successful results, even though failed requests are not charged.

Check current Zenrows Browser Sessions 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 Zenrows Browser Sessions

  1. Identify the ZenRows interface in use, TTL, CAPTCHA/viewport dependencies, and combined time/bandwidth consumption.
  2. Move compatible agent orchestration and long-term files to Sandbox0, keeping ZenRows or configuring another browser/proxy tool as needed.
  3. Test work across session expiration, extraction fidelity, RootFS growth, paused file edits and full monthly runtime plus browser costs.

Common questions

Is Sandbox0 a drop-in Zenrows Browser Sessions 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.zenrows.com/browser-sessions/features/session-ttl.md ↗docs.zenrows.com/browser-sessions/faq.md ↗docs.zenrows.com/first-steps/pricing.md ↗www.zenrows.com/pricing ↗Sandbox0 RootFS capacity →

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